Below is a blog entry from last year (1 day shy of a year actually) on the greatest (recent) academy awards snubs. I wanted to update it a little bit as a response to the recent list of nominated actors. Naturally I disapprove. I'm in shock that Michael Fassbender ('Shame') and Albert Brooks ('Drive') didn't get nominated (sorry, couldn't find any good clips on youtube or vimeo for either performances. But just know that they should be on this list below). Sure, they weren't gonna win but at least give them the nomination they deserve.
I AM happy to see that not only has Gary Oldman FINALLY been nominated, but 'Monsieur Lahzar' got nominated for best foreign film as well...
As you can imagine the recent list of academy award nominations for this year has inspired this blog entry. No matter how much i try to not care about movie awards, i always end up getting sucked in to the hype mainly due to their constant inconsistency of nominees. I cant quite figure what their criteria is. It seems to change every year. Like any other year I personally felt there were a few snubs this year, especially in the category for best actor. I thought Casey Affleck and Ryan Gosling gave some of the best (and most unique) lead performances of last year, but for some reason the academy didn't feel that way. And It seems like no matter what the Coen Brothers do, something from one of their movies, weather it be from an acting standpoint or for something behind the camera, is going to get nominated (no matter if the movie is good or bad). I mean, True Grit was good, but that's about it. Sorry. I'm also starting to think that the academy has some weird personal vendetta against David Lynch. Say what you want about his "weird" movies, but the lead performances in both; Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire were phenomenal.
If you've followed my myspace blogs from back in the day I'm sure you're familiar with some of these already (naomi watts in mulholland drive, dennis hopper in blue velvet, harvey keitel in bad lieutenant and jeremy irons in dead ringers). Since then, Ive expanded on my list a little more. Over the last couple of years we've seen some MAJOR snubs. Sally Hawkins is a perfect example (and one of the most recent). I'm always amazed at when an actor or actress, like Hawkins, can win a major acting award like a golden globe or at cannes, but not even get a nomination from the academy. Samuel l Jackson (Jungle Fever-best supporting actor @ Cannes), Tommy Lee Jones (3 Burials of Melquiades Estrada - best actor @ Cannes), James Spader (Sex, Lies & Videotape - best actor @ Cannes) and Benecio Del Torro (Che - best actor @ Cannes) are other examples of this. Come to think of it, it seems like Europeans appreciate great American performances more than American audiences do!
I'm also convinced that the academy is afraid of nominating misogynistic roles, as if to say that if they nominate a misogynistic performance, they're promoting or condoning misogyny. Its just acting. Dennis Hopper in 'Blue Velvet' to the recent Casey Affleck's performance in 'The Killer Inside Me', all prove this theory. Others include David Thewlis in 'Naked' (who received best actor at Cannes in 1993 for his role in 'Naked') and Aaron Eckhart's darkly comedic and misogynistic performance in Neil Labutte's 'In The Company of Men'.
And Its no mystery that "small films" have a tough chance of being nominated for anything. I guess there's the occasional exception, but generally speaking I'm right. In the 90's, actors like; Martin Donovan, Karen Silas and Tom Noonan gave the performances of their career's in 'Trust' and 'What Happened Was'. They were hits at sundance, but for some reason the academy seemed to ignore those smaller indie films.
Anyway, here's my list. I tried my best to find clips that best represent their performances. There are a few good clips that aren't youtube, so i had to do my best with what was available.
EDDIE MARSAN & SALLY HAWKINS - 'HAPPY GO LUCKY'
DAVID THEWLIS - 'NAKED'
AARON ECKHART - 'IN THE COMPANY OF MEN'
DON CHEADLE - 'DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS'
SAMUEL L JACKSON - 'JUNGLE FEVER'
CHRISTIAN MCKAY - 'ME & ORSON WELLES'
DENNIS HOPPER - 'BLUE VELVET'
HARVEY KEITEL - 'BAD LIEUTENANT'
JAMES SPADER - 'SEX, LIES & VIDEOTAPE'
MICHAEL FASSBENDER - 'HUNGER'
JEREMY IRONS - 'DEAD RINGERS'
LAURA DERN - 'INLAND EMPIRE'
FOREST WHITAKER - 'BIRD'
MARTIN DONOVAN - 'TRUST'
DELROY LINDO - 'CLOCKERS'
GARY OLDMAN & LENA OLIN - 'ROMEO IS BLEEDING'
JAMES CAAN - 'THEIF'
JULIANNE MOORE - 'SAFE'
JOHN TURTURRO - 'BARTON FINK'
MARK WAHLBERG - 'I HEART HUCKABEES'
GENE HACKMAN - 'ROYAL TENENBAUMS'
SEYMOUR CASSELL - 'IN THE SOUP'
CASEY AFFLECK - 'THE KILLR INSIDE ME'
DYLAN BAKER - 'HAPPINESS'
NAOMI WATTS - 'MULHOLLAND DRIVE'
TERRANCE STAMP - 'THE LIMEY'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qheb3JyMHSU&feature=fvw
STEVE BUSCEMI - 'GHOST WORLD'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQTBh18oK6E
GARY OLDMAN - 'THE PROFESSIONAL'
SEAN PENN - 'SHE'S SO LOVELY'
KAREN SILAS - 'WHAT HAPPENED WAS'
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