Joey Magidson
The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, with the Academy Award nominations having been announced, we’re talking about something truly terrifying. Yes, your most horrific Oscar snubs this year!
Every year, when the Academy announces their annual Oscar nominations, deserving films and performances are snubbed. We know it, and yet, time and time again we’re thrown for a loop by who and what miss. So, while one may rejoice that someone like Kristen Stewart isn’t on the below list, others are grieving the fallen candidacies. Take a gander next and see who I mentioned, but also be sure to share you own picks as well…
Here now are five of my picks for the biggest Oscar snubs from last Tuesday:
Lady Gaga in Best Actress – A divisive performance, to be sure, but not only was Lady Gaga seemingly safe in Best Actress, she was arguably now the frontrunner for her performance in House of Gucci. Then came Tuesday and one of the more stunning misses the category has ever seen. Truly, this was a hard one to see coming, even if it made room for a surging candidacy.
Denis Villeneuve in Best Director – Nearly as shocking was Dune‘s filmmaker Denis Villeneuve getting left out of the Best Director lineup. Even before the science fiction epic was truly in the Best Picture conversation, a spot in the Director field seemed attainable. There’s really no explaining this one, either. Voters just missed the mark.
Red Rocket across the board – It always seemed like an uphill battle for Red Rocket, but it’s hard not to be pained when your favorite film of the year, one largely loved by those who saw it, is shut out completely. Simon Rex in Best Actor was its best hope, but alas, it just wasn’t to be with Oscar, who’s not quite that cool yet.
Being the Ricardos in Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay – Aaron Sorkin last year was snubbed in Best Director for The Trial of the Chicago 7, but this year was an even more surprising miss. While his movie Being the Ricardos scored for a trio of its cast, it missed in Best Picture, while Sorkin was stunning not cited in Best Original Screenplay. He already has an Oscar for writing and will be perennially in the conversation, but still…this one stung.
Caitriona Balfe in Best Supporting Actress – When we heard/saw Judi Dench‘s name announced on Tuesday instead of Caitriona Balfe, it was a weird feeling. On the one hand, Dench is excellent in Belfast, but so too is Balfe. Snubbing a first timer for a long time nominee, one with even less of a chance to win, was a bummer. Her snub was an early reminder during the nominations that few are truly safe, when all is said and done.
What were the most horrifying Oscar snubs to you? Let us know!
They nommed TEN BEST PICS … when was the last time they did that? Name the YEAR? I can’t find ANY year with more than NINE … and they left OUT Spidey 3 with its HEALING message?? Because Y? Because that GDT bloodbath was more import for peeps to take in than the ORIGINAL bloodless NA?? #WTF A mexican makes an ALL-WHITE movie, what the hell is that about?? Y DO U SUPPORT THIS WHITE SUPREMACIST TRASH
Well, here’s some history for you. Prior to the 17th Academy Awards, they did ten nominees. Plus, perhaps you don’t recall, but the 82nd and 83rd Academy Awards had ten nominees, in response to The Dark Knight’s snub. Then, it went to a sliding scale that produced eight or nine, though technically it could have been anywhere from six to ten. Now, it’s back to ten. So, now you know.
Was Lady Gaga’s supposed “snub” really all that horrifying, though?
Unless you’re a devoted fan of hers who wants her to win all the awards in the world, I can’t imagine too many people mounting a convincing case for her performance (or really anything, for that matter) in House of Gucci being truly “Oscar-worthy” despite its aggressive marketing campaign trying to strong-arm us into believing it was.
I mourn Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson. I mourn Mike Faist. I mourn Hidetoshi Nishijma. I mourn the actors in Mass. I mourn the visual craftspeople behind The Green Knight.
Lady Gaga, at most, warrants a “Huh. Seemed like she was a lock. That’s surprising. Oh, well.”
Well, I wasn’t going to miss out on the pun. But, yes. Red Rocket is really that one for me.