Lunchtime Poll: Oscar omissions... the ones that sting?
Monday, March 15, 2021 at 1:51PM by Nathaniel R
A lot of people -- including me! -- wanted to see Delroy Lindo nominated
Cláudio will be sounding off on the "almost there" class of 2020 soon but until then, let's get the disappointments out of our system before we concentrate on enjoying the rest of the Oscar race, which has now entered it's second phase.
Here's to the fallen! Which misses on Oscar nom morning -- our Christmas! -- are the closest things to coals in your stocking? I'll start with the five I (virtually) weep for outside of the acting categories...
5. Florian Zeller missing in Best Director
Though we've been fans of Another Round's Thomas Vinterberg for 22 years (starting with the incredible Celebration in 1998) we were hoping for Zeller to be the surprise nominee. Of all the play-to-movie adaptations this year, his was the one that most succeeded in reinventing itself as cinema. But his work was subtle and therefore unlikely. But let's end with a happy thought: The Best Director nominations are quite fabulous this year in multiple ways so this is a very minor sorrow AND Zeller is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay so he is still being honored for this great movie.
4. First Cow missing for Adapted Screenplay OR Palm Springs missing in Original
Either of these well loved pictures landing in screenplay -- they're both nominees right here -- would have reminded audiences that great cinema can happen at any time of the year. Greatness need not wait around until Oscar campaigning begins. Both were beauifully written and superior to a few of the Academy chosen.
3. Multiple Short Films.
This year we were able to screen 27 of the 30 finalists for the three short film categories and we're actually quie disappointed in the sets of nominees chosen. That's especially true for Kapaemahu in Animated an evocative short about transgender spirits and Hawaiian mythology (two of the ten finalists in that category were queer but both LGBT options missed the nomination), Speed Cubers in doc short which should have won handily but didn't even score a nod (must have been too happy for the Academy in the category often focused on misery) and Almodovar's The Human Voice in live action which really towers over most of the selections in artistry.
2. Promising Young Woman missing in Best Costume Design
We knew this was unlikely despite the CDG nomination. Oscar only very rarely acknowledges that contemporary films employ designers of any kind. But costuming superbly in modern era films is not a piece of cake and there's so many fun detail in these choices -- we especially love the progressive saturation of pink florals as Cassie starts dropping her guard around the new man in her life.
1. Welcome to Chechnya missing for Visual Effects
It's quite disappointing that Oscar's VFX branch went as traditional and CG cartoon as they could, ignoring the only VFX work that was literally life changing and will continue to be used and developed for future documentaries. It was the very best of the 10 finalists but wasn't even granted a nomination. This miss truly stings.
Reader Comments (61)
I corrected predicted Best Director, so Madds missing was disappointing. Also Delroy.
What everyone said, I so wish for the following to happen:
First Cow
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Dear Comrades
Two of Us
La Llorona
Bacurau
Tahar Rahim, Sidney Flanigan, Talia Shire, Barbara Sukowa, Glynn Turman, Charles Dance, Candice Bergen, John Magaro, Swankie and Linda May
Florian Zeller, William Tyler (score for First Cow), Kelly Reichardt and Jon Raymond, Eliza Hittman, and screenplay for Mank.
Dominique Fishback, who gives the second best supporting actress performance of the year, is robbed by morbid obcessssion of oscarless white actress and white mediocrity celebrating cult.
Sam, the true Glenn Close fans actually wanted her to miss the nomination, NOT get it and surely win. As the rare non-Meryl American actress over 60 who can rack up 3 nominations in 10 years we have faith she can win deservingly one day. (Fingers crossed for Sunset Boulevard!)
The bitter and malicious miscategorising of Close fans in the comments lately is mindboggling. The only people who want her to win for that are career and makeup award obsessives like Three Artful.
_Best International Film
La Llorona
Ya no estoy aquí (I'm No Longer Here)
Very disappointed and sad not to see these two Latin American films among the nominees. La Llorona would have made history for Guatemalan and Central American cinema. While the Mexican film would have been a very worthy deserving of the nomination.
I'm sad La Llorona didn't make the final five either, Harmodio.
A Claudio piece will ease all disappointments. Maybe not the Close coronation happening this way. As somebody said, the rare older actress that isn't Meryl that can get three nominations in ten years! The lady will be back and deserving again. Please Academy, honestly eqch of the other four options are better this year and at this time.
I wonder if Almodovar's short wasn't nominated because the shorts branch doesn't want name auteurs crashing their branch as a perceived easy route to an Oscar. I was torn about it myself. Shorts can be a way for new filmmakers (like Andrea Arnold, once upon a time) to make a mark and establish themselves, and it's tough for them to compete against someone like Almodovar, who can work with practically anyone and has a comparably large budget. OTOH, I love shorts, and it's fun to see what established auteurs create in that format. If the Oscar is an incentive for more great work, so much the better...
Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Palm Springs, Swallow and Birds of Prey for costuming! Come on! Also Helena Zengel for News of The World. If Glenn Close gets her Oscar for this performance I'm not sure what I'll do.
'Da 5 bloods' is a mess. I think it doesn't deserve any nomination in acting categories. And the music? It is the worst of its aspects. I don't understand that unexpected nomination. Zero nominations would be more deserving.
Snubbing the Almodovar/Swinton collab.........homophobia at its finest.