The Oscar blogging scene has become as vanilla and uniform as the race itself. No more Stu Van Airsdale, no Mark Harris this year. But lo! Mark Lisanti over at Grantland reminds us just how awful this shit can really be. What do you all think is number 1? I have to go with either Crash winning BP, Social Network losing BP or Do the Right Thing not getting nominated.
Jack Cardiff not getting cinematography nom for The Red Shoes- one of the most beautiful films ever.
Nyman not getting nom for best score for the Piano. Not one of my favourite films, but if ever there was a film reliant on its score…
New York New York no getting nom for best song. Truly bizarre omission.
Foreign language film- truly stupid system leading to truly stupid results.
Costume design- just rename it best period costume design and have done with it.
Editing- Phylis Coates said it was a daft category because you don’t know what the editor is working with. Sometimes it takes great editing to turn a terrible film into a merely average one.
Terence Davies and Gillian Anderson not getting noms for House of Mirth.
Streisand’s Best Director snub for Yentl.
Cate Blanchette winnning for The Aviator, of all movies. Laura Linney or Viginia Madsen were much better than a cringe-worthy take on Katherine Hepburn. Yuck!
Hands down: Don Ameche winning Supporting Actor for Cocoon in 1985 over anyone, but especially the great Klaus Maria Brandauer for Out of Africa (the very best thing with that movie).
I believe Mr. Ameche was not even nominated for a single award for his performance prior to the Oscars…
A snub that is still painful to remember is Jodie Foster winning over Glenn Close. Her work in Dangerous Liaisons is simply one of the best performances by an actor of any gender ever.
“A huge travesty for me is that Danny Elfman’s beautiful score for “Edward Scissorhands” was NOT nominated that year!”
Agree, one of my favorite scores. We play the movie and the Score album every holiday.
Kubrick never winning best director is by a long margin the biggest travesty of the Oscars ever.
Julian Schnabel was snubbed in 2008 for his beautiful work. Arguably the biggest directorial achievement in the last ten years.
Regarding English Patient vs. Fargo – I would at least have given Best Director to Joel Coen there like BAFTA did. That movie is just a directing miracle.
@david leary – I agree. Mickey Rourke should have taken Best Actor. But biopics always have the upper hand for the Academy as we saw with Milk.
Mickey Rourke not winning for the wrestler that was a travesty
Glenda Jackson (Touch of Class)) over Streisand in The Way We Were and J. Woodward (1974)
Crash over Brokeback Mt (2006)
Braveheart over Sense & Sensibility (1996)
Gibson over Ang Lee (1996)
Rocky over All Presiden’s Men or Network (1976)
Sly Stallone nom for Rocky (1976)
A huge travesty for me is that Danny Elfman’s beautiful score for “Edward Scissorhands” was NOT nominated that year!
I’m shocked at The English Patient over Fargo comment. The English Patient is one of my all time favourites and the last film to win Best Picture that I wanted to win Best Picture!
My personal shocks ….. Streisand being “snubbed” for Best Director for Yentl (loved the protests that year) and The Prince of Tides and Glenda Jackson over Streisand (The Way We Were).
Despite being late for this some of my “most egregious Oscar moments ever” would be (and I only enumerate the ones from the Oscar years I watched – so, from the Oscars 1996 onwards):
Heat not getting a single nomination.
Seven only getting one nomination.
Dead Man Walking not getting a BP nod.
Punch-Drunk Love not getting a single nomination.
Cold Mountain not getting a BP nod.
The Return of the King winning BP.
Garden State not getting a single nomination.
Eternal Sunshine only getting 2 nominations and one win.
Before Sunset only getting one nomination.
The Lives of Others only getting one nomination and one win.
Inception not getting a BD nod.
The King’s Speech winning BP.
The Intouchables not getting a single nomination.
Argo not getting a BD nod.
That was fun. Giving vent to my anger – just a bit delayed. 🙂
Peter O’Toole losing to Cliff Robertson.
No nomination for Jack Lemmon in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS.
No nomination for Philip Kaufman for THE RIGHT STUFF.
No costume nom for EVITA.
No nomination for Mimi Rogers in THE RAPTURE.
No editing nom for BONNIE AND CLYDE.
No BP nom for VERTIGO.
No best actor nom for Robert Preston in THE MUSIC MAN.
No best actress nom for Deborah Kerr in THE INNOCENTS.
Elizabeth Taylor beating Deborah Kerr for THE SUNDOWNERS.
No music nominations for the BeeGee’s music in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER.
No music nominations for Simon & Garfunkle for THE GRADUATE.
Comment
^^Kubrick won b3st vfx for 2001 but not winning bestvdirector is definitely #1 worst plus hitchcock never won best director either, just as outrageous.
The best imo is shakespeare in love and the king’s speech, two charming and unpretentious films, winning best picture. Fincher, PTA & co can keep pretending they’re the second coming of Kubrick, but truth is they’re just hacks.
On that list, Kubrick never winning an oscar is at the top.
Michael Fassbender snubbed for Shame.
Spartacus snubbed for Best Picture.
Ziyi Zhang never nominated (Crouching Tiger, Memoirs of a Geisha, House of Flying Daggers)
Peter O’Toole never winning. And now it’s too late.
Paul Giamatti snubbed for Sideways.
Back to the Future. ‘Nuf said.
Is it wrong for me to say that I would rather watch Rob Lowe sing to Snow White than FORREST GUMP or DANCES WITH WOLVES? Count me in the AMERICAN BEAUTY fan camp. I think it is one of the two masterpieces that have won Best Picture in the last 15 years – the other being NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. For the record, Kubrick never winning beat Scorsese’s delayed Oscar in my final bracket, but Hitchcock never winning is probably the biggest Oscar oversight in history. Really, really dumb.
I said it back then and I do now, Crash was race-pandering garbage and Brokeback deserved to win.
Major OSCAR Mistakes of the past and other thoughts:
-City of God not winning Best Pic And/Or Director. Easily one of the top 20 movies of all time
-Watts not nominated/winning for Mulholland Drive
-Shakespeare in Love was a great movie and so was Saving Private Ryan. The Best Pic prize could’ve gone either way. AMPAS made the split decision
(Director to Spielberg and I could tell instantly by his speech that he knew that they were not gonna win Best Pic)
-Out of Africa, Annie Hall, Driving Miss Daisy winning Best Pic were a joke. All 3 are bad
-A Beautiful Mind winning Best Pic (this wasn’t even a top 5 movie that year)
-Kubrick never winning
-Into The Abyss not getting a Documentary Nomination. This was one of the best documentaries ive ever seen. Haunting. It has stayed with me ever since it came out
As far as this year:
-If Argo wins Best Pic that would be a top 10 travesty of all time for AMPAS
-Bigelow not getting a Directing nom is a top 25 travesty as is. I still can’t believe AMPAS snubbed her
There already must be at least one comment objecting to each and every one of the items in the bracket so here’s my two cents:
I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN NOT WINNING BEST PIC.
Am I alone on this? Yeah, most likely.
It wasn’t even the best “gay movie” (i.e. movie where at least one main character happens to be gay?) of that year. For me that was MYSTERIOUS SKIN, but BROKEBACK did make my top 10 (this is in retrospect, I didn’t actually think of one that year). To me it’s more of a travesty I heard that year. Shit like “Brokeback redefined the western”. Please go back to genre studies. Anyways my 10 favorite films from 2005 are:
1. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
2. CACHE
3. MYSTERIOUS SKIN
4. SIN CITY
5. THE BEAT MY HEART SKIPPED
6. MATCH POINT
7. MUNICH
8. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
9. THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA
10. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
And here’s another travesty, this one from me. Heath Ledger’s best performance of 2005 was not in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN but in LORDS OF DOGTOWN.
p.s. I do think CRASH is a piece of shit movie.
I like Shakespeare in Love. I also like Saving Private Ryan. But if I’m gonna watch a movie one night, I will watch Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan every time. Just my preference.
My pick for biggest travesty is Sandra Bullock winning an Oscar. Just repeat that sentence.
^ I think the idea that World War II movies + Spielberg is just automatically better than anything else.
Also, I think vehement hatred of Gwyneth Paltrow plays a large role. I really haven’t seen an actress so universally (and IMO unfairly) disliked by groups of all kinds.
I’ll never understand why people keep complaining about Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan. The Academy made the right choice that year. SPR is a great film overall; It has a brilliant opening, but kind of tapers off after that to become a pretty good war film, with fantastic direction (Which is why I never complained about Spielberg winning BD over Madden). However, SIL is brilliant through and through, from the story to the performances to the production. The Academy has made many mistakes over the years, but this was not one of them.
Notice this year’s directing snub on this bracket was Bigelow not Affleck. I would say Shakespeare In Love winning Best Picture was the worst on here because it paved the way for our modern, big budget Oscar campaigning.
One I’ve always thought pf since I first saw the film when I was 19, Richard Burton’s performance as George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? losing the 1966 Best Actor Oscar to Paul Scofield. How Green Was My Valley over Citizen Kane. John Wayne (True Grit) over Dustin Hoffman’s Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy. Peter Finch (Network) Best Actor 1976 over Robert Deniro’s Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver … to name just a few of many! BTW when I first glanced at my screen I thought the title of this was “Oscar Transvestites” .. .I thought wow this should be interesting .. then I realized the word was – travesties.
I agree with everyone on this site who thought Ellen Burstyn should have won her second Oscar for Requiem for a Dream – it is a magnificent tour de force. One of my favorite female performances of all time really.
Burstyn was previously robbed in 1973, when she also should have won Best Actress for “The Exorcist”. Glenda Jackson’s performance in “A Touch of Class” was hardly that. She walked through that movie. People were stunned (especially Burstyn) when Susan Hayward announced Jackson’s undeserved Oscar win for that movie. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big Glenda Jackson fan too. But she didn’t deserve it for that movie. Not by a lonnnnnggg shot. Ellen Burstyn should have owned three Oscars on her mantle, not just one. I’m sure she’ll astound us again if the right script comes her way.
How about a female version of King Lear? Queen Lear? Wouldn’t that be a monumental film (dividing her kingdom to three sons – rather than the original story)?
Some of these are hardly travesties…biggest travesty ever was Star Wars losing Best Picture to Annie Hall….
Oscars have been used as a reward and or a punishment, it all depends. Lots of emotion and shoot from the hip judgement calls. In recent memory Russell Crowe’s , A Beautiful Mind loss was a bad moment for AMPAS ,since that performance was one of the best I’ve ever seen and that performance was set aside because Crowe had words with a BAFTA official? Nah as I recall that Oscar season was particularly nasty and Nash was accused of anti-semitism, and not admitting to homosexual behavior. Very unpleasant and Nash wound up on 60 Minutes answering those questions. Also Hollywood decided that only one Oscar to an African -American actor, Poitier, and no Oscar for best actress ever needed to be corrected,and so it was. So if Crowe didn’t win that Oscar the Bafta business is only one excuse for all involved to fall back on.
The King’s Speech and American Beauty need to get off that chart. Those movies were fantastic.
@Scott.
You’re wrong. Linney sucked balls in that movied.
JK 😉
Jason Travis said: “Worst Best Actress: Jodie Foster over Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon.”
WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?! ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Jodie Foster’s win for Silence of the Lambs is one of the best in the category in recent years. A tremendous performance, in a tremendous film. Someone said it perfectly: she expresses visually her subconscious thoughts. It’s a very internal performance that captures the determination and vulnerability of her character. The “fava beans” scene–go look at her reaction to Dr. Lecter calling her a rube–extraordinary acting. Ant then, of course, the final meeting between the two of them when her backstory is revealed. NO WAY should this performance be considered an Oscar Travesty.
Going off on my Fernanda Montenegro shilling, I also get annoyed with the whole idea that Ellen Burstyn was totally robbed by Julia Roberts thing because I always thought the real person who was robbed was Laura Linney in You Can Count on Me with Gillian Anderson totally hosed by being snubbed for her performance in The House of Mirth for Juliet Binoche in Chocolat. A film and performance I always felt was just not worthy of any awards attention.
Thinking back on all of these “travesties”, it’s making me think that this year’s Best Actress race may mirror 1998.
You have a Harvey Weinstein-backed “popular” movie’s leading lady become the face of that film despite it being about the lead male character (Gwyneth Paltrow = Jennifer Lawrence).
You have a classically-trained actress giving a performance that many thespians are praising, and is primed to take the “wuz robbed” label from here to eternity if she doesn’t win (Cate Blanchet = Jessica Chastain)
and
You have a critically-praised actress in a foreign performance, that many film fans who actually seen the little-seen-in-America movie thinking is the true winner (Fernanda Montenegro = Emmanuelle Riva).
Although there are a lot of little differences in the comparison to change the outcome, I do think there are at least enough surface-level similarities to make the comparison.
I hope it doesn’t play out like in 1998 although I’m going to make a confession that may make people think my tastes are out-of-whack but…
I preferred Gwyneth’s performance over Blanchet’s overacting in Elizabeth although Montenegro would have been far-and-away my choice for Best Actress.
I also thought Shakespeare in Love was much better than Saving Private Ryan (which I felt was hoaky and portrayed characters in superficial archtypes). SPR was the reason (among others) why I did not want to see Lincoln because Spielberg’s style just wasn’t to my liking. Thank goodness I didn’t let my bias get in the way because I loved Lincoln (despite some scenes I felt were corny and unneeded…like the beginning with the stereotypical Hollywood portrayal of the angry black man and wise black servant). I mean I think it served a role for the film, but I wished Kushner would’ve found a less…stereotypical way to write those scenes. At least it’s not as bad as the Chris Tucker sidekick role telling Tiffany and Pat to “dance like they’re black” which I found to be pretty offensive and playing of racial stereotypes for an easy, relatable laugh for those who don’t quite get that that scene played on a history of writing “ethnic” characters as personalities instead of fully realized characters.
Out of that competition, it would be between Kubrick and Scorsese.
In the last 15 years or so, Titanic winning over the best (yes, I said best) film of the 90’s, LA Confidential. Or most of the other 10 Oscars it got that night, for that matter.
Sorry if mentioned, but my biggest gripe was Julia Roberts over Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream. Roberts was very good, but it was a case of ‘it was her time…’ when she won and no one will ever convince me that Burstyn’s performance wasn’t the best of that year. Period.
There are many for sure, but I definitely agree with a good number of the people here (and with “Bette” who will no doubt be the banner protester on this matter) in the the win of CRASH over BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN may be the most horrific sin ever committed by the Academy.
I was angry when FAR FROM HEAVEN and EMPIRE OF THE SUN were left off the shortlist. And when Julianne Moore lost Best Actress to Nicole Kidman, and when Rod Steiger lost for THE PAWNBROKER.
As far as CITIZEN KANE losing Best Picture, while that is always the one that is brought out as well it should be, it loses a bit because HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY is a flat out Ford masterpiece, a work of deep emotion and lyrical beauty. Is it BETTER than CITIZEN KANE?
No it is NOT better. CITIZEN KANE is one of the greatest films ever made. But HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY is such a superlative classic, that it is useless to really call the choice as an aberration. But the backlash was inevitable.
*Kubrick did win for visual effects on 2001, wholly deserved
Biggest snubs or losses:
Crash winning over Brokeback Mountain
Paul Giamatti snubbed for Sideways
Citizen Kane losing picture, director and cinematography
Martin Scorsese snubbed for Taxi Driver and losing for Raging Bull and Goodfellas (which also deserved picture and screenplay)
Ryan Gosling snub for Blue Valentine (my favorite performance of the year) Inception missing for director and editing
Drive missing on Picture, cinematography, editing and supporting actor
Assassination of Jesse James snubbed for art direction
All the President’s Men losing best picture and director to Rocky
The Dark Knight missing on picture, director and music
Johnny Greenwood and Clint Mansell, and for that matter Cliff Martinez and Carter Burwell, never being nominated
Lubezki losing for Children of Men and Tree of Life
Roger Deakins…poor Roger Deakins
Stanley Kubrick on anything
The Master (didn’t expect they’d wise up to director) missing picture, art direction, music and especially cinematography and screenplay
Bigelow and Affleck snubs of this year
The Dark Knight Rises getting nothing
I know there are so many more but these are the most blatant of the bunch.
Am I the only one who thinks that Roberto Benigni’s speech was hilariously awesome?
And get American Beauty off that chart. Clear cut favorite and fantastic movie.
This just goes to show that the Academy has screwed up in major ways, and will do so again, with this year being a prime example that will have to be added to the list.
For the record, as one of several people who have seen every Best Picture winner, the Academy has done far worse than Crash (which, again, I thought was a decent choice). It was a better pick than several others made in the last ten years (including Million Dollar Baby and The Hurt Locker).
Top left corner..the #1 seed…nailed it. “Crash” is the worst Best Picture I’ve ever seen. I saw it when it came out, long before the hype and the awards season…I couldn’t even finish it. The fact that it beat Brokeback, Capote, Good Night & Good Luck, & Munich is beyond absurd. I’m still not over it.
Even with the ones I disagree with (of which there are few) this is the BEST thing to happen this awards season so far. It’s funny and harmless and takes the tension out a bit. I laughed so much at this.
Also, I never thought I’d want Crash to win anything but it needs to win this tournament.
Id say the worst are: 1.) Crash and 2.) Kubrick
But I have to say American Beauty was great. Cannot believe it is mentioned on that list. Looks like an obvious ploy to have Bigelow make it through. The fact that Hitchcock isnt mentioned is questionable as well.
1) Tommy Lee Jones over Ralph Fiennes? No no and no. Still hurts
2) Shakespear in Love. Enough said. That year was a travesty itself
3) Liv Ullmann snubbed for Scenes From A Marriage
4) Mulholland Drive not nominated for Best Film and Best Actress: Naomi Watts
5) Bjork snubbed for a Best Actress nomination
6) Cate Blanchett snubbed for Veronica Guerin
7) Three Colour: Blue not nominated for A N Y T H I N G
8) Zodiac not nominated for A NY T H I N G
9) Marlon Brando not winning for his performance in A Streetcar Named Desire
10) The Kings Speech winning Best Picture and Best Director of The Social Network is beyond me
11) The snub of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in Best Picture and Best Director
12) Hilary Swank has two Best Actress Oscars……
13) Charlotte Rampling, Isabelle Huppert, Ewan McGregor, Lars von Trier never nominated
14) Tom Cruise should have won for Magnolia
15) Skyfall should have been nominated for Best Picture
16) Martin Scorsese winning for the copy and paste work The Departed
17) In The Mood For Love not nominated for A N Y T H I N G
18) Roberto Beningni wins Best Actor….
19) Matthew McConaughey snubbed for a Best Supporting Actor nomination
20) Sasha Stone was not elected as the madame president of AMPAS 😉
Well, I loved Crash when I saw it (I haven’t see it again though) and enjoy it a little more than the great BM, and love, truly love American Beauty and Forrest Gump, even more than more artistic or groundbreaking films of those years (being the exception Magnolia and The Shawshank Redemption, tow masterpieces a little better than those BP winners).
I don’t understand why people can be that harsh on loving a clearly beloved film. It’s so obvious to understand their winnings, but they keep shouting to the skies looking for answers from the Academmy. You should know by now how this works.
Peter O’toole losing to Rex Harrison
Jennifer Hudson winning an Oscar (sorry, not that great upon repeated viewings).
I also think it was a travesty that the Coen brothers’ most remarkable film “Miller’s Crossing” didn’t obtain one – NOT ONE – nomination. That was a travesty.
“WTF: Every dance number”
Agreed. Hugh Jackman’s tongue-in-cheek self aware dance at the beginning of his hosting gig comes off as one of the most squeamish Oscar moments in memory.
Also, Naomi Watts and Mulholland Dr.
Some I’d add:
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’ snub
Senna and The Interrupters getting snubbed in the same year
Hoop Dreams snub
Citizen Kane losing
Brother Bear getting nominated for Animated over Millennium Actress
Julia Roberts over Ellen Burstyn. Madness, just madness.
WORST OF THE WORST-
Worst Best Pictures:
Crash over Brokeback Mountain
Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan
How Green Was my Valley over Citizen Kane
American Beauty over The Sixth Sense
Argo over Lincoln (Oops! too soon)
Worst Best Actress:
Grace Kelly over Judy Garland (1954)
Judy Holliday over Bette Davis, Gloria Swanson (1950)
Jodie Foster over Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis (1991)
Gwyneth Paltrow over Cate Blanchett (1998)
Sandra Bullock over ALL her competition (2009)
Worst Best Actor:
Robert Donat over Clark Gable (Gone with the Wind) – 1939
Paul Lukas over Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca) – 1943
Art Carney over Jack Nicholson (Chinatown) and Al Pacino (Godfather II)- 1974
Al Pacino over Denzel Washington (Malcom X) -1992
Kevin Spacey over Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington – 1999
Roberto Beginin over ALL his competition – 1998
Worst Supporting Actor:
Claude Raines losing for Casbalanca & Notorious to complete travesties!
Tommy Lee Jones over Leonardo DiCaprio, Ralph Fiennes – 1993
Michael Caine over ALL his competition – 1999
Christian Bale over Geoffrey Rush – 2010
Worst Supporting Actress:
Shirley Jones over Janet Leigh (Psycho) – 1960
Kim Basinger over Julianne Moore & Joan Cusack (1997)
Jennifer Hudson over Cate Blanchett and the Babel women (2006)
Rachel Weisz over Amy Adams (2005)
“Children of Men’s” cinematography losing out to “Pan’s Labrynth”.
No question..1.Peter O’toole never winning one..(seriously?!)…2. Brokeback
Sorry to tell you this Sasha but The Kings Speech is better than The Social Network. In my humble subjective opinion.
Sorry to tell you this Sasha but The Kings Speech is better than The Social Network. In my humble subjective opinion.
It isn’t a bad movie but of the ones nominated that year it wasn’t even close to being best. Just like … this year.
They seem to have forgotten Judy Garland losing for A Star is Born. That to me is one of the best performances to ever be put on screen. It is a shame what they did to her…..
Also, as much as I loved Samuel L. Jackson (I thought he gave the best performance in Django), Martin Landau in Ed Wood just can’t be denied.
I mean have people forgotten Ed Wood?
Benjamin Button is on here? Seriously?
That movie was selected to be a part of the Criterion Collection. It’s not perfect, but I feel like this movie is getting into underrated territory.
Maybe it’s my New Orleans bias, but I feel like people are just hating on it because it seemed like Oscar-bait and Brad Pitt was the star.
Benjamin Button is on here? Seriously?
Disagree with that pic for sure…
Correction (actor’s name): Martin Landau [Apologies for blunder in TWO spots in my first comment.]
Mike: Bravo. You listed more real travesties than the Grantland guy did.
Oops that last post was supposed to be in the Bits and Bites thread. Silly me!
You know, not enough credit is given to the cameraman and director who captured the Russell moment. Clearly, Lawrence was meant to be the focus of that shot, but the cameraman must have noticed Russell’s face and moved slightly right.
I have Scorsese beating Kubrick in the final.
I would have also included Julianne Moore losing to Kim Basinger. I saw that in the dictionary when I looked up the word “travesty”.
. . .
nuthin for Harry Potter.
I blame the critics. they’s give out good reviews, but forget the film(s) at year-end. The guilds and the Academy had to understand the giant achievement of the series, but no one bothered to figure out the right way to honor it/them.
I know many people consider the Schindler’s List Tap Dance one of the great Ocar travesties. While it does seem odd when described as such, I quite enjoyed it at the time.
I’m still bitter about The King’s Speech over The Social Network. I’ve been following the Oscars closely since I was about 10 years old (I believe that was A Beautiful Mind’s year over Fellowship of the Ring), but it was that 2010 season that finally broke my spirit and faith in the Oscars. After that year, I felt as though I grew up a little bit; I had a far better understanding of just how the “Oscar game” is played, and just how cynical and dishonest it could be.
You all actually reminded me of a few more. Coppola losing Best Director for The Godfather (one of the best directed films of all time) to Bob Fosse. At least the DGA got it right that year. Even more recently: Inglourious Basterds losing not only Best Picture and Best Director, but also Best Original Screenplay to The Hurt Locker. Now THAT was a joke. Also, Bill Murray should have easily won Best Actor for Lost in Translation. Just rewatched it recently and was once again swept up in how good he is in it.
I stopped reading this when I saw they put Samuel L. Jackson losing for Pulp Fiction to Martin Landau a travesty. Idiots.
Let’s not forget Roberto Benigni’s Best Actor win for Life is Beautiful. Ugh!
And he forgot the greatest travesty of all in his bracket; Hurt Locker over Avatar.
1) The main photo’s travesties tournament chart includes that “Bill Murray loses for Lost in Translation” as part of the so-called travesties.
2) “Samuel Jackson loses for Pulp Fiction.” – from the travesties chart as well.
3) “American Beauty wins Best Picture.” – from the travesties chart as well.
—
1) My response: The Mystic River year’s Best Actor category was all relatively as good (homely) as it could be in my opinion. The list includes Penn (Mystic River), Depp (Pirates), Kingsley (Sand and Fog), Law (Cold Mountain), Murray (Lost in Translation). I saw all of these films. If I NEED to pick one, here, then I’ll have to give it to Penn just as Oscar did that year. And before anyone mentions American Splendor: No, I don’t think it’s been underrated re the film and its lead actor Paul G.
2) SHVT THE FVCK UP DONNY! AND BE CAREFUL, THERE’S SOME BEVERAGE HERE! xD [Now, lemme sip my White Russian first…] That year, Best Supporting Actor nominees were Laundau (Ed Wood), Palminteri (Bullets), Sinise (Gump), Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Scofield (Quiz Show). In my opinion, Laudau deserved it! [Well, be my guest, go walk the earth like Kane in Kung Fu – just like Jules did….]
3) Never underestimate the power of denial…. xD I guess that guy must have loved The Insider (or Cider House) so much. I love The Insider. BUT American Beauty has its own satirical style so delicious, and the comedic elements, plus the great ensemble, as well as virtually everything else, all of which I love sooo much it’s currently one of my all-time favorites.
Agree that a lot of these aren’t travesties, but the biggest ones have always been Kubrick somehow never getting a Best Director Oscar (despite being nominated for four films in a row, all of which he deserved to win for), Goodfellas somehow losing Best Picture & Director to Dances with Wolves (one of the dumbest, most inexplicable decisions ever), and Network somehow losing Best Picture & Director to Rocky.
I would have Pulp Fiction losing (and indeed it should have won BP and Director), but I really enjoy Forrest Gump. Shakespeare in Love is one of my favorite films of all time, so I agreed with the Academy’s decision to award it over Saving Private Ryan. I had no problem with Crash winning (though I was rooting for Good Night and Good Luck). Also had no problem with The King’s Speech winning (#2 on my list of 2010’s best films, behind Inception) as I found it to be better than The Social Network (which didn’t even make my list).
For me, some major Oscar travesties includes:
*Denzel Washington losing for his performance in Malcolm X.
*Joan Fontaine not even nominated for Letter from an Unknown Woman.
*City of God not winning best picture or best director.
*Peter O’Toole not winning for Lawrence of Arabia.
*Barbara Stanwyck never winning a competitive Oscar. Who can forget her amazing performances in Stella Dallas and Sorry, Wrong Number.
*Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard losing to Judy Holiday in Born Yesterday.
*Better Davis not winning for The Little Foxes.
In other news, Sasha, I read somewhere that the filmmakers and cast of Beasts of
the Southern Wild were invited to the White House along with some high school students from Washington, D.C and New Orleans by first lady Michelle Obama. They were there to participate in an interactive student workshop in honor of Black History Month. What a great honor for the cast and crew of the little film that has been going on like the energizer bunny since winning the top prize award at Sundance early last year.
I can ignore the Oscar hosts, acceptance speeches, and all that other stuff that doesn’t count because no one really remembers it. The winners, the losers, and those that were snubbed are the ones people remember.
Do not agree with Samuel L. Jackson’s loss a travesty. He was good, but Landau brought Bela Legosi back to life in Ed Wood. He deserved it.
And though I agree Saving Private Ryan and Brokeback Mountain should have won in their respective years, and can understand why they lost (Academy politics).
I don’t know why American Beauty is suddenly thrown into this.
Yes, I prefer watching Apocalypse Now over Kramer vs. Kramer, but Apocalypse had its own problems for me (the use of narration was a bit mediocre, but still beautifully shot by Storaro).
And since seeing The Dark Knight Rises, I really have no problem with The Dark Knight being snubbed (it DID have its problems).
Biggest Oscar travesties for me include:
–Art Carney wins Best Actor over four better performances from four talented actors.
–Robert Shaw being snubbed for Best Supporting Actor for Jaws.
–Don Ameche winning Supporting Actor for Cocoon (liked the movie a lot, but why was he even nominated?)
–Bob Fosse winning Best Director for Cabaret over Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather.
–The Towering Inferno winning Best Cinematography! AAAAAHHHH!!
–Star Wars losing Best Picture.
–Raising Arizona not getting a single nomination.
–Blood Simple not getting a single nomination.
–Christopher Nolan being snubbed Best Director for Inception.
–Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock not winning Best Director.
–Network not winning Best Picture and Best Director.
–A Streetcar Named Desire not winning Best Picture.
–Marlon Brando losing Best Actor in A Streetcar Named Desire.
–The Third Man not winning Best Picture or Best Director.
–City Lights and Modern Times not getting a single nomination.
–The Iron Lady wins Best Makeup over Harry Potter’s final film.
–Sandra Bullock winning Best Actress.
–Mulholland Dr. snubbed for Best Picture and Naomi Watts snubbed for Best Actress.
–Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole not winning a single Oscar.
I could go on, but I want to bring up another issue with the Academy’s categories:
–Should only be Best Score if only one award honors music scores in film. If not, then they should bring back Best Adapted Score (as opposed to Original Score), since winners in the past did NOT include original pieces. It sickens me to think Jonny Greenwood being disqualified for his memorable score to There Will Be Blood because some pieces were deemed made already, yet films like Babel and The Artist win and they include musical pieces from the TV series Deadwood and the classic Vertigo respectively–and it’s ORIGINAL SCORE!! Seriously, Academy.
–With that, should the two screenplay categories be put under one category, simply called Best Screenplay, just like many other awards shows like the Golden Globes?
–With movies being commonly loud these days, should the two misleading sound categories be one, simply called Best Sound Effects, as opposed to Visual Effects?
–Should Best Makeup be rightfully renamed Best Hair and Makeup Effects?
–I do believe the Academy this year has renamed Best Art Direction to Best Production Design, which I am glad and have felt they should have, to complement Best Costume Design. Besides, it’s the production designer that gets the Oscar.
–This was also brought up recently in the news, but should the four acting categories be shrunkened down to two, with Best Lead Performance including males and females and Best Supporting Performance including the same? I don’t think Hollywood would favor this so much so I wouldn’t see a change in the near future.
–Lastly, should we drop the Best in each category and simply refer to the winner as Most Outstanding, since they are the choice that stood out the most from all the other nominees? I would be politically correct. I mean, they don’t say “And the winner is…” anymore, now they say “And the Oscar goes to…”
Well, that’s all for now. Thank you for letting me rant a little 🙂
Worst- Crash
Next worst – Shakespeare in Love
Next next. – Braveheart
From the graph provided, my top 3 most egregious Oscar moments are:
1. Rocky winning Best Picture (over Network and/or All the President’s Men)
2. Rob Lowe’s duet with Snow White (just the worst damn thing you could ever watch).
3. Stanley Kubrick never winning an Oscar (should have won it for “Dr. Strangelove” in 1964 – George Cukor’s direction of “My Fair Lady” is appallingly bad).
I, for one, have no problem with either “American Beauty” or “The English Patient” winning best picture. Those were competitive years, and these two pictures still stand up after a decade as pretty good movies.
I think he left off one of the most egregious Oscar moments: “Titanic” winning 11 Oscars. Sorry, folks. I’m a Titanic buff and know more than most after reading extensively about that tragic night. I almost walked out of that movie. A sentimental, monstrously inaccurate piece of shit.
First thing that comes to mind is Ian McKellen losing to real life clown Roberto Benigni. That was an absolute disgrace. Also….SPR losing to SIL. Ironically that was the same year as the Benigni fiasco. Blanchett losing to Paltrow, same year. Yeah, 1998 was probably when I started caring about the Oscars a whole lot less.
Zodiac, THE greatest film of the last 10 years, not getting a single nomination. The Insider going 0-7 by losing to American Beauty and Crowe losing to Spacey.
Bob, I thought Crash was very good as well. Might just be a political thing; people being upset about AMPAS snubbing the “gay movie”.
I wholeheartedly agree with Antoinette. The person who made this graphic is a bit out of touch with what Oscar is about. His choices are way too specific. If I had made one, it would have been just as relevant. But, those are his personal choices and he seems to want to willfully ignore populist sentiment.
I mean, protesting Martin Landau’s win as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood? I heard the complaint for the first time a few months ago. Sam Jackson was good, but his loss wasn’t a travesty. Landau was not only overdue, but he was awesome, and that film rocks. Well, okay to Jackson it was a travesty. But, I don’t really care about his ego. Leonardo DiCaprio was much better in Gilbert Grape (and some, but not me, argue Ralph Fiennes) than Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive. But, DiCaprio losing wasn’t a travesty. It would have just been my preference of who I thought should win.
I never even liked American Beauty, but it winning wasn’t a travesty. In fact, considering the competition, it made sense that it won. What was supposed to win? The Green Mile? Cider House? Sixth Sense? (boy, that hasn’t aged well) OH! The Insider was supposed to win! ZZZZzzzzzz.
LOL
The only ones I agree with are him mentioning the Kathryn Bigelow snub (which seemed like more of a dig against Ben Affleck; let’s call it what is is), and Stanley Kubrick never winning. I would have loved if Goodfellas won, but that wasn’t an Oscar-winning movie. That awful Dances With Wolves was. It made almost $200M and people and the AMPAS loved it. And, Fargo is one of my favorites, but losing to The English Patient wasn’t a travesty. And, he’s going to complain that one David Fincher losing BP is travesty, but another getting 13 nominations is a travesty? And, Forrest Gump winning? I hate that movie too, but if you’re going to complain about it winning, shouldn’t you be pushing the #1 movie on the IMDb right now? Still, after almost 20 years, Shawshank is the favorite of fanboys everywhere. Huh? What is this guy smoking? I think it’s a travesty that JFK won editing over The Silence of the Lambs. I think it’s a travesty that Thelma & Louise wasn’t released a year earlier and kicked Kevin Costner’s ass. It’s a travesty that Halle Berry didn’t go up against Julia Roberts for Best Actress. There’s some travesty.
Technically, though, this graphic looks nice.
Deborah Kerr turning in some of the best performances ever being nominated 6times and never winning. Agnes Moorehead being shut out for The Magnificent Ambersons. Sophia Loren being snubbed for A Special Day.
Have to go with Crash, but – if things go the way they seem to be going this year – I may have a new #1 very soon.
I’d have to go with either Pulp Fiction or Goodfellas losing. Kubrick never winning ranks pretty high too. I’m in the minority here in that I thought Crash was the best of the year when it won and still think it was the best.
And of course: the worst travesty ever is not on the list… ALFRED HITCHOCK 0 FOR EVERYTHING.
Bad… bad… bad movie taste translates into poorly made satires.
It was funny (some things I agreed… some I didn’t)… but when I read American Beauty it lost it purpose. REALLY? If the person who made this really prefers Braveheart, Out of Africa and A Beautiful Mind as winners the only thing I can say is that I have pity on her movie taste.
And as much as I think it’s far away from Fincher’s best and that year’s best films, what’s wrong with the 13 nominations? It’s wonderfully crafted and deserved every single of the tech nods.
I haven’t seen the 2nd worst best picture choice (Braveheart) recently and the worst performance to win an Oscar in the past two decades (Jennifer Hudson, who looks like a really nice person but… really overrated in Dreamgirls).
If Charlize Theron would go ahead an get that U.S. citizenship, We’d have another African American to tally, making the scar no look so bad.
In my eyes American Beauty is a great movie; no travesty given.
But I still can’t get my head wrapped around the fact that Magnolia did not get nominated in any major category except for Cruise and Screenplay.
How the hell Martin Landau winning over Samuel L. Jackson is a travesty? His interpretation of Bela Lugosi is one of the funniest and also heartbraking “fame gone bad” performances in history. He is flawless.
His criteria says he only went back to The Godfather, so anything before that will not be included on this list.
The only one on his list I take offense at is “Samuel L. Jackson losing for Pulp Fiction.” Although I love Jackson in the role, Martin Landau is brilliant in “Ed Wood” and deserved the Oscar that year.
Only 1/2 African American winner for Best Actress.
Kubrick never winning Best Director has to take the cake. The man made probably the greatest film of all time, 2001, and loses Best Director to Carol Reed for…Oliver!.
Also, how is Hitchcock never winning Best Director not on here? I’d say that outranks the whole Rob Lowe thing.
Sandra Bullock winning on the basis of popularity rather than on merit. Only one African American winner for best actress. Glenn Close’s record is six nominations and zero wins.
The worst tragedy: crash over brokeback
Julia Roberts (brokovitch) over Ellen burstyn (requiem)
Gump over pulp fiction
And
Penn (milk) over rourke (wrestler)
I have to go with Crash winning. That year was the final drop for me. I stopped taking the whole thing so seriously since then. However, I had a relapse last year, but just because I wanted TGWTDT nominated, not even a winner, just nominated for BP. But as always, the academy let me down and made furious last year. Since I cannot change the outcome, I relax and enjoy the ride and know that the ones I love will be a part of MY collection of greats. I’m looking at Brokeback Mountain’s DVD box as I type this. 🙂
Well, there’s nothing pre 1972 on this or so, so let’s stop discussing Citizen Kane.
The biggest travest for me is Braveheart winning Best Pic. Or is it Gladiator? Or Forrest Gump? Or a Beautiful Mind?
Ack, so many travesties to choose from, so little time!
“Brokeback/Crash and Social Network/TKS probably come the closest, but we witnessed why those happened. Not having been present, when you look back on 1941 (?), the choice looks absurd.”
True, but if you look back at the history of Citizen Kane and what was going on in 1941, it makes more sense. Citizen Kane was steeped in controversy (the ZD30 of its day!)and there were a lot of important and influential people who were trying to take it down. William Randolph Hearst was offering to pay RKO to burn the negative of Citizen Kane and never release the film, and some bigwig Hollywood boys, including Sam Goldwyn and Louis B. Mayer, were backing Hearst and encouraging RKO to take Hearst’s offer. Hedda Hopper was frothing at the mouth over CK. The fact it managed to survive the hit campaign against it, not to mention win an Oscar for screenplay, is pretty impressive.
I don’t know if this is considered a “travesty,” but I’ve always been bugged that Judy Holliday won Best Actress in 1950 over Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd and Bette Davis in All About Eve. It just seems…wrong!
Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump, and Forrest Gump
The King’s Speech over Social Network but also over Black Swan, Inception
The Dark Knight and Christopher Nolan(directing) snubs
And not so much a travesty as I just wish they have been nominated : Uma and Lucy Liu for Kill Bill
Costner over Scorsese.
Redford over Scorsese
Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain (WTF?) and Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago (ahead of Julianne Moore for The Hours)
Under Harvey Weinstein category: G Paltrow winning instead of cate blanchet.
Don’t know what category: woopi Goldberg and Halle berry wins. WTF?
1. Crash wins best picture
Singin’ in the Rain not being nominated but The Greatest Show on Earth winning. Hell, that’s so egregious and inexplicable, it might take the cake.
Melissa Leo’s acceptance speech. Kidding, kind of.
Pan’s Labyrinth, Almost Famous, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Moonrise Kingdom SNUBBED for Best Picture
Should probably add Hitchcock; it’s not like they completely ignored him or his films, and yet he never won (GIGI, WTF?).
And not just Scorsese losing as much as not being nominated for Taxi Driver. It was not a commercial, so what bug was up the Academy’s ass?
– Crash over Brokeback Mountain is probably the worst offense (Did they even watch “Crash”?? Or did just voted for it so that the gay film would not win? How can anyone think it’s good is beyond me)
– Gweneth Patrow over Cate Blanchett
The easy ones: The Best Doc Feature category has been a disgrace for years (Hoop Dreams, for sure), but they are trying to turn that around. Best Song is usually a joke but has the odd great winner every decade or so (Eminem was the last decent winner).
There are lots of BP travesties, but we saw most of them coming, and will continue to do so, I guess. Visionary directors and acting icons who have nothing on the mantle – that’s right up there.
I have to go with the biggest of them all: Citizen Kane losing to How Green was My Valley. The disparity between the two films tops all others. Brokeback/Crash and Social Network/TKS probably come the closest, but we witnessed why those happened. Not having been present, when you look back on 1941 (?), the choice looks absurd.
I have yet to see HGWMY, but I bet it’s better than TKS. I just doubt it comes close to Citizen Kane (which is more undeniable than The Social Network), though John Ford has his merits.
Linda Hunt was not a travesty!
I might add Russell Crowe losing for A Beautiful Mind, but there were a lot of things going on there and he had a hand in his own loss.
I’d like to add Spielberg’s and Nolan’s snubs for Director, the general shutout for The Color Purple, and the criminal ignoring of one of the great, universally beloved supporting performances of all time, Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future…for Don Ameche in Cocoon, which is like a poor man’s Back to the Future. 1985 was a screwed-up year.
I do love that Best Song category has screwed up so often over the years that it gets its own slot.
I predict this thread will get reallllly longggggg.
American classics ‘Citizen Kane’, ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘The Descendants’ getting just one Oscar each is a travesty. In those years vastly inferior films took home best picture. I fear that ‘Lincoln’ will join that list.
Worse another masterpiece ‘Short Cuts’ which influenced filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson got nothing as did ‘Gangs of New York’ and ‘Far From Heaven’. David O Russell’s classic ‘Three Kings’ wasn’t even nominated.
He forgot the only «travesty» that has ever won: Best supporting actress Linda Hunt, for playing a man in The Year of Living Dangerously.
Thank you, Zach — although How Green Was My Valley has suffered some unfair hits (backlash) over the years because of that brouhaha.
And where’s the granddaddy of the Best Picture mistakes, Citizen Kane losing to How Green Was My Valley?
. . . and let’s not forget Helen Hayes winning for Airport. Now that just sucked.
Yeah, Rocky, Benjamin Button, American Beauty, Travolta losing for Saturday Night Fever, Forrest Gump (I thought Shawshank was everybody’s 1994 favorite now!), and most of all Bill Murray do not belong on this list. He has Bigelow on the list but not Affleck! Taking personal feelings out of it, the biggest travesties are probably Scorsese and Pacino waiting so long to win and everything relating to bad hosts!
Bjork’s swan dress was the best thing about that year’s Oscarcast!
Any discussion of all-time Oscar travesties must certainly include the granddaddy (I mean grandmama) of them all, the Academy’s failure to nominate Bette Davis for Of Human Bondage. As I recall, people were so incensed that a write-in campaign ensued (I think she came in 3rd), and the year after that the tradition of rewarding “make-up” Oscars began when she won for Dangerous.
What’s so egregious about Björk’s swan dress? It’s the only thing I can remember from that Oscar year!
Whoopi Goldberg in Whiteface.
I think he probably should stop watching the Oscars. He should definitely skip it this year since he hates the Best Song category, every dance number ever, and has already decided that Seth McFarlane is a travesty.
I’m gonna say here that if you’re a person who thinks ROCKY was a travesty you probably don’t get what a typical Oscar movie is. If you don’t understand why it won and think that was a horrible decision, you’re probably going to be disappointed with Oscar forever.
There are too many to count but one that stands out for me was the exclusion of “Hoop Dreams” in the documentary category. No excuse for this.
I object to the inclusion of American Beauty’s win on that list. It’s still one of my favorite movies of that decade, if not my favorite. Loved the acting, writing and how that movie was shot. Even the score should have won, in retrospect.
Some of those really aren’t travesties (I still love American Beauty!), but pretty hilarious.