Okay so the Oscar noms came out this morning (LINK) and I have a long list of complaints for this pathetic excuse of a nomination list, shall we begin?
Best Picture:
Gone Girl
-It definitely deserved a nomination here
Best Actor:
David Oyelowo – Selma
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
-Bradley Cooper and Steve Carrell should NOT be nominated over David Oyelowo and Jake Gyllenhaal. Between Oyelowo’s stunning performance as Martin Luther King and Gyllenhaal’s instantly iconic creeper in Lou Bloom both deserved recognition. Some debate could even be made for Tom Hardy in Locke as well as Ralph Fiennes in Grand Budapest Hotel.
Best Actress:
Amy Adams – Big Eyes
-Very surprised that Amy Adams is not nominated given her recent Golden Globe win, but for the most part this category was right.
Best Director
Ava DuVernay – Selma
Clint Eastwood – American Sniper
-This category is one of my biggest piss offs. One of these two are easily more worthy of a nomination over Foxcatcher, and the lack of praise for Selma is disappointing. Seems the Academy has been very biased in their decisions. I just hope it doesn’t go to Boyhood.
Animated Feature
The LEGO Movie
-Okay now seriously what the fuck? The LEGO Movie is not even nominated? This is total bullshit. I enjoyed this movie far more than How to Train Your Dragon 2 or Big Hero 6 and it was widely acclaimed yet gets no recognition? Again you fucked up Academy.
Film Editing
Birdman
-How is Birdman not nominated for this category? The filmmakers used the magic of editing to create a continuous shot throughout the entire film! I would’ve rather had Birdman win this category instead of be nominated in Cinematography (which should go to Grand Budapest Hotel).
Makeup and Hairstyling
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
-How do any of the nominated films exceed the amount of time and precision it took to create each of the dwarves costumes? There is a lot of prosthetics used so to me this feels like a snub.
Music – Original Score
Gone Girl
-I haven’t seen Mr. Turner yet so cannot count it out, but Gone Girl’s music was SOOO GOOOD. I mean it perfectly encompassed the creepy Hitchcockian vibe of the film. The lack of nominations for Gone Girl is a bit pathetic.
Music – Original Song
The Hanging Tree – Mockingjay Part 1 (If it were allowed)
The Last Goodbye – The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
-So yes The Hanging Tree is not technically original as it derives from the book, but it deserved some recognition with it being one of the only few to top the charts. That and it is incredibly hard to get out of your head. But The Last Goodbye isn’t nominated? What the fuck is this shit Academy. This song was done beautifully to not only end The Hobbit trilogy, but the Middle Earth journey as a whole and if you cannot understand that through its lyrics then we need some new Academy members. Ridiculous. LEGO Movie better win this one for its snub in the other category.
Sound Editing and Sound Mixing
Interstellar
-This film has NO place being in either of these categories with its subpar abysmal sound. Another that I will be outraged at if it wins.
Visual Effects
Godzilla
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
-How does X-Men: Days of Future Past even compare to either of the films listed above? Godzilla and BotFA have been snubbed, no argument against it. Absolutely ridiculous.
Writing – Adapted Screenplay
Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl
-This is a real slap in this face. Entire category is male and no recognition for the best psychological thriller in a long time. Is this because the writer is female? Perhaps, but we will never know. Such a shame, I enjoyed this film much more than Theory of Everything and Imitation Game.
Writing – Original Screenplay
Paul Webb – Selma
-Again with the Selma snubs. The Academy seems very focused on keeping it out. Figure this could’ve taken Foxcatcher’s spot or even Nightcrawler (Although I believe it deserves its nomination).
CONCLUSION
What the fuck Academy? I swear every year this shit gets more and more controversial. Not a single person of colour nominated for an acting award? No female directors or screenwriters? This is pathetic considering the amount of phenomenal performances by people in those categories. Selma has a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes for god sakes and it gets TWO nominations?! And the amount of snubs for Gone Girl? That movie was the best thriller of the year.
That plus all the snubs of some phenomenal work this year like Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler, the LEGO Movie and even completely overlooked work like Snowpiercer and Locke (which both deserved Best Actor nods for Chris Evans and Tom Hardy) are absolutely incomprehensible.
The title of this year’s Oscars is ‘The year we bent over for Richard Linklater and forgot we still needed nominations’
What did you think of the nominations? Let me know in the comments below.
The Film Fanatic 