2014 in Review: 5 Oscar Snubs and Surprises
As we barrel on through January, you’d think 2014 was done and gone. However, the 2014 movie season doesn’t really end until after the Academy Awards (a.k.a. The Oscars). Even though we’ll still be waiting until March to find out the actual winners, this past week saw the announcement of the nominees, bringing us that much closer to the real thing.
Every year there is bound to be a couple snubs and, on the flip side, surprises. This year was no exception and while I don’t consider my tastes to be very aligned with the Academy’s taste, I still found this year’s announcement highly disappointing.
For a full list of the nominees, click here. Continue on to see what I considered the five worst snubs. To go along with them, I’ll also talk about the surprises (since they generally go hand-in-hand).
Here you go:
The year’s biggest snub, far-and-away, belongs to the Best Animated Feature category. I have been real honest with my love for The LEGO Movie and while I didn’t expect it to nab a Best Picture nomination, I thought it’d still nab a nomination for Best Animated Picture. Before the nominations came out, I called that The LEGO Movie was in trouble but I didn’t expect it to be shut out of what I considered a shoo-in win after the year ended. Now Chris Lord and Phil Miller’s movie is on the outside looking in with the surprise Song of the Sea instead garnering a nomination. I can’t bash that movie since I haven’t seen it (nor really heard of it) but I can bash the Academy for leaving off a spectacular movie.
Sporting an impressive 99% on Rotten Tomatoes (which I know isn’t the end-all-be-all critical measurement) and coming in with Martin Luther King Day momentum was not enough to help Ava DuVernay’s Selma. It still garnered two nominations (one being for Best Picture, too) but DuVernay, David Oyelowo, and Paul Webb were all overlooked. On the flip side, the underwatched drumming drama Whiplash rightfully (but surprisingly) pulled out five nominations, including one for Best Picture. Impressive haul.
Oyelowo wasn’t the only Best Actor snub either. I know it’s impossible for all of the deserving actors to get recognition; however, I still think leaving Jake Gyllenhaal’s turn in Nightcrawler off the Best Actor list is inexcusable. Gyllenhaal was hands-down the best performance of the year and should not only be on the list but the winner. Alas, that’s not the case and I’ll just have to find someone else to root for. Bradley Cooper’s performance in the record-breaking American Sniper is the likely fill-in for either Oyelowo or Gyllenhaal. I was surprised he made the cut but that’s the way it goes I guess.
Again, I wasn’t banking on the fact that Gone Girl would take home the most nominations. However, as being one of my favorite movies of the year (and one of my favorite books of all-time), I was hoping it’d get at least five nominations (Best Director, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing). In the end, Rosamund Pike got Gone Girl’s lone nomination. The biggest snub had to be Gillian Flynn’s screenplay but I also feel for Fincher. Bennett Miller, on the other hand, got a surprise Best Director nomination even though Foxcatcher wasn’t nominated for a Best Picture. Since the category expanded to more than five films, there’s never been a case where a movie got nominated for Best Director and not Best Picture…until now.
Just like Selma, based on its Rotten Tomatoes score, I figured Mr. Turner would garner some attention. Then as nominations grew closer, I thought only Timothy Spall’s performance would get recognition. In the end, I think Spall’s absence could be considered a snub but was also surprised Mr. Turner garnered four other nominations. I don’t know if it’ll ultimately win but the British movie has to be happy for the recognition it did get.
What are your thoughts? Sound off below!
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