As mentioned above, last week we were offered a pair of special contributions that got lost in the news cycle of Academy chaos and celebrity tragedy. Eric Beck wrote us with his thoughts about the announcement of 10 Best Picture nominees, taking a look at 10 significant films that might have benefited from a broader slate in past years.
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The 10 Most Unhappy Films Today
by Eric Beck
So, my first reaction to the news when I read it on AwardsDaily was “Well, they must really want to pump up the box office for 5 more films.” My second reaction was “Damn it, why couldn’t they have done this last year so Dark Knight could have been nominated?” Which of course made me think – does Dark Knight make the list of the 10 worst snubs in Oscar history?
I looked at films based on a few criteria:
- 1 – How did it actually do at the Oscars? Did the Academy like the film enough to give it major nominations, just not picture?
- 2 – How did it do with the major guilds? The DGA always has been and still is the best indicator of what gets a Best Picture nomination. And I also checked the WGA – those are the best two indicators because they have been around the longest.
- 3 – How did it do at the Globes? Though less important in recent years, the Globes are still a big indicator and some films really get out of the starting gate because of a Globe nom (the two most prominent examples that come to mind are The Crying Game and In the Name of the Father).
I didn’t give as much weight to the Critics awards, because as more awards have started to come around, the Oscars have paid less attention to all of them. From 1935-1991 only two NYFC winners weren’t nominated and they were both foreign films (Day for Night and Amarcord), but since 1992, a whopping 6 winners failed to get nominated. And while it used to just be a Foreign bias, since 1986, 10 films have won at least 2 of the big 6 Critics awards and failed to get a nomination, so they just aren’t that respected by the Academy anymore.
The other thing I did was eliminate Foreign films. The Academy has long shown a reluctance to nominate Foreign films, so for the purposes of this list, I ignored them.
And this is not a perfect indicator. Almost certainly all of these films would have been nominated if there had been 10 Best Picture nominees from 1945-2008, but we can’t be certain. After all, My Man Godfrey was nominated for Director, Screenplay and all 4 acting awards in a year (1936) when there were 10 nominees and still failed to get a Best Picture nomination. Instead, Libeled Lady got a BP nomination and no others.
Also-rans:
- Lili – 1953
- Sabrina – 1954
- In Cold Blood – 1967
- When Harry Met Sally – 1989
- Do the Right Thing – 1989
- Leaving Las Vegas – 1995
- Amistad – 1997
- Dreamgirls – 2006
- The Dark Knight – 2008
All of those films would have been likely nominated, but they just missed out on the Top 10 list. Lili and Sabrina both won the WGA and Screenplay from the Globes, but failed to get Picture noms from the Globes. In Cold Blood failed to get Director or Screenplay from the Globes. When Harry Met Sally and Do the Right Thing didn’t get Director from the Oscars (and Do the Right Things is the only one of those to fail to get a DGA nom). Amistad, Dreamgirls and Dark Knight all got Academy love, but not in Director or Screenplay and Dark Knight was snubbed by the Globes (though loved by the Guilds). And Leaving Las Vegas fell just off the list, in spite of a whole lot of support. Also, I should mention Laura, which in 1944 got 5 Oscar nominations, including Director and Screenplay, but it pre-dates the Guilds and was at a time when the Globes only had winners, not nominees.
10 – Close Encounters of the Third Kind – 1977
Nominated for 8 Oscars (9 if you include it’s special award), including Best Director. Nominated by the DGA, WGA and ACE. Nominated for Picture, Director and Screenplay at the Globes.
9 – I Want to Live – 1958
I personally hate this film, but it belongs here. Nominated for 6 Oscars, including Director and Screenplay and won Best Actress. Nominated by DGA and WGA and nominated for Picture and Director at the Globes.
8 – Some Like It Hot – 1959
Similar to the last film. Nominated for 6 Oscars including Director and Screenplay. Nominated for DGA and won WGA. Won Best Picture – Comedy at the Globes.
7 – East of Eden – 1955
Nominated for 4 Oscars including Director and Screenplay. Nominated by DGA and WGA. No Director nomination from the Globes, but won Best Picture – Drama. One of only two films to win Best Picture – Drama and not get a BP nomination (the other is The Cardinal).
6 – Thelma and Louise – 1991
Stunned when it was passed over for Beauty and the Beast. Still, nominated for 6 Oscars. Nominated by DGA, won WGA. Nominated for Picture at the Globes, and thought it didn’t get a Globe Director nomination, it won Best Screenplay.
5 – Almost Famous – 2000
The only one in the Top 10 not nominated for Best Director at the Globes, but the only one to win Best Screenplay. Won BSFC and CFC. Nominated by the DGA, WGA, PGA and SAG and won ACE. Nominated for the BFCA. Nominated for Screenplay at the Globes and won Best Picture – Comedy. Passed over for Chocolat, a film it beat at the Globes.
4 – They Shoot Horses Don’t They – 1969
The all-time winner for non BP nominees with 9 nominations, including Director, Screenplay, Editing and 3 acting nominations (winning Supporting ACtor). Won NBR. Nominated by DGA and WGA. Nominated for Picture and Director at the Globes.
3 – The Player – 1992
Only three Oscar nominations, but Director and Screenplay were among them. First English language winner of NYFC to not get nominated at the Oscars. Nominated for DGA and ACE. Won WGA. Nominated for Director and Screenplay at the Globes. Won Picture – Comedy.
2 – Being John Malkovich – 1999
Passed over for The Green Mile. Only three Oscar nominations, but got Director and Picture. Nominated for PGA, DGA, WGA, SAG and won ACE. Nominated for BFCA. Nominated for Picture and Screenplay at the Globes.
1 – Hud – 1963
In my point system, the most successful film in Oscar history to not get nominated (320 points). Nominated for 7 Oscars, including Director, Screenplay and Actor. Won Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography. Nominated for DGA and ACE. Won WGA. Nominated for Picture and Director at the Globes. Passed over for Cleopatra, the single worst Best Picture nominees in Oscar history.
There you have it. No guarantees when you re-write history. But all 10 of those films would probably be sitting pretty on the Best Picture nominee list if they hadn’t changed the rules back in 1944.
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Erik Beck writes about film at http://nighthawknews.wordpress.com/ . Last year he wrote a several part history of the Academy Awards. He is currently counting down the list of the 100 Greatest Directors of All-Time. When he finishes that in October, he will go through a history of each year in film, which will conclude just before next year’s Academy Awards. He is obsessed with the Oscars and has now seen 90.83% of the 2967 feature film nominees including all but three of the Best Picture nominees.