Team Experience Grieving the Oscar Shut-Outs
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 8:00AM Nathaniel R
We're not supposed to use the word "snub" anymore (stop trying to make "snubbed" rehappen). It's true that it's become overused to the point of insanity. The word implies a purposeful disdain, a rebuff, when Oscar voters surely aren't saying "ugh, that Franco!" when they vote (errr, bad example perhaps they were). The point is they're merely voting on the ones they keep hearing about their favorites. Some films and performances and achievements just don't quite make the cut. And who knows? Someone or something you love might have been one vote shy of a nomination so it wasn't "snubbed" at all, just unlucky! This is what I'm choosing to believe about Jake Gyllenhaal's raw, rangey, vulnerable, and altogether stunning turn in Stronger. He's one of his generations very best actors and keeps proving it in film after film and they just keep ignoring him year after year. It's driving me mad. So...
Which omission pissed you off the most? That's the question that I ask you in the comments and that I already asked the (usually) Oscar loving Team Experience. Their angry-fun answers are after the jump...
WHICH OSCAR OMISSION PISSED YOU OFF THE MOST?
CHRIS FEIL: Tiffany Haddish wasn't exactly the likeliest of nominees, but her Girls Trip performance is one of the performances we'll be adoring long after the Oscar ceremony. As if the notion that Oscar doesn't reward comedy needed fuel added to its fire - if only Tiffany could have ziplined over that fire and, well, put it out.
GLENN DUNKS: I had resigned myself to the obvious fact that Tiffany Haddish was not going to be nominated, but to then invite her to announce the nominees so we can witness that first hand? Yikes. I know the category was stacked - my heart aches for Hong Chau, thwarted by giving a great performance in a disappointing film that I don't feel people allowed themselves to see the virtues of (those visual effects! that production design!) - but it just came off as rude.
TEO BUGBEE: Lady Bird for Best Editing. Economic, elegant editing, but each cut has impact.
MATTHEW ENG: Paul Thomas Anderson’s funny, full-hearted, and deeply audacious script for Phantom Thread really couldn’t claim a spot in Original Screenplay amid Guillermo Del Toro and Vanessa Taylor’s absurd fish-shtupping and Martin McDonagh’s clunky portents and insulting medley of gendered, racialized, and sizeist stereotypes? Sometimes the writers’ branch gets it, but other times it’s just a sucker for flashy narrative gimmicks.
DEBORAH LIPP: The haunting and heartbreaking Wind River could surely have earned one nomination somewhere. What pisses me off is, truth be told, not that it wasn't nominated, but that it never made it to the conversation. No one discussed it as a possibility, no one found it "buzzworthy." This wonderful movie deserved better.
TIMOTHY BRAYTON: I had cocooned myself in enough cynicism that I didn't expect good things to happen, but Call Me by Your Name missing both Supporting Actor bids was certainly... annoying.
KIERAN SCARLETT: Hong Chau for Downsizing. She's very good in that movie. Better than it deserves. And I was really rooting for her.
ILICH MEJIA: Not thrilled The Big Sick’s Holly Hunter missed out for making the concerned mother funny, intelligent, kind, and then some. Wish she’d have been there to heckle the announcement (if only to woo-hoo Lesley Manville’s nomination: heckling doesn’t have to be negative).
SPENCER COILE: Where on earth is The Beguiled? I would’ve been happy with a Kirsten Dunst nomination, an Adapted Screenplay nomination, a Costume Design nomination. Anything!
JASON ADAMS: My first thought was Stuhlbarg but I'm more sad than angry about that (I know he'll get his due soon) - I think I'm angrier about the lack of love for Luca Guadagnino all season long. There isn't an element of CMBYN that Luca didn't wrangle into a visual and aural feast, from the performances to the look to the music, the whole damn thing works, and it's both a departure for him (kinder, more bucolic and adult, less show-offy) while it also couldn't have been made by anyone else.
BEN MILLER: Armie Hammer. That performance is incredibly difficult to pull off. You have to toe the line between manipulation and adoration. At no point did I feel like Oliver was corrupting Elio and their romance became immediately intimate in ways film rarely shows. Transformative stuff. I will never understand why he failed to gain the traction he deserved while Richard Jenkins (who I always enjoy) gets a nod for a listless performance.
JOHN GUERIN: My heart truly breaks for Annette Bening, fantastic and eminently deserving of a nomination for Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool.
ERIC BLUME: James Franco. He was astonishing and found the heart of that crazy guy, without going soft. And what does Jessica Chastain have to do for another nomination? We've seen Meryl do what she does in The Post before, and her slot should have gone to Jessica's resourceful, smashing, funny work in Molly's Game.
But, as you might have guessed, dear reader. One name kept popping up in the conversation...
KATEY RICH: Justice for Michael Stuhlbarg! At this point he's just going to win for some subpar performance in two decades because everyone feels guilty for snubbing him so long, but it would have been so lovely to see him nominated for being the beating heart of his film.
SEÁN MCGOVERN: I join the chorus of queers lamenting the same name: Michael Stuhlbarg. There's a reason so many of us desired that this tender-hearted progressive father receive his just rewards. And it's a true supporting role: quiet, warm, unshowy. There's a place for these performances. Just not at the 90th Oscars!
NICK DAVIS: I don't really know what Michael Stuhlbarg had to do to garner a nomination or any awards traction whatsoever except be quietly but unmistakably stupendous in a genuinely supporting role in one of the three Best Picture nominees in which he appeared, but I guess that's just not enough. Runner-up is Félicité for Foreign Film, but I was already less optimistic about that one.
DANCIN DAN: The lack of Armie Hammer and/or Michael Stuhlbarg in Supporting Actor. If forced to pick one of them for my ballot, it would be Stuhlbarg, who would frankly win the category hands down with his line reading of "Nature has cunning ways of finding our weakest spot" ALONE. It's the kind of small-scale, generous, film-elevating work that this category was designed to honor, and he was a key ensemble member in THREE of the Best Picture nominees this year! A nomination for his finest work of the year would have been the least AMPAS could do honor this hard-working, humble performer.
Your turn. Which snub sent you into a rage spiral?
Reader Comments (103)
Betty Gabriel in Get Out. Hers was the best performance on that film.
I haven't seen Wonderstruck but I'm excited to watch Moore in another Haynes movie.
It seems like Julianne Moore has two completely different careers: as a leading lady, and as a supporting actress.
Weirdly, since Boogie Nights, Oscar is only interested in her as a leading lady (The Hours was a leading role within its own story). But she's top-of-the-list for supporting parts in studio movies—many that have been unworthy of her gifts.
If she wins a second Oscar I hope it's for Best Supporting Actress—it's a fully developed area of her career and gifts that deserves recognition. One of her best qualities is making you feel and miss her presence when she's offscreen, the way she looms over A Single Man and Children of Men...and leading ladies never get to do that.
i know she was never in the coversation but i would have loved amira casar to have received a nomination. i know it's just a small role but she is so perfect. michael stuhlbarg should have been nominated too.
I agree about Wind River, one of my top 3 of the year. Also Stuhlbarg was deserving not only for CMBYN but for giving my 2nd favorite perf in Shape of Water, behind Sally Hawkins. Lastly I never believed Betty Gabriel had a shot for Get Out, but man I would have loved that nom.
Jessica Chastain is one of our preeminent actress, and she's been snubbed now three times. I don't get it. If you watch her performance in Molly's Game and then Meryl's in The Post, there just is not contest as to who gives the better performance. It's not even CLOSE. I believe Meryl is very good in the movie, but she's also playing a grand dame type, and this just reinforces her staid image as the Queen of the Oscars. It's so depressing. Sigh.
James Franco because he created a rich, funny, entertaining and original portrait that at least warranted a nom, regardless of if he's been inappropriate off-screen. Possibly more likely, the endless bias against comedy work was a factor- Jack Lemmon said "comedy is harder" and Franco's performance was a hoot, but not a cinch to pull it off.
Pfeiffer also supplied some much-needed lighter moments in "Mother!" and hit it out of the park in her big "Orient Express" dramatic scene- hope she can score next time at bat.
Momentum is what Oscar wins are made of and I think Jake,Michelle,Jessica,Annette and Michael all just built even more goodwill toward them and hopefully voters won't underappreciate them next time out.
I'd wager to say many people are so smitten with Stuhlbarg in that film because he supplies a kind of wish-fulfillment for those (queer and otherwise) who never had such a compassionate, candid, understanding adult figure in their lives. This may cloud judgment. Did he really deserve a nomination for a single monologue? I would say no. He's a marvelous actor and will receive his Oscar due one day!
The most stinging miss for me was Hong Chau.
If (and that's a big if) Jessica Chastain has been snubbed three times, maybe the problem is that people are just not that into her. Agree that she and Jake are not beloved, not by a long shot.
PS, I have also heard people say that Annette may not get nominated because she is on the Board of Governors of the Academy, and it may feel awkward for people to nominate her. If she were not such an insider, maybe she would have better chances for nominations.
Marie, it shouldn't matter if you're beloved. The acting is the only thing that should matter when getting an Oscar nomination.
Troy -- Loved your mention of the great Harry Dean Stanton. Same goes for Lois Smith. Clearly this is not the 80s
From the moment "Stronger" flopped in a big way at Box Office in September, Gyllenhaal would have difficulties to get the Oscar nom. The SAG and GG nom only confirmed the final sentence. Sad? Yes, but it was too obvious Gyllenhaal would be left out and like happened with Chastain, they may be respected but not exactly beloved. Neverthless, people want to hope the impossible dreams.
The saddest snub is perhaps Hong Chau. Not only she was amazing, but she elevated the film. If it wasn't a full flop and Damon didn't came with his verbal disaster, Chau may have better chances and the Asian representation would have a compelling actress.
Remember when people were saying in 2012 that Jessica Chastain was the next Meryl Streep? .... Sigh. Fabulous performer but she may grow more into a Lauren Bacall type when it comes to being recognized by her peers.
I think Chastain's projects just aren't what people really go for,political lobbyists,gambling queens etc,there's always a samey vibe about her roles,her line readings can sound flat without nuance,I am always aware of her striving to be gr8 in a role and being merely solid.
Overall I'm feeling very disappointed in the nominations this year.
Call Me By Your Name missing in supporting actor (x2), directing, cinematography
Get Out missing in editing and supporting actress
Wonderstruck, Sacred Deer, and The Beguiled were not universally loved movies but they did deserve some attention in a few of the tech categories
Emotion and falling in love with the performance has a lot to do with it. I also question why you think your judgement is better than the actor's branch, or why you are starting a meme that Jessica has been repeatedly snubbed. That kind of negative thinking will only harm her in the future when they consider whether to ever nominate her again. But whatever, go for it!
what about Annette Benning!!! 2 years in a row shut out....
Can you be nominated if you're a working actor and on the Academy's Board of Governors? I almost wonder if there is some sort of stipulation that states a governor cannot be nominated (or maybe Tom and Annette have simply taken themselves out of the running because of their affiliation with the board).
Isn't Laura Dern a governor now? Guess no noms for her - at least for the time being.
I'm most disappointed that Luca Guadagnino wasn't nominated for Best Directing and that Michael Stuhlbarg wasn't nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
I have little time for the arguments that Guadagnino failed by panning to the window. No single gay-themed movie should carry the burden of decades of underrepresentation...and besides, Call Me By Your Name is one of the most overt and open gay romances I've ever seen in a film. It really wouldn't have added anything other than gratuitousness to see the two of them having sex. It would have taken us out of the movie.
As for Stuhlbarg, I actually think his big speech scene towards the end of the movie may have counted against him. So much has been made of it (understandably, as it's impeccable) that people may think that that's all his performance was about. He's excellent throughout the film, doing great supporting work in scene after scene. A true supporting performance. Sometimes the Oscars do notice quiet and subtle (e.g. I strongly believe that Jacki Weaver is excellent in Silver Linings Playbook and deserved her nomination) - unfortunately, they didn't quite go there with Stuhlbarg this time.
But on the plus side, it did get four nominations (I cheered for Best Original Song!), and I hope it wins at least Adapted Screenplay. Anbd yes, I'm sure Stuhlbarg will be in the conversation again before too long. He deserves to be.
Stuhlbarg hands down, I also thought the costume design in CMBYN was nomination worthy also.
Also, can we celebrate the fact that even though some of our favorites didn't get a nomination, both the supporting categories are all filled with supporting actors this year? The only one that comes close to a lead in their film is Rockwell.
jones--- I think two things stopped Chastain from becoming another Streep. Firstly, her failed Broadway gambit (The Heiress in 2012). That was supposed to confer the "great actress of the stage" tag that other major film actresses have gotten (Streep in her Tony nominated youth, Blanchett, Kidman in her UK stage work etc). Chastain was massively hyped on her Julliard stage training when she came on the scene, to remind people that she was a "real actress", not just a pretty face with great bone structure for films. A lot was expected of her in a Broadway stage performance.
A major stage success (combined with her praised film work) would have legitimised Chastain as THE new great actress of our time. Had The Heiress been a huge critical triumph for Chastain, her respect level would have gone through the roof, and considering her overt oscarbaiting, I think she'd have likely become a perinnial nominee. However, The Hieress was a critical flop, and major publications like the New York Times shredded Chastain's performance as that of a lightweight stage actor. The Broadway flop was a huge blow to Chastain's ambitions for greatness.
Second reason, is probably she's a bit too loud and outspoken on social media, and some of her peers might find her a bit annoying. And she's not respected enough to overcome that stigma (which she might have been if the broadway thing worked out)
Amen @Rami. So glad the supporting performers are genuinely supporting this time out (w/ I suppose Rockwell just on the edge). As it should be, every year.
Let's see... I was really hoping for an Oscar nomination for Tiffany Haddish as I felt it would've been different and fun.
I'm really pissed off that Boss Baby got an Oscar nod when it should've gone to The Lego Batman Movie which is so fun to watch.
I'm extremely upset that Wonder Woman received 0 nominations. That is fucking bullshit. It should've got nominated for Best Picture, maybe Best Director for Patty Jenkins in the fifth slot with Greta Gerwig (though I don't have a problem with the people who are nominated), Best Adapted Screenplay, costume design, sound mixing/sound editing, visual effects, and Best Actress to Gal Gadot.
Wind River for Best Actor for Jeremy Renner and Best Original Screenplay. The Beguiled for Best Picture, Best Direction for Sofia Coppola, Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Editing, Sound Mixing, and Costume Design.
The MCU films for visual effects, sound editing, and sound mixing plus a Best Supporting nod for Michael Rooker for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Emotion and falling in love with the performance has a lot to do with it. I also question why you think your judgement is better than the actor's branch, or why you are starting a meme that Jessica has been repeatedly snubbed. That kind of negative thinking will only harm her in the future when they consider whether to ever nominate her again. But whatever, go for it!
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Marie, it's your judgment that I question. Your basic reasoning is flawed, to say the least. Anyone who thinks someone has been snubbed thinks their judgment is better than the actor's branch. Duh. I didn't start any meme. And AMPAS doesn't even know and isn't even aware of my opinion, so how could it affect Jessica's future chances? Time somebody had a reality check.
What's a meme?
A meme is a viral riff that gets promulgated, whether it is true or not. As for Chastain, Gold Derby had the odds of her being nominated this year as 80-1. Like Jake, it was not expected to happen. Franco told Vanity Fair/sources that he was relieved he was not nominated but doesn’t want people to think it’s because of the current sexual harassment allegations.
"Ugh, James Franco!" is something I find myself saying all the time.
Wonder Woman not getting Best Picture nom. I CRIED SO HARD AT THE END.
"The Star" for Best Original Song.
Michelle Pfeiffer for mother! Which I pretend was really called michelle!
Yes, Franco deserved a nom.
My favorite leading actress performance this year was Kate Winslet's in Wonder Wheel.
Streep just joined Big Little Lies Season 2!!
I know I'm in the minority here, but I truly believed that Coco deserved to be in the Best Picture conversation more than it was. I truly believe it was the best film of the year. To quote my review, "This film is an example of Pixar at their very best, managing to combine dark and melancholy themes with a sense of childlike wonder." It also marks the first time in four years I've felt compelled to see a film multiple times in the theater.
Mudbound should have been a best picture nom -- screenplay, cinematography, acting and music nods, but no BP? And Dee Rees should have been in the best director conversation.
Get Out deserved an editing nomination. WTF is Three Billboards doing with an editing nomination??
And double WTF: a score nomination for Three Billboards? Burwell's music was a disaster, completely at odds with the tone of the script, sending all the wrong cues. I believe one of the reasons the film has such strong detractors (I'm one of them) is because the music completely fucks up the tone, telling us to take the whole thing emotionally when the script is a farce.
Michael Stuhlbarg
DUNKIRK for Original Screenplay (certainly better writing than 3B and THE BIG SICK's constantly making a punchline out of south Asian women!)
Straight Oscar voters probably feel Richard Jenkins is playing a safer gay character- apart from flirting with the pie guy there is nothing homosexual about him and hey he is old time movie loving queen- and I do think he does deserve the nomination. Sorry I really still do not understand all the praise for "Phantom Thread"
Aside from all the CMBYN misses (Luca, Stuhlbarg, cinematography, Hammer in that order), the thing That saddens me most is Foxtrot missing out. That film is so challenging and mysterious... it deserved a spot over The Insult, which is far more passé.
Hustler...right on about 3B's music.
Strich: glad to know I'm not alone in my rage spiral ;)
VICKY KRIEPSTINA BARSNUBLONA
"In a Heartbeat" missing made me more upset than Stuhlbarg's miss. That short was one of the best things about 2017.
I'm really not too upset about any of the omissions at this point. I thought Wind River was well acted by Renner and most of the cast, but it was just so poorly written IMO. I had a few issues with Armie's performance thought it was mostly very good, and Stuhlbarg's didn't jump off the screen for me like it did for most. Franco was awesome, but it was more of an impression than a full-fledged character at times. I'd probably say if anything Guadaguino and Gylenhaal are my least favorite omissions. As well as Michelle Pfeiffer, who didn't stand a chance.
I think Jenkins' nom was well deserved.
Kate Winslet for Best Actress
Michael Stuhlbarg for Supporting Actor
Killing of a Sacred Deeer for Screenplay
The Meyerowitz Stories somewhere, anywhere.
"Ugh, that Franco": I haven't seen anyone mention this, but I think more than a few Academy members remembered, when casting their Oscar nomination ballots, how James Franco seemingly checked out in the middle of his hosting duties at the
2011201083rd Academy Awards, and acted accordingly. Y'know, sort of how Richard Gere's "Free Tibet" moment probably cost him that nomination for Chicago.For Winslet and Pfeiffer, maybe it's interesting to considering how both performances were closer of the Razzies that the Oscars lol.
Betty Gabriel's role was too small for get out and other then that one scene, she did nothing of substance in that movie. Not to say she wasn't awesome just that she wasn't Oscar awesome.
Allison Williams on the other hand...
Gyllenhaal missing Best Actor for "Stronger"... Since I was pretty sure the Academy wouldn't give Franco a nom because of the sexual assault accusations, I thought there was hope for Gyllenhaal who's one of the best working actors today and he's overdue for a 2nd nomination (after "Prisoners", "Nightcrawler" and now "Stronger").
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And Jessica Chastain missing Best Actress for "Molly's Game". Like it was mentioned above "What the hell does she have to do to get a third nomination?", We are talking about the very same actress that delivered award-worthy performances in "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby", "A Most Violent Year", "Miss Sloane" and now "Molly's Game". I thought she was "Meryl Streepin' her career, but now I think she's "Scarlett Johanssoning" it
Wind River has Zero Nominations? Really? It should have been a certified Best Pic Nominee, is director, screenplay and editing are amazing. Sad it was boycotted by everyone because it was distributed by the Weinsteins... Poor Taylor Sheridan who is paying for somebody else's crimes. In my opinion, this year, not a single best picture nominee is better than Wind River, best film of 2017, hands down...
Jessica Chastain is not getting nominated because she is ALWAYS playing the same one-note, sassy, empowered woman that speaks fast and is brainy and she actually isn't playing it really well.
Dg--Guess that means you haven't seen The Tree of Life, Take Shelter or Crimson Peak.