# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/41 "2024-02-22T06:01:13Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > 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. I think Serkis would have deserved a nomination, but to say the on-screen performance was “all Serkis” is just wrong. No matter how much his award marketing team tries to portray characters like Gollum and Caesar as entirely his performance, they simply are not. Animators’ work was what ended up on screen, and it was most certainly not just them mindlessly using the mo-cap footage. Serkis along with performances like Ellen Degeneres as Dory in _Finding Nemo_ and Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian sure make a case that an award category for vocal performance should be a thing. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/42 "2024-02-22T08:44:30Z")
_Spotlight_ deserved its win. Not that a couple other choices wouldn’t have been good too. But I generally don’t like bio-drama/historical-drama films, and loved _Spotlight_. Come to think of it, the only other recent-ish-history-drama I liked was _The Normal Heart_. Maybe it’s just Ruffalo that makes them tolerable. Maybe I should check out _Foxcatcher_… ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/43 "2024-02-22T16:00:08Z")
+1 for Spotlight. I felt it was an A+ film. ---
**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 22, 2024, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/44 "2024-02-22T17:20:03Z")
_In Bruges_ is a great shout. Superb film. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/45 "2024-02-22T17:37:28Z")
Blade Runner should have had more…Best Supporting for Rutger Hauer, Best Director for Ridley Scott at minimum. It got shoved out by E.T. and Tootsie of all things. ---
**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 22, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/46 "2024-02-22T20:27:45Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > **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. It was eligible (the current rules say, “In an animated film, animation must figure in no less than 75 percent of the picture’s running time”), and I was also shocked when it wasn’t nominated. It is possible that there is just some sort of “Lego backlash”; the only episode of _The Simpsons_ entered in the Animated Program category that was not nominated was its Lego one. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/47 "2024-02-22T20:32:13Z")
You never really know for sure what movie is going to have legs and which ones will be quickly forgotten. Does anyone talk about _The English Patient_ these days? ---
**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 23, 2024, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/48 "2024-02-23T17:40:17Z")
Looking at the nominees for movies released in 2022 I don’t see any actor that did a better job than Eddie Redmayne in _The Good Nurse._ Fantastic job but maybe too subtle and quiet to get accolades. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/49 "2024-02-23T18:12:50Z")
_Glory_ is always my go-to in this arena. Wasn’t nominated as Best Picture, buy in my opinion it was miles better than _Driving Miss Daisy_, which won that year. At least Denzel Washington won Best Supporting Actor for his role in _Glory_, and the film got Best Cinematography. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/50 "2024-02-23T18:18:30Z")
Everything Everywhere All at Once. Won loads of awards - but was not even nominated for best costume design, which is a shocking oversight. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/51 "2024-02-23T18:31:11Z")
When I left the theater for _Arrival_ I thought for sure that Amy Adams would win for best actress. I was shocked when she wasn’t even nominated, especially where she was nominated for the Golden Globes and BAFTAs. I can’t point to an actress that should have been excluded, but it was a great performance. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/52 "2024-02-24T08:18:28Z")
First: Jeff Goldblum should have been nominated for Best Actor for **The Fly**. The film being horror/sci-fi worked against it, of course, but I wonder if it would have helped if more people had made the connection, that it was really a metaphor for AIDS? Think of it: he makes one error of judgment, and his body starts falling apart from the inside out. And no one knows a way to cure him, and anyway, he has to hide from the world because he looks so freakish. And just playing an afflicted person is often enough to get on the ballot. Anyway, 1985 was William Hurt for **Kiss of the Spider Woman**. Also-rans were Harrison Ford for **Witness** , James Garner for **Murphy’s Romance** , Jack Nicholson for **Prizzi’s Honor** , and Jon Voight for **Runway Train**. So boot out either Garner or Nicholson, and give the Oscar to Voight. Second, Tom Cruise should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for **Rain Man**. Like **Saint\_Cad** said about Denzel’s character in **Philadelphia** , Charlie has an arc, while Raymond is the same person from start to finish. Because that’s the point: it’s not about Raymond’s autism; it’s about Charlie adjusting to and accepting it. So 1988 was Kevin Kline for **A Fish Called Wanda**. Also-rans: Alec Guinness for **Little Dorrit** , Martin Landau for **Tucker: The Man and His Dream** , River Phoenix for **Running on Empty** , and Dean Stockwell for **Married to the Mob**. Guinness can go; he had **Best Actor for Bridge on the River Kwai** , and a lifetime award prior to this. Cruise can win, or Kline can still win; I always like to see performances, in something other than a heavy drama, rewarded. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/53 "2024-02-24T15:46:52Z")
Forgive the double post, but… > [@CalMeacham](#): > > But nowadays [**Cavalcade** is] the answer to a trivia question (It was reportedly Adalf Hitler’s favorite movie) I never heard that. I heard more than once that **King Kong** was his favorite movie, or one of his top favorites. Also, a correction to my earlier post. Jon Voight should have won for **RunAway Train** , not **Runway Train**. That would be a very different film! ---
**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 24, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/54 "2024-02-24T15:52:08Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Also, a correction to my earlier post. Jon Voight should have won for **RunAway Train** , not **Runway Train**. That would be a very different film! A very short 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 24, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/55 "2024-02-24T17:02:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > A very short film Not if it was on a treadmill… ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/56 "2024-02-24T17:43:08Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > It got shoved out by E.T. and Tootsie of all things. There do seem to be quite a few Best Picture winners whose cultural and critical cachet dropped like a rock in the decades after their wins, often seeming rather lightweight and insubstantial in retrospect, esp. in comparison with the competition which often gained stature over time. Shakespeare in Love Forrest Gump Dances with Wolves Out of Africa Terms of Endearment Chariots of Fire Ordinary People Kramer vs. Kramer Early 80’s seemed esp. hit by this syndrome, esp. in comparison with the winners in the '70’s. YMMV and etc. of course. ---
**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 24, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/57 "2024-02-24T18:51:11Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Out of Africa Worst Best Picture I’ve seen, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2024, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/58 "2024-02-25T02:31:35Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Worst Best Picture I’ve seen, to be honest. It’s unworthy of the award in and of itself. But what burns is, it beat out **The Color Purple**. Which, as you presumably know if you’re in this thread, got beat out in every one of the numerous categories it was nominated in. FFS, Spielberg directed two non-actors (at the time) to Oscar nominations. That doesn’t get him Best Director? And I’ve never heard of anyone making a musical based on **Out of Africa**. ---
**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 25, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/59 "2024-02-25T19:29:26Z")
Do you think having that great score boosted its popularity with the Academy? ---
**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 25, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566/60 "2024-02-25T23:22:21Z")
> [@](#): > > I never heard that. I heard more than once that **King Kong** was his favorite movie, or one of his top favorites. Id heard that about King Kong, too. I got the bit about **Cavalcade** being his favorite from the Wikipedia page. Possibly the one who contributed that had Cavalcade and King Kong mixed up. It doesn’t alter my point – whether it was a favorite of Hitler’s or not, Cavalcade is still a the answer to a trivia question, not the monument that King Kong has become. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-have-won-the-academy-award-but-not-even-nominated/997566.md?page=4)