This years Oscars threw a few surprise nominations at us. In this piece, I will be looking through some of the people who may feel unlucky not to be getting glammed up on the 25th April. Check out my snubs for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor.
Best Picture: This years Best Picture nominations are some of the strongest competitors for this prize in recent memory. However, there’s a couple of films that will feel aggrieved not to have made it in…
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
After picking up five nominations in other categories, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will feel put out that it didn’t clinch the Best Picture nomination too. Realistically, it should’ve picked up a nod for Best Picture.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
One of the most divisive films of the year, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an incredibly visceral and at times mind boggling film. Its not the kind of film the Oscars normally like, proven by its total of zero nominations however it would’ve been fantastic to see this in the running!
Another Round
One of my personal favourites to come out of a terrific batch of 2020 films, Another Round should’ve been a strong contender for Best Picture. It’ll surely sweep the award for Best International Feature, but with Vinterberg’s nod for Best Director, it’s a big miss in the race for Best Picture.
Supernova
A bit of a long shot this one (and not the only one to come up in this piece), but Supernova was another favourite that felt like it would be right up the Academies street. It’s touching and intimate portrayal of the strains love can feel when combatted with dementia was fantastically done. Just up staged in this awards season by The Father!
Best Director: Aaron Sorkin
It feels like another snub to not have Sorkin in the running for Best Director, particularly given all the other nominations The Trial of the Chicago 7 received for Oscar night. A big miss but there’s nobody in the lineup I would take out to be replaced by Sorkin.
Charlie Kaufman
Another long shot I know. Kaufman should’ve been in the running for Screenplay and Director. No other filmmaker created something as visceral and bizarre as he did.
Best Actress: The race for Best Actress has been one of the highlights of this topsy turvy awards season. We’re less than two weeks away and still no further to predicting who will take home the award. Here’s some of the actresses who will feel disappointed to not be in the mix.
Han Yeri
Within the excellence of Minari, Han Yeri does shine amongst her fantastic costars who are rightly nominated. Her performance is fantastic and it’s a shame that she isn’t in the running for this year.
Kate Winslet
Say what you will about Ammonite (and a lot has been said), Kate Winslet is the sheer driving force of the film. Whilst the film leaves a lot to be desired, Winslet is an absolute powerhouse who is ultimately let down by the quality of her surroundings.
Elisabeth Moss
Toni Collette, Lupita Nyongo’o and now Elisabeth Moss. The Academy has once again failed to recognise an excellent performance delivered in the horror genre. Moss is wholly captivating in her turn in The Invisible Man.
Rosamund Pike
Another stand out performance of the year, Rosamund Pike is excellent in I Care A Lot, equalling her performance given in her Oscar nominated performance for Gone Girl. Given her Golden Globe win for this performance too, it’s a shame not to see her nominated.
Sidney Flanigan
Sidney Flanigan’s first acting credit is a truly heartbreaking and real performance delivered in Never Rarely Sometimes Always. Easily one of the best performances put in from last year.
Best Actor:
Mads Mikklesen
Mads Mikklesen feels like an actor who is surely destined to pick up at least one Oscar nomination in his career. He should’ve been nominated in The Hunt and should’ve been nominated for Another Round too. He blends comedy and tragedy expertly and I don’t see any of the other nominees for this year putting in a dance routine like him!
Delroy Lindo
Probably the biggest snub from this years Oscars, Delroy Lindo is pure brilliance in Da 5 Bloods. Playing a man on a mission and a man with nothing to lose, he puts in the best performance of his career and the second best performance of the year (behind Anthony Hopkins).
Ben Affleck
Another long shot, but Ben Affleck delivers the best performance of his entire career in The Way Back (or Finding the Way Back), playing a haunted character with an addiction who sets out on the road to coach his former high school basketball team. A great performance!
Best Supporting Actress
Ellen Burstyn
Up there with Lindo in terms of the weight of snub, Ellen Burstyn was truly spectacular in Pieces of a Woman. The monologue she delivers to Vanessa Kirby is breathtaking. I’m not sure how Glenn Close got the nod over her. The Academy really messed up this one.
Jodie Foster
Joining Rosamund Pike as another Golden Globe winner to not be nominated for the Oscar. It’s surprising not to see Jodie Foster, who is so obviously an Academy favourite, not be nominated. Another one who suffered from her overall surroundings perhaps?
Toni Collette
Another long shot, but Toni Collette is excellent in I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Any four of the actors could’ve been nominated, however Collette puts in my personal favourite performance of the four. It would’ve been nice to see her get what she deserved for Hereditary.
Best Supporting Actor:
Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci delivers a career best performance in Supernova (in a career filled with notable performances). Would’ve been an absolute delight to have seen him get his second Oscar nomination for a film he truly puts his heart and soul into.
Jeremy Strong
Taking nothing away from Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance, but he and Jeremry Strong feel like a double act in The Trial of the Chicago 7. It’s a shame to not have them both nominated as I felt they both complimented and played each off each other excellently.
Alan Kim
The highlight of awards season, Alan Kim has been an absolute breath of fresh air for everyone who has been paying attention. His Critics Choice Awards speech being one of the highlights. Not necessarily a snub, just one I would’ve absolutely loved to have seen.
Frank Langella
To make a film like The Trial of the Chicago 7 work, you obviously need the characters to root for, which we get. You also need a villain of the piece, and this role is played to a tee by Langella. A truly hateable character!
23 years old-Manchester-Film Studies Graduate-Qualified Film and Media Teacher-Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Olivia Colman enthusiast. Check out my Letterboxd for more reviews and film goodness.
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According to TMZJonathan Majors has been arrested in NYC for reportedly assaulting a woman. A source told TMZ the woman tried sneaking a peek at his phone, after which, Majors got angry and grabbed her hand, slapped her and reportedly put his hands around her neck.
TMZ sources say, the alleged victim had visible injuries — “Including a laceration behind her ear, redness and marks to her face. She was taken to an area hospital and is in stable condition. As for Majors … he was cuffed and taken to jail on the spot, as police felt there was enough evidence for probable cause. We’re hearing he is currently out of custody.” — TMZ
A rep for Majors says: “He’s done nothing wrong. We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up.”
Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man) has been mostly off the radar since he exited his legendary role in the MCU as Tony Stark. Though he’s due for a big next few years, he’s signed on to another project that will reimagine a classic film.
According to an exclusive from Deadline, RDJ will headline Vertigo, which will be a remake of the 1958 psychological thriller from the mind of Alfred Hitchcock. Downey Jr. would fill the lead role originally played by James Stewart as a former detective who is forced into retirement after traumatic experiences with his time as an on-duty officer which leaves him with the titular condition. The film will be produced by Paramount and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Locke). Paramount’s involvement makes sense as it was the home studio for the original film and Hitchcock’s estate favored the studio for a remake of the cult classic.
Though we had mentioned that Downey Jr. has been out of the spotlight for a while, however, he has a role in Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated film, Oppenheimer in July. He’s also currently filming Park Chan-wook’s HBO limited series The Sympathizer which is in collaboration with A24. He’s also been in talks to reprise his role as Sherlock Holmes for a trilogy ender along with filmmaker Guy Ritchie.
A24 is coming off a major Oscars coup with its Best Picture-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, but now, they’re headed for a major ensemble comedy film from the lens of Saturday Night Live‘s own Kyle Mooney. Per Deadline, it appears that Mooney will direct the disaster film titled Y2K which comes from a script from Evan Winter.
The movie boasts a major ensemble that includes the following: Jaeden Martell (It), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Mason Gooding (Scream VI), Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Lachlan Watson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Tim Heidecker (Us), Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus), music artist The Kid Laroi and Alicia Silverstone (Clueless). The film is set on NYE 1999, where two High School loners (Martell and Dennison) decide to crash a big party before the end of the millennium, however, when the clock strikes midnight, it becomes a disaster unlike anything they could have ever imagined.
A24 will back the pic that also features Jonah Hill and The Bear creator Christopher Storer amongst its behind-the-scenes producing partners. With such a major ensemble, it seems like it could be a mixture of This Is the End with touches of Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s within the 90s-set disaster comedy.
A24 ‘Y2k’ Cast
Martell is probably the most recognizable actor amongst the ensemble having starred in the It films as the younger version of Bill Denbrough. He also has appeared in recent years in films such as Knives Out, St. Vincent and Netflix’s Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. He’s also the titular character in Apple’s series, Defending Jacob and is set to lead the upcoming reboot of The Lost Boys alongside Noah Jupe and Charlene Amoia.
Zegler is best known for her debut role as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story in 2021. Her star power continues to rise as she’s already joined DC’s superhero universe for Shazam! Fury of the Gods which is currently in theaters. She’ll also play Snow White in Disney’s 2024 live-action remake of the iconic animated film and lead the upcoming prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes alongside Hunter Schafer, Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis.
Dennison first came on the scene when he starred in Taika Waititi’s indie dramedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople with Sam Neill. He followed that up with a major role in Deadpool 2 and then later joined the cast of Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021. Gooding is one of the starring members of the ensemble in Scream VI, which is currently in theaters. Hechinger starred in the first season of The White Lotus as the son of Connie Britton and Steve Zahn and will next appear in Kraven the Hunter. Additionally, the older cast members in Silverstone and Heidecker are best known for roles in Clueless and Jordan Peele’s Us respectively.