I’ve already highlighted my favorite aspects of this morning’s Oscar nominations. Still, before we move into Phase Two, I’d like to give one final respectful nod to the could-have-beens — the names that we sadly won’t be talking about anymore in the next five weeks of speculation.
I listed my true favorites in my dream ballot over the last few days, though many of those were never in the realm of possibility. What follows are 10 contenders who were very much in the mix, and had every reason to be disappointed this morning.
From my perspective, the race is poorer without the following:
• Marvin Hamlisch (Best Original Score), “The Informant!”: As a previously honored veteran of the branch, I thought his foot was comfortably in the door. Was his playful score too tongue-in-cheek for the voters? I’d say the movie wasn’t well-liked enough, but these are the guys who nominated “The Village.” (Less surprising but still disappointing: the omission of “A Single Man” composer Abel Korzeniowski.)
• Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress), “The Messenger”: That surprise screenplay nod indicates there was keen support for the film in the Academy, so it’s a shame that didn’t extend to its most resonant performance — in a category, moreover, that was obviously in considerable flux.
• Anthony Mackie (Best Supporting Actor), “The Hurt Locker”: Best Supporting Actor, on the other hand, remained rigidly unchanged from Globes to SAG to BAFTA, despite seeming softer than any other race. A showing for the frontrunner’s secret weapon would’ve been a nice shake-up.
• Stanley Tucci (Best Supporting Actor), “Julie & Julia”: They fluffed this category so badly I feel obliged to give it two mentions. Sure, Tucci himself wasn’t snubbed, but I have yet to speak to anyone who prefers his mannered psycho in “The Lovely Bones” to his wry rock of support in Nora Ephron’s comedy.
• “Mary and Max” (Best Animated Feature): Okay, so this never seemed that likely to begin with. But after the Academy stunned pretty much everyone with a nod for little-known Irish pic “The Secret of Kells,” can the year’s best animated film have been far behind?
• Greig Fraser (Best Cinematography), “Bright Star”: Okay, so this is stretching my “realm of possibility” definition a little. But there was a fifth slot on that ballot that could have gone anywhere, and did: to the good-looking sixth installment of a fantasy franchise. Fraser would’ve been a more daring surprise.
• David Wasco (Best Art Direction), “Inglourious Basterds”: It’s unfair but unsurprising that Wasco’s contemporary designs for “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Kill Bill” went unnominated. But this was lavish period work on a rock-solid Best Picture nominee — what does he have to do to catch a break?
• “District 9” (Best Makeup): I thought the sci-fi actioner had the showiest and most story-serving makeup effects of the year, but BAFTA didn’t see what I saw, and neither did the Academy. What am I — or they — missing? (Semi-related side note: where did it go in the sound categories?)
• “The Beaches of Agnes” and “Mugabe and the White African” (Best Documentary): I admit I haven’t seen all the competition. But these shortlisted titles were also the two docs that stuck with me most all year — and it would have been sweet to see 81 year-old master Agnes Varda finally go to the ball.
Amazingly enough, there are no near-misses for Best Picture that I’m really crushed about. (Plenty of long shots, but that’s another story.) Maybe, within its extreme limitations, The Ten did its job after all. Who are you missing in this year’s nominee list?
Comments
82 responses to “10 snubs that sting”
If we are talking about realistic possibilities that did not work out, I would have liked to see a Best Picture nomination for The Messenger, only so it would open in my town.
Christian McKay deserved a nomination, but that was always a longshot.
After landing 12 nominations among multiple films, I can’t help but think Sony Classics might have gotten Sugar some love in screenplay if they really tried.
ABEL KORZENIOWSKI
I just don’t understand the District 9 makeup thing either. Did the voters think it was not subtle enough? (this is how I’m trying to make sense of the nom for The Young Victoria) Did they think it was CG? Did they just not like “the flipper”?
I think The Village score is amazing.
I’d have to go with A Single Man’s score as well;
a breathtaking piece of music. I thought Cornish was going to take Mirren’s spot, and I’m disapponted that she didn’t.
I’m with you on most of these, especially the Wasco and Hamlisch snubs.
Yeah, “The Village” has a terrific score — I’m not denying that. I’m just using it as an example of how that branch is kinder than most to largely dismissed films. (Hell, “The Good German” got in.)
I also haven’t seen much of the documentary competition, but I caught a screening of Which Way Home a few weeks ago and it just blew me away. I predicted it solely on the assumption that they would vote for it if they saw it.
I haven’t had the opportunity to see either of your picks for Doc snubs, but I’m curious if you’ve seen Which Way Home, and how you feel about it being nominated?
Haven’t seen it. Look forward to doing so.
I did get a chance to see Which Way Home a while back, and it was very well done. I hadn’t heard a word about it all year though. I’m still stunned it got in.
I really thought James Newton Howard’s score for the “The Village” was amazing and with the accompaniment of world-renowned violinist Hilary Hahn, it was even more outstanding. I am hearing lots of good reviews of Abel K’s score for ASM (which I haven’t seen) so I’ll have to check that out.
I definitely have my own personal issues with the acting noms, but my biggest problem, strangely, lies with the Best Song nominees — There were so many outstanding choices that could have had a real shot at winning. I hate when more than one song from a film gets nominated — it’s like Enchantedgate all over again.
The problem with the SCORE category, is that now is full of “young” composers and a new generation of musicians, that simply don’t listen to the scores to vote in a ballot, thye just go out and take wath the critics said to give a film a nom for score
That whySLUMDOG won last year, not only because of that, because is a popular film in the academy that got the nom, the same goes for HURT LOCKER nom for “score”
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.
I know, I know, it hasn’t been in the conversation for months. But I’m heartbroken more people weren’t stumping for it. That last slot, at least, was clearly anyone’s game.
Also, I wouldn’t have minded The Messenger clinching it — especially since my predictions would have been 10/10 — you can imagine how excited I was by the Screenplay nod, then how disappointed I was when The Blind Side fell out of Hathaway’s mouth. Urgh.
Ronan!!! Mirren :(
I started rooting for ‘Mary and Max’ after I’ve seen it, such a great animated film. I would’ve wanted to see it up there with Up and Fantastic Mr. Fox.
And yeah, Tucci’s lack of a nomination for Julie & Julia stings. Guy, you are right about calling him a “wry rock of support,” and what an absolutely solid rock he was throughout the movie.
Disappointed with Cinematography all around, and I felt as though A Single Man and Bright Star were the most worthy contenders. I mean..AVATAR?! Really?!
I was kind of hoping that Melanie Laurent would snag a nomination.
Oh yes, about Marco Beltrami’s score for “The Hurt Locker” — can’t really say that it deserved a nomination. It’s not the type of music you’d (wait, I’d) want to listen to beyond the film. It is music that requires a visual element to make sense, and without the suspense and action that the film offered, it all sounds like organized noise.
I would have liked to see the “Star Trek” (Michael Giacchino) and “Julie & Julia” (Alexandre Desplat) scores get nods — but I guess the two composers got their nods for two very different works.
I thought Paranormal Activity should have gotten some attention in the sound categories.
I’m with Jake. Where the Wild Things Are is one of the few movies that I really responded to this year, and it’s nowhere.
I just want to emphasise that I’m absolutely in favor of Beltrami’s nomination. Actually, he might be my favorite of the nominees.
Also, I’m obviously hugely in the “Where the Wild Things Are” camp — it leads my personal ballot with 13 mentions — but I resigned myself to its fate a long time ago.
Nigel: I totally agree. But that was never going to happen.
Viggo…
Yogsam: Marco Beltrami (Hurt Locker) has been around for quite a while… if anything’s true of the music nominations (which come from the music branch) it’s that they tend to honor the greybeards and the hot-stuff younger A-listers and they don’t go for the talented newcomers. (which is why Korzienowski got left out; they just don’t know him.)
It’s when the general Academy is voting on the musical scores that the trouble starts and they either use it to reward the film (not caring about the work) – or they use it to reward John Williams, who thankfully is in semi-retirement now.
Beltrami actually had a reputation for scoring B-movies for many years and the Hurt Locker represents a big step up for him.
Christian McKay and Saoirse Ronan. I would also add Tilda Swinton, but she was never in the running.
BTW, I prefer Tucci in “Bones”. Great, intense work. He was OK in J&J, too, though.
It doesn’t shock me too much that The Informant missed out for its sublime score. In hindsight, as I did predict it, it was probably just too out there and wacky. Not the music itself, but within the context of the film.
Where the Wild Things Are certainly got the big shaft, but that was more or less fully expected it wasn’t exactly traumatic that it got zip.
I wish A Serious Man had gotten more notices. It’s just such an expertly crafted and polished film, perhaps the most robust of any films this past year in that regard. Cinematography, Art Direction, certainly deserved nominations. I am glad it got in for Original Screenplay and Best Picture though.
Other than that, I agree about Inglourious Basterds for Art Direction, and Samantha Morton deserved better as well.
Has to be Abel Korzeniowski’s beautiful, lyrical compositions for “A Single Man”. I guess my stumping for his work to be recognised was just false optimism.
Although, to be fair, I’ve only seen The Hurt Locker and Harry Potter #6 of this year’s crop so I don’t think I fared too badly in my predictions: 39/45 in the main categories and 78/106 overall. Sometimes it helps NOT to have seen the films in contention.
“I just want to emphasise that I’m absolutely in favor of Beltrami’s nomination. Actually, he might be my favorite of the nominees.”
…Really? That…THAT… piece of music is one of the greatest achievements of film score composition of 2009?
Best Original Score is my favourite category so I was incredibly disappointed to see this nominated.
The Hurt Locker is a big step up for Beltrami? For my money, I’d say that already happened when he scored (and was Oscar-nominated for) 3:10 To Yuma, and maybe that even begun earlier when he scored The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, though I don’t remember that one.
Jim: Well, for my money, they didn’t nominate the “greatest achievements of film score composition of 2009,” so I’m making do.
I honestly didn’t remember that The Hurt Locker even had a score after I first saw it. I’m definitely going to have to pay attention to that the next time I see it.. Listening to clips of it on iTunes though it does sound like the kind of mood music score that works well within the film but isn’t perhaps so listenable or memorable on its own.
ouch for the scores for the informant and a single man.
Oh wow, I didn’t know he was nominated for 3:10 to Yuma. Thanks for the info.
Cinematography: “Nine”
Actor: Ben Foster
Actress: Tilda Swinton (I won’t bring this up again)
Art Direction: “The Road”
Across the board: “Bright Star”
The two best movies of the year, STAR TREK and THE HANGOVER, got stiffed!
C’mon, the one snub that really hurt was (500) days of Summer for screenplay. I’ll never shut up about it. I loved the movie, and it seemed like it was getting the nod.
Would have loved for Anthony Mackie to have made it to the dance.
imagine if District 9 had gotten makeup and the sound categories, that would have been 7 nominations, more than Up In the Air. Which might be why it didn’t get those three?
Anthony Mackie-supporting actor
Diane Kruger -supporting actress
The Messenger- best pic
The Road-cinematography,Viggo Mortensen
I’m sure I’m in the minority, but I was still holding out for a supporting nom for Marion Cotillard for Nine. I thought they’d fix the category fraud and put her where she belongs (and deserves to be. She and Cruz were the only things that made the movie worth watching, and she was much better than Penelope.)
Damn you Harvey Weinstein and your greedy campaigning!
Bright Star – Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Cinematography (none of these seemed like longshots 4 months ago).
A Single Man – Best Original Score
Where the Wild Things Are – Best Art Direction
I have to admit – I prefer Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones to Stanley Tucci in Julie & Julia. He really freaked me out in Bones. He was terrific in Julie & Julia, it just doesn’t stand out as much to me.
But I too would have liked to see a nomination for Mary and Max.
They nominated the wrong maestro of mayhem’s movie for Sound. Although Mr. Bay’s films are usually sonic rollercoasters, this one seemed more like sonic overkill (although admittedly, I had the same reaction to ARMAGEDDON when I saw it in the theatre; after seeing it on my appropriately decibelled TV, I could hear the sonic tour de force that it was). I would have no problem with Transformers 2 being nominated for Sound FX, since they had to come up with all those crazy noises, but the mix lacked the art his films’ sound mixes usually have. (Perhaps because Mr. O’Connell wasn’t behind this one…)
His partner is critical drubbery/audience appeal, Herr Roland Emmerich did a similarly all-out mayhem blockbuster this year with 2012, and while it was the most ridiculous thing put onscreen since Plan 9, his sound mixers were faced with the same level of complexity, yet they made a sonic spectacle, not an aural cacophony.
2012 was robbed for Sound!!!!
I can definitely emphasize with the Art Direction snub for Inglorious Basterds, but I’m surprised to not see more people mention the costume snub for Anna Shepperd, as well. Incredible period work, especially for the women’s wardrobe. Melanie Laurent’s costumes were gorgeous. Maybe it’s impossible for them to recognize a war film, even with as much originality in the threads as here.
Anyway, aside from that, I’m disappointed in them missing:
In the box:
Up in the Air for Editing (some of the year’s best if you ask me)
Abbie Cornish for Best Actress
Michael Stuhlberg for Best Actor
(500) Days of Summer for Best Original Screenplay
District 9 for Make-Up
Moon for Best Original Score
Out of the Box:
Peter Capaldi for Best Supporting Actor (should have won on my ballot)
The Road for Best Art Direction
Fantastic Mr. Fox for Best Art Direction (people I guess don’t realize that those sets were actually crafted)
“You’ve Got Me Wrapped Around You’re Little Finger” from An Education for Best Song
Sam Rockwell for Best Actor
I dont get all the love dor Mackie. The performances is THL are very plain and have no strong points. I would have prefer Molina to get in.
District 9 for Make Up and David Wasco for Basterds, now those are big snubs.
I thought Tucci was miles better in Bones than J&J where he was basically background scenery. Both movies were average at best, but his performance in TLB stood out to me and actually made Ronin’s disappear.
Where is Julianne Moore for “A Single Man”????!?!!?
You really think Penelope Cruz deserved it over her?
A SINGLE MAN
A SINGLE MAN
A SINGLE MAN
A SINGLE MAN
A SINGLE MAN
A SINGLE MAN.
Need I say more?
The only ommissions that stung for me:
* No love whatsoever for (500) Days of Summer
* No nominations for any of the girls from Inglourious Basterds
* No nomination for Sam Rockwell (wasn’t going to happen, but I do dream of a day when the Academy members must watch every eligible film)
I haven’t seen the majority of the nominees yet so I can’t comment on whether or not they all deserve to be there. I know Up doesn’t deserve a Best Picture nomination though.
As with several here, the Bright Star omissions (especially Actress and Cinematography) stung the most, but were not unexpected.
Julianne Moore and score for Single Man was disappointing. THL is a great film but Score is really stretching the love too far. Blind Side for BP is embarrassing but not that out of left field