The end-of-decade reflective mood is obviously catching. In yesterday’s Long Shot column, I looked back on the last ten years of the Academy Awards, singling out some of their most inspired choices and positive developments. You responded in great numbers, rare goodwill towards the Academy dominating the comments thread for a change.
Of course, however, we all know that it’s more fun to bury the Oscars than to praise them. So today, indieWIRE’s Peter Knegt has compiled something of a flipside to my piece, listing the 50 most egregious snubs in the past decade of Oscar nominations.
It’s an eclectic list, Knegt’s only requirement for inclusion being that a nomination for the film or individual in question had to be at least within the realm of possibility.
Obviously, it’s a subjective exercise: most would call the failure of “Dreamgirls” to make the Best Picture cut one of the decade’s most surprising snubs, but Knegt presumably feels justice was done there. (I agree — Salma Hayek’s split-second alphabetical leap from “The Departed” to “Letters from Iwo Jima” when reading the nominees might be one of my happiest Oscar moments of the decade.)
Knegt’s list has me reliving many nomination-morning omissions from the last ten years that had me shaking me head, or simply placing it in my hands, from Dennis Quaid for “Far From Heaven” (not to mention that film’s snub in the design categories) to one he doesn’t list, Baz Luhrmann for “Moulin Rouge!” (Love it or hate it, that film is nothing if not a director’s piece.)
Still, I’m not sure any snub this decade reduced me to childish sulking as much as Sally Hawkins’s Best Actress shut-out for “Happy-Go-Lucky” only last January. I was aware how vulnerable she was, given her failure to impress SAG or even BAFTA, but something in me couldn’t believe that such joyful, inspired work, with such a prestigious trail of precursor awards, could lose out to such partially soggy competition. Alas, it could — and my TV still bears the scar from the remote control I hurled at it in my outrage.
Ah, good times. Check out Knegt’s full list here; his Top 10 is below.
1. “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille” and “WALL-E” (Best Picture)
2. Todd Haynes, “Far From Heaven” and “I’m Not There” (Best Director)
3. Uma Thurman, “Kill Bill, Vols. 1 & 2” (Best Actress)
4. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (Best Picture)
5. “In the Mood for Love” (Best Foreign Language Film)
6. Paul Giamatti, “American Splendor” and “Sideways” (Best Actor)
7. Björk, “Dancer in the Dark” (Best Actress)
8. Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan, “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor)
9. “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” (Best Foreign Language Film)
10. David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello, “A History of Violence” (Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress)
Comments
62 responses to “indieWIRE lists the decade’s worst Oscar snubs”
They gave Lynch a nomination for “Mulholland Drive”; they also should have given Naomi Watts her due.
“Eternal Sunshine” was the worst sunb of the lot, especially considering what actually got the nod. (“Ray,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Finding Neverland”?)
awesome list, uma thurman and pixar
I realize Watts was #46, but that really doesn’t capture the magnitude of the injustice.
Totally agreed on Dennis Quaid in that film.
Well judging on the criteria he gives I don’t think Marsden, any of those Pixar films except possibly WALL E or Uma Thurman for Vol 2 had an big chance of being nominated.
He lists Baz as #19
Joan Allen for “Upside of Anger” is the one that immediately leaps to mind. Especially since that was one year where the stories about being a “weak year” for that category was actually true. And yet she doesn’t even appear on the list at all! Naomi Watts at only #46 is bizarre since everyone seems to agree she should have been there (although that year was so strong, I’d still replace the two frontrunners Berry and Spacek with Watts and Swinton).
Tina Fey for “Mean Girls” needs to be higher than #50, again in a weak year.
Of course, if all of Knegt’s choices were in fact nominated his list would be filled with the ones that were nominated but that would have to be snubbed for his choices to happen. Circles.
I would also add Matt Damon for Good Shepard, Ryan Gosling for Lars and the Real girl and Amy Adams for Enchanted.
Ryan: Ah, I see Peter added Baz now. Happy to see that.
Glenn: You prefer Judi Dench to Sissy Spacek? Ewww. (I kid. Different strokes.)
‘american splendor’ missing picture, director and actor would be high on my list
but naomi watts is definitely #1
I certainly don’t agree with you Guy on Dreamgirls. I thought it was a devastating snub. My no. 4 of 2006 just behind United 93, The Departed and Children of Men. I really love it but often I feel quite alone :D
If Knegt’s requirement for inclusion is that a nomination had to be at least within the realm of possibility, then the list seems a little off here and there. Did Todd Haynes even receive anything at all for best director for I’m Not There? I don’t think so so he was hardly in contention. But he definitely should have been nominated for Far From Heaven.
Two snubs that would be on top of my list is there though. Almost Famous missing a best picture nod and Evan Rachel Wood not getting nominated for Thirteen. I was completely gutted that day :(
Their #1 is my #1
I would also add David Carradine for best supporting actor for Kill Bill, Vol. 2
i would put eternal sunshine in first… and then oixar…
my top 3:
jamie bell for billy elliot (best actor)
naomi watts for mulholland dr. (best actress)
nicole kidman for birth (best actress)
I understand why Quaid always gets on these lists… but I think he’s quite a bit too strenuous in Far From Heaven, in a way that’s thankfully not damaging to the movie, but not always that helpful to it either. I basically agree he should have been nominated, but can’t really see it as an egregious snub. That would be Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass: an Oscar he should have outright won, and my upset of the decade — good to see him listed.
Can we add Tilda Swinton for Julia, already?
Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road!
Off the top of my head, and sticking to the actors only:
– Maggie Gyllenhaal for leading actress in “Secretary” or “Sherrybaby”
– Jake Gyllenhaal leading actor for “Donnie Darko”
– Anthony LaPaglia and Barbara Hershey leads for “Lantana”
– Eric Bana lead for “Munich”
– Laura Linney supporting actress for “the House of Mirth” (totally agree with the Anderson snub, btw. I even would have accepted a supporting nod for “the Last King of Scotland” to make up for it)
– Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as lead and supporting respectively for “In Bruges”
– Gene Hackman and Gwyneth Paltrow lead and supporting for “the Royal Tenenbaums”
– Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johanssen lead and supporting for “Match Point” (granted, it was all downhill from there for Johanssen)
– Aaron Eckhart leading actor for “Thank You For Smoking”
– Tilda Swinton lead actress for “the Deep End”
– Billy Bob Thornton lead for either “the Man Who Wasn’t There” of “Monster’s Ball”
– Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh lead and supporting for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”
– Catherine Zeta Jones supporting actress for “Traffic”
Oh, and i COMPLETELY back up Nicole Kidman for Birth (and throw in Cameron Bright and Alexandre Desplat for that one too!)
Leonardo DiCaprio: Revolutionary Road
James McAvoy: Atonement
Vanessa Redgrave: Atonement
and of course, The Dark Knight for Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay
Ewan McGregor: Moulin Rouge
Guy, you didn’t like Dench in Iris?? I mean, I know you are not the only one who thinks she shouldn’t have got nominated but I really don’t understand. I thought she was marvelous.
I would add…
James McAvoy for Atonement
Ewan McGregor for Moulin Rouge
Jamie Bell for Billy Elliot
This decade without a best picture nominee from Pixar won’t really go down. The academy only just will manage to squeeze out one at the end of the decade.
I’m not a fan of Finding Nemo, but by any estimation, it winds up in the Top 5 of its year, by Top 10’s or reviews or anything. Incredibles and Wall-E are inexcusable and head-scratching. Flat-out instant classics fell victim to animation bias. I can seriously think of no-reason not to nominate these 2, american, English language, big box-office, staggering critical support, enduring appeal. And though I have Ratatouille in my Top 5 for 2007, I’ll admit there were 5 better movies.
#11 has my full endorsement. It will probably end up as the writing achievement of the decade.
Also shout-outs too Haynes for I’m Not There(Should have won), Curon for Children Of Men. Best Picture nods for Adaptation,Zodiac, Mulholland Dr. These 3 might actually have won left to me.
Also like to mention, Wendy & Lucy for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay. Williams gives a performance so bereft of artifice, so utterly selfless, her work and the movie will go down as great testaments to naturalistic cinema. Cameron wants to make it immersive, give you the feeling of actually being there? Kelly Reichardt already did that. Very few films can capture just plain life as it is almost in passing. Cinema is a mass of pretensions, the make-believe but Wendy & Lucy manages to drop them all.
I’d add Pan’s Labyrinth for Best Picture and Guillermo del Toro for Best Director. Though that might just be me.
Sean Astin for Best Supporting Actor for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Guy Pearce for Best Actor for Memento.
I’ll post more as I think of them.
Meryl Streep in “The Hours.” Paul Dano in “L.I.E.” and “There Will Be Blood.” Edward Norton in “25th Hour.”
Guy, I haven’t seen “Iris” so I can’t really say. If I had a choice the Best Actress category that year would have been Thora Birch, Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton, Naomi Watts and Renee Zellweger although Birch could be swapped out for Charlotte Rampling and I wouldn’t really bat an eye.
Erik just reminded me that Alexandre Desplat has received horrible treatment this decade. First nom for “The Queen” but snubbed for “Birth”, “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and “The Painted Veil” amongst many others. Just horrible. I’d say Harris Savidas has a case to argue about being snubbed too (Elephant, Birth, Zodiac, American Gangster, etc etc etc).
Nicole Kidman in Birth and Dogville, one of the greatest twofers in acting history, but neither was ever going to get near to Oscar so it’s hard to really be THAT disappointed.
I like to pretend Mark Wahlberg was nominated for I Heart Huckabees, and not The Departed. It makese life seem so much better.
Guy,the one that really sticks out to me is “City Of God” being snubbed for a best Foriegn Film nomination.
Fernando Meirelles was nominated for Best Director that year,and I still think that “City Of God is one of the best films I’ve seen in years.
Hell,I would have nominated it for Best Picture.
Out of his list, I really support:
Ratatouille, Eternal Sunshine, & esp Tina Fey (Got the WGA nom)
naomi watts for mulholland drive most definitely
Switch Leonardo DiCaprio for The Departed instead of Blood Diamond. He might have had a chance.
I’ll say it: Steve Carell for “Little Miss Sunshine” over Alan Arkin. Not that Arkin wasn’t good (he was terrific), but Carell poured out his heart and soul into that performance. Needless to say that I didn’t see Michael Scott in there anywhere.
And I think Rinko Kikuchi for Best Supporting Actress in ’06 would’ve been better. Okay, so, she was nominated, but she was a hell of a lot better than Hudson, imo.
And “Pan’s Labyrinth” should’ve been nominated for Best Picture. So should “Children of Men,” which coulda won.
Bah, I think I am the only person who doesn’t think that Wall-E is the most overrated movie of the decade.
Glad that Christian Bale is mentioned for American Psycho.
Ah, dammit. I meant to say “I think I am the only person who finds Wall-E to be the most overrated movie of the decade.”
Definitely agree with the Pixar snubs and the Eternal snub. And the Sally Hawkins snub for a nomination, let alone a win.
Also agree with the Wendy and Lucy snubs… that movie was so quiet and powerful, and Michelle Williams was perfect.
My personal number one injustice is Paul Giamatti for Sideways, and second Leo Di Caprio for Revolutionary Road, but Naomi Watts for King Kong, really?, let´s be serious.
I agree Chris138… Wall-E is probably one of my least favorite Pixar flicks. Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo… they’re definitely WAY ahead of Wall-E. And even though I have a little more fondness for Ratatouille than the others, I’m not afraid to say that, objectively, Finding Nemo is probably Pixar’s greatest film, not to mention one of the best of the decade.
And speaking of animation snubs… I was very glad to see Andy Serkis included on the list of 50 snubs of the decade. I understand the hesitance over awarding digital performances, but Andy Serkis was every bit as “present” in his role in The Two Towers as Brad Pitt was in his role as Benjamin Buttons, as far as I’m concerned.
So… things that should have been nominated… by no means exhaustive because I’m too lazy to think up every example I can…
Best Picture:
Finding Nemo
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Dark Knight
Ratatouille
Notes on a Scandal
Pan’s Labyrinth
Best Acting (male or female):
Eric Bana in Munich
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed (it’s his own fault though, ironically)
Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road (see DiCaprio, Leonardo)
Guy Pearce in Memento
Jamie Bell in Billy Elliott
Kirsten Dunst in Marie Antoinette (as crazy as some may think me for that)
I was going to list supporting actors and actresses, but I’ll have to ponder some more…
The Triplets of Belleville kicks Nemo’s ass. The End. :)
Assassination of Jesse James for Best Picture
Brad Pitt for Assassination of Jesse James
Jeffrey Wright for Syriana
Chris Cooper for Breach
Nicole Kidman for Margot at the Wedding
Jennifer Jason Leigh for Margot at the Wedding
Also Rip Torn in “40 Shades of Blue,” and Romain Duris in “The Beat That My Heart Skipped.”
The Dark Knight (Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Best Picture, Actor)
Pan’s Labyrinth (Best Picture, Director)
Uma Thurman (Best Actress for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2)
Michelle Williams (Best Actress in Wendy & Lucy)
Oldboy (Best Foreign Language Film)
– Sergi López – Pan’s Labyrinth
– Jack Nicholson – The Departed
– Pan’s Labyrinth for Best Picture, Directing.
– The Dark Knight for Best Picture, Directing, Screenplay.
– Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road
– Water for Best Picture
– Volver for Best Original Screenplay at least (along with Best Picture)
– Atonement’s cast members
– The Diving Bell and the Butterfly for Best Picture and Max Von Sydow for Best Supporting Actor
– Into the Wild for Best Picture and Emile Hirsch for Best Supporting Actor
– Amélie for Best Picture and Directing and Audrey Tautou for Best Actress
– Almost Famous for Best Picture
– Eternal Sunshine for Best Picture and Directing and Editing
– Downfall for Best Actor (Bruno Ganz) and Best Picture and Directing too
– The Motorcycle Diaries for Best Picture and Directing
– Match Point for Best Picture and Supporting Actress for Scarlett Johansson
– Hero for Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Directing, Picture
list goes on and on ;)
Also, what the heck was special about Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada? Any random actress could’ve done that role. Nothing special.
Jeff Daniels for Best Actor for The Squid and the Whale
The Wrestler for Picture and Darren Aronofsky for Director
The Dark Knight, obviouslyyyy
There Will Be Blood’s score, ehhh dammit ineligibility.
Leonardo Dicaprio for Catch Me If You Can
Punch-Drunk Love.
Dancer in the Dark for best picture, best director, and mostly best actress for Björk
Love the attention for A History of Violence. Still a brilliant simmering film.
Jennifer Connelly in A Requiem For A Dream (best supporting actress)
Wonder Boys in the best picture and best directing categories
Atonement for film editing!
James MacAvoy for LEAD actor in The Last King of Scotland and LEAD in Atonement!
Vanessa Redgrave for Atonement! I connected to her performance, no matter that it was a cameo. Ronan was good, but to me terribly directed — in terms of the visuals there was the primal, even somehow naively vicious in her character, but it felt forced at times. Redgrave’s performance was quiet beauty.
Jeff Daniels for The Squid and the Whale. Come on, he was so painfully funny. I think it was a performance that really hurts.
Agree with the Eternal Sunshine love. But every time I watch the film, I think of how underrated Jim Carrey’s performance is. Come on, he totally overshadowed Kate and the nature of her performance was being showy and flashy and all the style over substance thing. He was simply heartbreaking in the film.
Mulholland Drive for best picture and ESPECIALLY film editing and cinematography. Come on, it was a piece of art. This film is a shaking experience.
To me KELLY MACDONALD really delivered the most honest performance in Gosford Park. Maggie Smith was fun and Helen Mirren had the big dramatic breakdown (and delivered it in a really frighteningly emotional, subtle mode), but Kelly delivered in a performance that’s especially hard to achieve – presenting the young, innocent, naive woman who gets into a world of emotional misery and has to deal with it, trying to protect who she is. This could have been a really mediocre performance, but she makes her character to a moral center of the film and I was really falling in love with her in this film. I adore this performance and I think she should have received a nomination.
Pan’s Labyrinth for best picture, best directing, Sergi Lopez for supporting actor and Maribel Verdu for supporting actress.
There Will Be Blood for original score! It still hurts.
Steve Carell for Little Miss Sunshine — come on, this was the BEST performance in the film. And it was a total shock that he actually managed to do it and he made it look so effortless. From the physical transformation to the eyes full of despair and turmoil. The voice. He was amazing in this film.
I may be alone here, but Edward Norton in The Painted Veil. I think he made a character as complex as his really work on the screen. And I think he had great chemistry with Naomi Watts. The film’s score should have been nominated.
PAUL GIAMATTI in SIDEWAYS. Come on, this was a performance that really made Jamie Foxx look like an amateur. It had depth, emotion, it was honest and beautifully executed. It was about a flawed character, but so full of life and feelings that you are rooting for him and liking him.
Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road. This performance was the film’s center for me. Kate simply didn’t deliver in crucial scenes, but stole so much from the buzz. I’m slowly beginning to like DiCaprio’s work.
Leonardo DiCaprio for The Departed. The far better performance that year.
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Savages. He was amazing. The Savages for best picture as well. I love this film. And hands down, at the end of the day when you don’t care about the deglam factor, the overdue factor, the playing a real person factor etc etc, Laura Linney delivered the BEST performance among the five best actress nominees.
Gordon Pinsent for Away From Her, best actor. Come on. It’s painful to watch him on screen. Christie wouldn’t be as strong without him. There is so much intimacy in both performances.
The Royal Tenenbaums for anything. It’s the first performance, in which I like Gwyneth Paltrow. Gene Heckman was amazing. Film editing as well.
Hope Davis in American Splendor. Amazing.
Ralph Fiennes for best actor in The Constant Gardener. The film’s CINEMATOGRAPHY! Were they blind?!
And of course, The Incredibles for best original score.
FAR FROM HEAVEN in countless categories, including BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTING, SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES and the ART DIRECTION, COSTUME DESIGN categories.
TALK TO HER for best picture and Javier Camara’s performance.
And IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE for cinematography, best actor, best actress, best directing.