Ah, awards season: a time for Hollywood’s best to practice the art of losing gracefully. After all, it’s an honor to even just be nominated in this category with all of these talented friends and colleagues.
Meryl Streep, who holds the record for most nominations (19 nominations and 3 wins to date), and Leonardo DiCaprio, whom the golden statuette forever eludes, have both perfected the resigned smile and gracious applause after the Oscar goes to…somebody who isn’t them. But, each year, despite all their hopes, dreams, and strategic marketing campaigns, some never receive a nomination from the Academy. So, for tonight's 87th Academy Awards, the following people may be sitting at home watching Neil Patrick Harris on the small screen and practicing their best ugly cry instead:
Ava Duvernay, Selma: The Academy failed to recognize DuVernay, a young, African American female director, in the exclusive Best Director category. DuVernay’s critically acclaimed film “Selma” recreates history, focusing on the 1965 civil rights marches and the fight for suffrage. While the film has recently come under fire for alleged historical inaccuracies in its depiction of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, the film remains an indubitable testament to DuVernay’s talent and prowess as a director. But on the bright side, I can’t wait to see what she does next (based on announcement made last month, it’s going to be an intimate but urgent drama on Hurricane Katrina).
David Oyelowo, Selma: Oyelowo, who portrays Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, also didn’t make the cut for a nomination in the Best Actor category. Because of his commanding performance and glowing reviews, I really believed that Oyelowo would have a chance at the Oscars competition. After all, the Academy normally loves a good, historical drama. But, it wasn’t meant to be, making this the second time in 14 years that no African American has been nominated in any of the acting categories. Looking to the future, Oyelowo plans to collaborate with Duvernay again in her upcoming Hurricane Katrina drama.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler: Gyllenhaal was also contending for a nomination for best actor for his creepily realistic portrayal of a L.A. news cameraman in Nightcrawler. Although Gyllehnhaal’s character clearly would have gotten several Medill F’s for his reporting ethics, his exclusion from the category is a shame. Overall, the Academy does not appear to be a fan of the film’s dark and twisted perspective, snubbing the film in all categories except Best Original Screenplay. But Gyllenhaal has been around Hollywood for quite some time, and he has made several great films already and has many more in the works. His time will come again (it’s already almost been 10 years); otherwise, his track record is going to be worse than Leo’s.
Jennifer Aniston, Cake: Aniston delivers a dramatic performance as a woman living with chronic pain in the little-seen film Cake. Although Aniston campaigned in support of the drama and sought to distance herself from her image as a comedy star, the film received mixed reviews. The Academy seemed to be less than impressed, nominating Marion Cotillard for her role in the French drama Two Days, One Night instead. After years of being known as Rachel Green and being type casted as a comedy actor, it’s hard to break out of the mold. But I guess no one told Aniston life was gonna be this way (clap clap clap clap).
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year: Chastain had a great year with Interstellar, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby and A Most Violent Year. And of these three films, Chastain was expected to receive her third Oscar nomination for her role as a scheming gangster’s wife in the gritty latter drama. But the critically acclaimed film debuted too late (literally the last day of 2014), which most likely harmed Chastain’s chances of earning a nomination and even the film’s box office earnings. Most of the public, myself included, didn’t even know this movie existed until recently. And without a nomination for Chastain, the Academy completely ignored the film.
Interstellar: Even though the Academy can now nominate up to 10 movies for best picture, the Academy still disregarded Christopher Nolan’s space epic blockbuster (only 8 films were nominated this year). While I know some people who loved the movie, the lack of a best picture nomination isn’t too disappointing to me. The film makes up its nominations in 5 other categories instead, including: sound mixing, sound editing, visual effects, production design and original score. Who knew that the roar of a space shuttle could be music to the Academy’s ears?
Gone Girl: Another box office hit, making almost $200 million to date, that was shunned by the Academy, even more so than Interstellar. I feel like I’m reliving the moment after I first watched the film and the only thought going through my mind was: what. The thriller earned only one nomination for Rosamund Pike’s bone-chilling debut as missing wife Amy Dunne. Insert ominous yet incredibly generic joke about Amy’s plans to murder an Academy member here.
The Lego Movie: One of the most successful animated movies of 2014 was thought to be a strong candidate, if not the winner, in the best animated film category. Its omission is utterly baffling. Maybe its type of animation was too different for the Academy? Or maybe--spoiler alert--the movie’s brief live-action sequence disqualified it? Part of me is secretly happy because this means How to Train Your Dragon 2 has a pretty good chance of winning and there’s no friendship like that of a boy and his dragon. Regardless, after being so brazenly rebuffed by the Academy, for the makers of The Lego Movie, everything is not awesome.