# Should have won the Academy Award but not even nominated **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [February 14, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566 "2024-02-14T19:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/21 "2024-02-15T22:14:10Z")
Best Visual Effects is a crazy Oscar because prior to 1997 there would only be 2-3 films nominated and some years there would no films nominated and thus no award. So many films with amazing special effects got shafted. Mary Poppins won in 1964 and was one of only two films nominated, but they should have given Goldfinger that nomination too at least. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2024, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/22 "2024-02-19T07:42:34Z")
Two performances that I think could have won for Best Supporting Actor: **Eli Wallach** in _the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ (1966) **Jeff Daniels** in _Pleasantville_ (1998) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/23 "2024-02-19T09:08:55Z")
IMO, The Third Man was the best movie of 1949. It wasn’t released in the U.S. until 1950, though, and the American version had eleven minutes cut out of it and the voice-over intro changed. It won the Oscar for black and white cinematography in 1951, and was nominated for direction and editing. I believe the original 1949 version should have been released in the U.S., and should have been nominated for best picture. The winner of best picture in 1950 was All the King’s Men, and in 1951 it was All About Eve. The former is a pretty good movie, and the latter is a true classic. I like The Third Man better than either of them. It’s in many critics’ lists of all-time greatest films. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/24 "2024-02-19T09:51:36Z")
Regina Hall delivered a brilliant performance in _Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul_. Still makes me angry that she didn’t even get a nomination, but I can’t begrudge Michelle Yeoh’s win for _Everything Everywhere All At Once_. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/25 "2024-02-19T10:24:53Z")
Andy Serkis wasn´t even nominated for playing Gollum in _The Two Towers_. The Academy gave the bullshit excuse that the final onsceen product was CGI, when anyone with half a brain could see that the voice and mocap performance was all Serkis. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/26 "2024-02-19T10:34:51Z")
Continuing along the line of bullshit excuses: _Tron_ wasn’t nominated for Best Visual Effects because the Academy felt that the use of computers was cheating. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/27 "2024-02-19T18:46:49Z")
Not a complete snub, as it was up for (but lost) for Best Foreign Language Picture, but I was astounded that Zhang Yimou’s 2003 _Hero_ wasn’t even nominated for Best Cinematography. It’s a visually stunning, breathtakingly beautiful film. A moving and well-written story, too, with solid performances from Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi, and Chen Daoming, and first rate acting from Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. _Hero_ is my response whenever the question arises whether propaganda can be good art. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/28 "2024-02-19T19:19:52Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > There are several examples that spring to mind of excellent, groundbreaking films that weren’t nominated for Best Picture by the Academy because they were the “wrong kind” of films – i.e. works in genres like animation, science fiction or superhero films that academy voters of the time looked down their noses at. I’d say the following are better than the actual Oscar winner: > > _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_ (Best Picture winner: _The Life of Emile Zola_) > _2001: A Space Odyssey_ (Best Picture winner: _Oliver!_) > _The Dark Knight_ (Best Picture winner: _Slumdog Millionaire_) The authors of **The Making of King Kong** (Goldner and Turner 1976) complained that the film was not nominated in any category (unfortunately there was at that time no “Best Special Effects” category; it would’ve won hands down. They _invented_ new SPX techniques for that movie). The movie that won was _Cavalcade_, a movie that’s pretty obscure these days. They even titled one chapter of their book “Remember _Cavalcade_?” (co-author Turner worked on the effects team.) Cavalcade took not only Best Picture, but Best Director and Best Art Direction. DianaWynyard was nominated for Best Actress but lost. The movie was a box office success, and was based on a Noel Coward play, so you can understand its winning. But nowadays it’s the answer to a trivia question (It was reportedly Adalf Hitler’s favorite movie), while everyone has seen or knows about King Kong, and its been remade twice. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/29 "2024-02-20T10:38:13Z")
I disagree about the story, given that there was about ten minutes of actual plot in the film, but you’re absolutely right about the cinematography. It’s a _gorgeous_ film. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/30 "2024-02-20T15:06:27Z")
I always felt that Scarlett Johansson should have been nominated for her work in **Her** (2013), which was voice-only, but was an important part of that film. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/31 "2024-02-20T19:20:34Z")
_Hoop Dreams_ for Documentary Feature. IIRC, the Academy actually changed the rules for determining the nominees in this category because of it. One with an asterisk: _Como Agua Para Chocolate_ (_Like Water for Chocolate_) for International (Foreign Language) Film. It _was_ submitted, but the version that was entered was an earlier, weaker, edit; the version most people are familiar with was a later edit. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/32 "2024-02-21T20:43:31Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > I always felt that Scarlett Johansson should have been nominated for her work in **Her** (2013), which was voice-only, but was an important part of that film. That was a great movie. I felt sorry for Samantha Morton, though, who did the AI’s voiceover, largely delivering the dialogue from a soundproof box out of frame on set, and then was replaced by Johansson during post production. (no idea how amicable the parting was, though Morton did ultimately wind up with an Associate Producer credit) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/33 "2024-02-21T21:17:01Z")
**The Lego Movie** was _miles_ better than the winner **Big Hero 6** , yet didn’t even get nominated. I don’t know whether it was disqualified because there was a short live action sequence in it, or whether the Academy are just assholes. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/34 "2024-02-21T21:51:38Z")
I really wouldn’t agree with that, but each to their own! _Big Hero 6_ was great. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/35 "2024-02-21T22:05:22Z")
_Ex Machina_ in 2016. It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and won Best Visual Effects. Winner and nominees that year for Best Picture: - **_[Spotlight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_(film))_ – [Michael Sugar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sugar), [Steve Golin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Golin), [Nicole Rocklin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Rocklin) and [Blye Pagon Faust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blye_Pagon_Faust)**‡ - _[The Big Short](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Short_(film))_ – [Brad Pitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Pitt), [Dede Gardner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dede_Gardner) and [Jeremy Kleiner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Kleiner) - _[Bridge of Spies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Spies_(film))_ – [Steven Spielberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg), [Marc Platt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Platt_(producer)) and [Kristie Macosko Krieger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristie_Macosko_Krieger) - _[Brooklyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_(film))_ – [Finola Dwyer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finola_Dwyer) and [Amanda Posey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Posey) - _[Mad Max: Fury Road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Max:_Fury_Road)_ – [Doug Mitchell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Mitchell_(film_producer)) and [George Miller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Miller_(filmmaker)) - _[The Martian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(film))_ – [Simon Kinberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Kinberg), [Ridley Scott](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridley_Scott), [Michael Schaefer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schaefer_(producer)) and [Mark Huffam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Huffam) - _[The Revenant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revenant_(2015_film))_ – [Arnon Milchan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnon_Milchan), [Steve Golin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Golin), [Alejandro G. Iñárritu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Gonz%C3%A1lez_I%C3%B1%C3%A1rritu), [Mary Parent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Parent) and [Keith Redmon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Redmon) - _[Room](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_(2015_film))_ – [Ed Guiney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Guiney) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/36 "2024-02-21T22:09:20Z")
Wow, what a bad winner. Mad Max 4 and The Martian were much, much better. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/37 "2024-02-21T23:34:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The authors of **The Making of King Kong** (Goldner and Turner 1976) complained that the film was not nominated in any category (unfortunately there was at that time no “Best Special Effects” category; it would’ve won hands down. They _invented_ new SPX techniques for that movie). The movie that won was _Cavalcade_, a movie that’s pretty obscure these days. They even titled one chapter of their book “Remember _Cavalcade_?” (co-author Turner worked on the effects team.) > > Cavalcade took not only Best Picture, but Best Director and Best Art Direction. DianaWynyard was nominated for Best Actress but lost. > > The movie was a box office success, and was based on a Noel Coward play, so you can understand its winning. But nowadays it’s the answer to a trivia question (It was reportedly Adalf Hitler’s favorite movie), while everyone has seen or knows about King Kong, and its been remade twice. I don’t know about Adalf Hitler… 🙂 About King Kong (1933), I liked always the take from Danny Peary’s “Alternate Oscars” book: > The best picture was won then by Cavalcade… you do remember that one huh? > > It won over: > > \*A Farewell to Arms, 42nd Street, I’m a fugitive from a Chain Gang, The Private life of Henry VII \*and a few others. > > Ten movies were nominated then, still (!) there was no room to include: > > Duck Soup, Dinner at Eight, Queen Christina, Trouble in Paradise, The Mummy, The Invisible Man and… > > … the greatest, most popular, most entertaining, most influential, most fascinating horror-fantasy film ever made. > > (The original) [King Kong]. Because of its genre it was snubbed by the elitist Academy – a Kong size blunder. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/38 "2024-02-21T23:46:28Z")
[**Out of the Furnace**](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1206543/) should have won the Oscar for best picture and best actor, in 2013. Check out the cast, and all were in their best form: - [Christian Bale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Bale) as Russell Baze - [Woody Harrelson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Harrelson) as Harlan DeGroat - [Casey Affleck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Affleck) as Rodney Baze Jr. - [Forest Whitaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Whitaker) as Chief Wesley Barnes - [Willem Dafoe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Dafoe) as John Petty - [Zoë Saldana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Salda%C3%B1a) as Lena Taylor - [Sam Shepard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Shepard) as Gerald “Red” Baze This is one of the best picture I’ve seen in years and the most underrated of the last couple of decades. 2013’s winners were **Argo** (best pic) Daniel Day Lewis (best actor) for **Lincoln**. It really pains me that this movie was overlooked. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/39 "2024-02-22T00:17:09Z")
In Bruges is one of my favorite movies and it was only nominated for Best Screenplay. Every performance is great, the score is great, the directing is great. Martin McDonagh has yet to equal it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/40 "2024-02-22T01:09:36Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > I really wouldn’t agree with that, but each to their own! _Big Hero 6_ was great. I think they were both great. I don’t know if I could pick between them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566.md?page=3)