# Most outrageous Oscar winners **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2001, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617 "2001-09-04T03:49:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/1 "2001-09-04T03:49:07Z")
I’m still pissed about 1969 when **John Wayne** (True Grit) beat out **Dustin Hoffman** (Midnight Cowboy) for best actor. And, can you believe that **Rocky** was considered the best picture over **Taxi Driver** in 1976? Do I dare criticize the choice of **Julia Roberts** as best actress last year? OK. What a joke. Has she _ever_ played a role where, even for a minute, you could forget that it was Julia Roberts on the screen? [sub]Has this been done before?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![xanadu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c4cdca/32.png) [@xanadu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanadu)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/2 "2001-09-04T04:33:03Z")
I’m still wondering how Hilary Swank beat out Annette Bening for best actress. Annette Bening’s portrayal of Carolyn in American Beauty was pure comic genious IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![xanadu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c4cdca/32.png) [@xanadu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanadu)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/3 "2001-09-04T04:41:15Z")
I did a search on this and found that “Titanic” won for best picture in 1998, beating out “As Good As It Gets” and “Good Will Hunting.” Titanic?!? What were these people thinking? ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/4 "2001-09-04T05:10:51Z")
Fyi, the Internet Movie Database has a nominations and awardees database at [http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy\_Awards\_USA/](http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/) I’m always amazed that Jodie Foster (Silence of the Lambs) beat Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, both nominated for their roles in Thelma and Louise, for Best Actress in 1992. But, I remember at the time there was talk that nominating two actresses from the same film essentially split their vote. Personally, I would have voted for Susan Sarandon. More amazing to me is that Thelma and Louise wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture that year. The nominees were JFK, Bugsy, Beauty and Beast, Prince of Tides, and the winner, Silence of the Lambs. . I don’t know if Rocky is a better picture than Taxi Driver, but for what its worth, Rocky is a much better film than I remembered it being. It was on TV recently, and I was completely surprised by how good it is, and how little of it is actually about boxing. I had always thought its Academy Award was a bit unbelievable, but now I’ve downgraded it from “bonehead choice” to plain old “weird choice.” I thought Annette Benning was the best part of American Beauty, but Hilary Swank was hands down fantastic in Boys Don’t Cry. Two good performances, but Swank had the better role, IMHO, which gave her the edge on the award. I think this is an urban legend (I hope it is), but perhaps someone can shed some light on it. I’ve heard that Marisa Tomei’s 1993 award for Best Supporting Actress for My Cousin Vinny was actually a mistake, that the presenter read the wrong name as the winner. Could this possibly be true? Or is this just sour grapes from people who didn’t think a comedic role should have won over more serious contenders? ---
**Author:** ![Protesilaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/5 "2001-09-04T05:25:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by delphica \* > \*\*I think this is an urban legend (I hope it is), but perhaps someone can shed some light on it. I’ve heard that Marisa Tomei’s 1993 award for Best Supporting Actress for My Cousin Vinny was actually a mistake, that the presenter read the wrong name as the winner. Could this possibly be true? Or is this just sour grapes from people who didn’t think a comedic role should have won over more serious contenders? \*\* [It’s not true.](http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/tomei.htm) ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/6 "2001-09-04T06:17:19Z")
I still can’t believe that _Annie Hall_ won out over _Star Wars_ for best picture in 1977. I mean, **Annie Hall**?!?!! What the hell were they smokin’?! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/7 "2001-09-04T06:59:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KarlGauss \* > \*\* > And, can you believe that **Rocky** was considered the best picture over **Taxi Driver** in 1976? > > \*\* I can believe it. Taxi Driver is the worst movie I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s worse than bad. It’s in a category of it’s own several levels below the category with all the other bad movies. ---
**Author:** ![LifeWillFall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@LifeWillFall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeWillFall)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/8 "2001-09-04T07:06:01Z")
Alright, Seriously who paid off the votes to get **Forrest Gump** to win best picture over **The Shawshank Redemption**. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/9 "2001-09-04T07:29:40Z")
The worst year for best picture was without a doubt 1941. In a year that produced _Citizen Kane_, _The Maltese Falcon_, _Suspicion_, _Sergeant York_, _Dumbo_, and _Fantasia_, the best picture award went to _How Green Was My Valley_. But at least that was a good movie. Last year’s best picture wasn’t, IMO, a good movie, and the best movie of the year–_Chicken Run_–wasn’t even nominated. I gotta go to bed, but I’ll come back and rant some more. But you can’t top 1941, the low point in Academy history. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/10 "2001-09-04T12:31:46Z")
“The Greatest Show on Earth” is often listed as the worst-ever Best Picture. And John Wayne deserved his “True Grit” Oscar, especially after being robbed for “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.” > [@](#): > > Do I dare criticize the choice of Julia Roberts as best actress last year? OK. What a joke. Has she ever played a role where, even for a minute, you could forget that it was Julia Roberts on the screen? False assumption here – a good acting role does not require that you forget the star playing it. There’s a prejudice that good acting requires emoting and range, but that’s just not so. ---
**Author:** ![therealblaze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@therealblaze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/therealblaze)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/11 "2001-09-04T12:53:57Z")
The first name that came into my mind when I saw the subject was **Julia Roberts**. I Agree fully with **KarlGauss**. Awarding someone with a Oscar just for having extraordinarily big muzzle is pretty ridiculous. The Oscar should have gone to **Ellen Burstyn** or **Laura Linney**. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/12 "2001-09-04T13:15:05Z")
1983, Best Picture. _Terms of Endearment_ winning over _The Right Stuff_ was criminal. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/13 "2001-09-04T13:21:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LifeWillFall \* > \*\*Alright, Seriously who paid off the votes to get **Forrest Gump** to win best picture over **The Shawshank Redemption**. \*\* I believe that year’s best picture (I believe it was 1994) was a poster-boy for bad oscar winners. My beef is that Forrest Gump beat out both The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction. I’d have given it to PF first, TSR second, altho I think both films were vastly superior to FG. ---
**Author:** ![Lionors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@Lionors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionors)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/14 "2001-09-04T13:40:00Z")
I’m going to draw a fusillade of fire on this, but IMHO, the most outstanding ‘they picked WHAT?’ by the Academy was American Beauty. Not knocking anyone who particularly liked it, but I simply did not. Same goes for Good Will Hunting and As Good As It Gets – Good Will Hunting was at least watchable, but As Good As It Gets was simply boring. (Of course, I don’t care for Helen Hunt as an actress, either.) I generally will go out of my way to see Robin Williams and Jack Nicholson, but comparatively speaking, they’ve both had better roles in other movies. Titanic certainly had its flaws, but I could at least appreciate the amount of work and detail that went into the production. I agree with zuma, too – FG wasn’t a bad movie, but I much preferred both Shawshank and PF. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/15 "2001-09-04T13:48:00Z")
The worst was definitely the year **Jethro Tull** won the award for best heavy-metal album. I mean what were they thinking? What? What do you mean “Read the gosh-darn subject”? Oh. Then let me be the first to decry what a piece of dingo dreck **Gladiator** was. Who should’ve won? Any movie except the gloomy gladiator (and Erin Brockavich of course). ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/16 "2001-09-04T14:16:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lionors \* > **Same goes for Good Will Hunting and As Good As It Gets – Good Will Hunting was at least watchable, but As Good As It Gets was simply boring. (Of course, I don’t care for Helen Hunt as an actress, either.) I generally will go out of my way to see Robin Williams and Jack Nicholson, but comparatively speaking, they’ve both had better roles in other movies.** God I HATED As Good As it Gets. It was like being kicked in the groin for two hours. Was Nicholson even acting in that? Because it seemed to me that he was just being Jack Nicholson - that is, an arrogant asshole. OOH! I HOPE THE SWEET LADY HOOKS UP WITH THE ASSHOLE IN THE END! And I never felt like he stopped being the asshole. Even the line everyone talked about: “You make me want to be a better person.” She gave you a chance to say something nice about her and not talk about yourself and you still couldn’t do it, but apparently nobody noticed. Pah. Sorry, sorry. Bad oscar choices. Whatever got best picture instead of Pulp Fiction. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/17 "2001-09-04T14:25:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > \*\*Taxi Driver is the worst movie I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s worse than bad. It’s in a category of it’s own several levels below the category with all the other bad movies. \*\* To each his own. Still, it featured one of the greatest acting roles ever (De Niro as Travis Bickle), and it perfectly fit and depicted a bleak time in the US (mid 70’s). Parts of the movie, and even its theme, have become film icons. Plus it had a killer soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/18 "2001-09-04T15:04:42Z")
Costner ( **Dances With Wolves** ) beating out Scorsese ( **Goodfellas** ) for Best Director. Ha, I say, ha! I’ll say it again… ha! ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/19 "2001-09-04T15:30:39Z")
Shakespeare in Love winning best picture. Dancing With Wolves Art Carney beating out Al Pacino in 1974 Marisa Tomei Titanic (only best picture winner not nominated for a writing category) ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617/20 "2001-09-04T16:24:43Z")
Pretty much all the Oscars that _Shakespeare in Love_ got, with the exception of Best Costumes. Not that it was a bad movie, but it sure as hell wasn’t that good. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-outrageous-oscar-winners/79617.md?page=2)