Not everyone can win an Oscar. Frankly, not everyone should win Oscars. That’s why winning an Academy Award is arguably the highest honor one can win in the film industry. Getting nominated is a win in and of itself. With only a finite amount of nominees, there are bound to be snubs. Frankly, snubs is kind of an ugly term because it implies one actor, movie, or craftsperson deserves an award more than someone else. It’s subjective, making it difficult to judge.
However, there are some glaring omissions in the Academy Awards’ long history. Saving Private Ryan losing to Shakespeare in Love, Dances with Wolves defeating Goodfellas, and Hoop Dreams’ failure to receive a documentary nomination are some of the more famous omissions in Oscar history. Some of these snubs even happened within the past decade. Here are the seven greatest Oscar snubs of the last 10 years.
7. 2015 – Whiplash and Boyhood lose to Birdman in Best Picture
By no means is Birdman a bad movie. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s dramedy about an aging Hollywood star and the search for meaning in his life is quite good. Michael Keaton gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Riggan Thomson, a washed-up actor best known for playing a superhero who tries to revitalize his career by starring in a Broadway production. Iñárritu’s technical direction, particularly the illusion of one continuous take, likely propelled Birdman to Best Picture at the 2015 Oscars.
Here’s the catch: when a more innovative film like Boyhood — Richard Linklater’s examination of a boy’s journey from childhood to adolescence shot over 10 years — or an exhilarating story like Whiplash – Damien Chazelle’s depiction of a jazz drummer’s quest to greatness – are in the same category, Birdman will always feel inferior to those two. In a perfect world, Keaton wins Best Actor over Eddie Redmayne, and Whiplash or Boyhood takes home Best Picture.
6. 2020 – Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers passed over for Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lopez did everything in her power to secure an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2020 Oscars. Lopez even wore her iconic Versace dress from the 2000 Grammys at the brand’s spring fashion show. Unfortunately, the Academy did not want a little extra star power at their ceremony.
Celebrity aside, Lopez in Hustlers is right up there with Out of Sight for her best performance in a movie. Lopez plays Ramona Vega, a veteran stripper who creates a scheme to steal money from wealthy clients after the financial crisis of 2007-2008 strikes. Smart, confident, and funny, Lopez shined as the Robin Hood-esque figure with heart. The Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and SAG Awards nominated Lopez for supporting actress. Yet the Academy had other plans.
5. 2015 – Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler left out of Best Actor
Jake Gyllenhaal went full psycho to play Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler. Louis begins Dan Gilroy’s thriller as a petty criminal struggling to make ends meet. After meeting a stringer (the late Bill Paxton) at a car crash, Louis becomes a videographer, hoping to sell his footage to local news stations for cash. With a camera and a police scanner, Louis scours the Los Angeles night for criminal activity to film.
Gyllenhaal has never been more committed to a role, even losing 30 pounds to play this nocturnal figure. Gyllenhaal even broke a mirror during a take, requiring him to receive medical attention. It’s a creepy, spellbinding performance from Gyllenhaal, who somehow injects Louis with some charm and humanity. Gyllenhaal received acting nominations at the BAFTAs, SAGs, Golden Globes, and Critics’ Choice. How come, Academy? (In the style of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
4. 2020 – Adam Sandler left out of Best Actor for Uncut Gems
The Academy has never known how to treat comedians who switch sides and cross into dramas. The best example is Jim Carrey and his career-defining work in The Truman Show. Carrey won the Golden Globe for his portrayal of Truman Burbank. Yet the Academy didn’t even nominate Carrey for Best Actor at the Oscars. History repeated itself in 2020 with a different comedian, Adam Sandler, and his wild thriller, Uncut Gems.
Directed by the Safdie Brothers, Uncut Gems follows Howard Ratner, a Jewish jeweler with a gambling addiction. Facing serious debt, Ratner risks it all on a lucrative parlay involving Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett. Uncut Gems is another example of when paired with the right script and director, Sandler is a fantastic dramatic actor. It’s time to take Sandler more seriously, Academy.
3. 2017 – Amy Adams in Arrival kept out of Best Actress
Did you know that Amy Adams has been nominated for six Oscars? That is the second most nominations by an actress without winning, trailing Glenn Close who has eight. Still, Adams must be doing something right to at least get an invite to the esteemed awards show. Given the Academy’s adoration for Adams, it’s baffling that the six-time nominee was left out of Best Actress for Arrival.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Arrival follows linguistics professor Louise Banks (Adams) and her efforts to establish contact with the extraterrestrial creatures who landed on Earth. Arrival is one of the best movies of the 2010s, backed by Adams’ emotionally moving and quietly powerful performance. Seeing how the Academy left Villeneuve out of Best Director for two Dune movies makes more sense as to why they overlooked Adams in 2017. Regardless, that doesn’t make it right.
2. 2019 – Rami Malek defeats Bradley Cooper in Best Actor
No rule states actors must use their voices or learn to play instruments to give Academy Award-worthy performances. Ray did not use Jamie Foxx’s singing voice for Ray Charles’ music, and he still won a much-deserved Oscar. The same goes for Bohemian Rhapsody, which did not use Rami Malek’s singing voice in the Queen songs performed by Freddie Mercury.
However, there should be a rule that when choosing who wins an award between two actors in musical movies, the nod should go to the performer who actually used their own voice. All of that to say, the Academy should have awarded Best Actor to Bradley Cooper over Malek. For A Star Is Born, Cooper took vocal lessons for six months, learned how to play multiple instruments, wrote several original songs, and performed live in front of crowds at festivals like the Glastonbury Festival. That effort should have resulted in Cooper’s first actor.
1. 2019 – Roma, A Star is Born, and more lose to Green Book in Best Picture
Green Book is a solid movie. It has its flaws, especially in terms of how it handles race. However, it’s a rather charming film, especially in the interactions between Viggo Mortensen’s Tony Lip and Mahershala Ali’s Don Shirley. Green Book works better as a story about friendship than one about racial relations in the 1960s. The Peter Farrelly-directed film would have a much better reputation had it not won Best Picture.
The reality is Green Book did indeed win Best Picture and instantly became one of the award’s weakest recipients of the 21st century. Roma, the year’s prohibitive favorite, A Star Is Born, BlacKKKlansman, Black Panther, and The Favourite would have all been formidable winners that year. Part of me believes Roma’s loss was the Academy’s way of telling Netflix, a streaming service, that they “don’t belong” at this ceremony.
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