Every year we get upset about something or someone being left off of the Academy Awards nomination list. This year was especially upsetting to fans of Amy Adams, and that gave me the idea to give you a list of what I consider to be the worst Oscar nomination snubs of all-time, including this year’s biggest Oscar snub.
Amy Adams – Arrival – Best Actress – 89th Academy Awards
I know. I know. She was snubbed last month, but this one really hurts. Also, it just doesn’t make any sense. Arrival was the best science fiction film of 2016 and, generally, one of the best films of the year. It was nominated for eight Oscars – including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director – but somehow the star of the film was overlooked.
Although Arrival is impressive on many fronts, there can be no doubt that Amy Adams carried that film. She was absolutely flawless in that film, but the Academy chose not to grant her a spot in the Best Actress category. At the time of writing, she has been nominated for five Oscars and she has never won one.
Ben Affleck – Argo – Best Director – 85th Academy Awards
This one is really weird. Argo won Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing at the Oscars, but Ben Affleck wasn’t even nominated for Best Director. This was pretty much the only big show that Affleck was overlooked at. The DGAs, the BAFTAs, and the Critics’ Choice Awards all gave him the Best Director award, but somehow the Academy didn’t even nominate him. Baffling.
The Empire Strikes Back – Best Picture – 53rd Academy Awards
The original Star Wars film (now known as Episode IV – A New Hope) infamously lost Best Picture to Annie Hall, and I think it’s even worse that the sequel – The Empire Strikes Back – wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. It is easily one of the best sequels of all-time, and it is definitely the best film in the franchise and its genre. Oh and it also just happens to be my favorite film of all-time.
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler – Best Actor – 87th Academy Awards
Nightcrawler – a modern day Taxi Driver – only got one nomination (Best Original Screenplay) at the Oscars. The Academy overlooked one of the most intense performances of that year, which was given by an actor that, somehow, has only been nominated for one Oscar (Brokeback Mountain), at the time of writing.
Stanley Kubrick – The Shining – Best Director – 53rd Academy Awards
The Shining is a great horror film that has gotten a lot of criticism for not being faithful to Stephen King’s novel, but it is a great film nonetheless. I believe Jack Nicholson and Stanley Kubrick should’ve been nominated for Best Actor and Best Director respectively.
Now, what is absolutely unbelievable today is that Stanley Kubrick was somehow nominated for the Razzie’s Worst Director award. I also think Jack Nicholson is pretty great in the film, but that was a tough year to get a Best Actor nomination in.
Rear Window – Best Picture – 27th Academy Awards
Rear Window is a flat-out masterpiece and arguably Hitchcock’s best film. Yet, somehow, it wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. It was, however, nominated for four Academy Awards (including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay). Somehow Rear Window actually didn’t win any Oscars in the year that On The Waterfront won 8 Oscars.
Martin Scorsese – Taxi Driver – Best Director – 49th Academy Awards
Taxi Driver is arguably Scorsese’s best film of all-time, it’s also one of the best films of all-time. But the Academy has a long history of overlooking Scorsese, but here they didn’t even nominate him. At the time of writing, he still only has one Oscar (for The Departed). But Taxi Driver should’ve been his first.
Singin’ in the Rain – Best Picture – 25th Academy Awards
Although Singin’ in the Rain is not just the best musical of all-time, but also one of the best films of all-time, it was only nominated for two Oscars, and they didn’t actually win in either of those categories (Musical Score; Supporting Actress). Unbelievable.
What is the worst Oscar nomination snub of all-time? Sound off in the comments.
– Jeffrey Rex
I'm Jeffrey Rex 