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Oscars 2018: 10 Snubs and 5 Surprises From This Year’s Academy Award Nominations
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eelyajekiM   |  @   |  

Oscars 2018: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Now that the Academy Award nominations have been announced, it’s time to take a look at some of the biggest surprises and of course the biggest snubs for this year’s Oscars. The Shape Of Water led the pack with 13 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Dunkirk got eight, and while a lot of it was on the technical aspects of the film, it did help Christopher Nolan score his first nomination for Best Director. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri came behind with 7, including Best Actress and two for Best Supporting Actor. So you get the gist.

But there were some things that just got flat-out snubbed, along with a few surprises as well. Check out some of these here below…

Snubs

The LEGO Batman Movie review header

10 – The LEGO Batman Movie

While The LEGO Batman Movie did come out way back in February of last year, that shouldn’t have stopped it from getting nominated for Best Animated Movie. What makes this a snub is the fact that there were nominations given out to animated films that pale in comparison to The LEGO Batman Movie. Ferdinand and Boss Baby both earned nominations and both did not earn nearly enough critical acclaim. Then there is the fact that this has been a rather poor year for animated films. Other than Coco, there was nothing to be excited about on the animation front.

Armie Hammer

9 – Armie Hammer In Call Me By Your Name

I’ll admit, I haven’t seen Call Me By Your Name, but judging by everyone’s reactions and the other award nominations that Armie Hammer has gotten for his performance in the film, It is surprising to see that he didn’t get recognized for it for the Oscars. But since there are only five slots available for the category, it is easy to see why he may have been overlooked. Plus Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri already took two of those slots, which pretty much narrows the field to three.

Three Billboards Director Martin Mcdonagh

8 – No Director Nod For Martin McDonagh For Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

With all the recognition that Three Billboards has been receiving as of late, a snub for Martin McDonagh for Best Director came as a shock. Especially since the film earned three noms for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor combined. As well as Best Editing, Best Picture, and Best Original Screenplay. And those awards might not have happened without McDonagh. But let’s just chalk it up to McDonagh being overlooked because of the other notable directors who were nominated.

Molly's Game

7 – Jessica Chastain For Molly’s Game and The Zookeepers Wife

As well written as Molly’s Game is, it getting any more noms than Best Adaptive Screenplay was always going to be a long shot. That being said, star Jessica Chastain has starred in some notable films, including The Zookeepers Wife, which should have also been considered. But there is really nothing to be bitter about, especially since the five who were nominated for Best Actress all gave excellent performances. It’s just a crowded field, and there were only five slots to fill.

6- Andy Serkis For War For The Planet Of The Apes

Once again, Andy Serkis‘ stellar performance as Caeser, the leader of the highly evolved group of apes, in War For The Planet Of The Apes has been overlooked by the Academy. While there is an argument of who should get the award, the ones who designed the character or the person who gave the CGI character life, that have plagued this quandary, we cannot deny that Serkis has made mo-cap performances something that we should consider for an award. He’s carried the rebooted Apes franchise for three films, and for three films, we saw an evolution of a character. Unfortunately, we may never see it again, considering how the franchise will now have to carry on without its leader.

Michael Stuhlbarg

5- Michael Stuhlbarg For The Shape Of Water, Call Me By Your Name, The Post

Again, I may have never seen Call Me By Your Name, but judging by all the acclaim it has been getting and the recognition it has been receiving, it is hard to believe that Michael Stuhlbarg was overlooked. While you can say that there were other performances to consider, Stuhlbarg also appeared in The Shape Of Water, for which he also had a large supporting role. Yeah, he didn’t play that much of a role as the New York Times editor in The Post. But he appeared in three Academy Award nominated films, and yet, he wasn’t nominated at least once.

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks In The Post

4 – The Post, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks

Speaking of The Post, it’s hard to believe that such a timely film that speaks to the current political climate can be overlooked. Director Steven Spielberg and film star Tom Hanks are usual Oscar favorites as well, but not this time around. What’s more, the screenplay came from Spotlight screenwriter Josh Harris. Liz Hannah cowrote the screenplay as well. While it would have been great to see another female screenwriter earn a nom for her work in a great film, it was already a crowded field.

Tiffany Haddish

3 – Tiffany Haddish For Girls Trip

Tiffany Haddish joined Andy Serkis to announce this year’s award nominations. The irony of their stellar performances in their respective films is that they weren’t nominated at all. Haddish is the clear standout in the comedy Girls Trip. Again, this comes from all the praise she has been getting. And if you watched the announcement, you would have seen why she should have been considered in the first place. It’s too bad it didn’t get past a consideration and go as far as a nomination.

Holly Hunter

2 – Holly Hunter For The Big Sick

Despite The Big Sick‘s honesty addressing the modern-day multi-cultural relationship, it was always going to be a long shot to getting any more awards than Original Screenplay. Actor and screenwriter Kumail Nanjiani and his wife and co-screenwriter, Emily V. Gordon, drew a lot of attention this past summer with their flick. But if we are talking about performances, Holly Hunter‘s role as Emily’s mother was genuine and sincere. In fact, many saw her as a frontrunner to get an Oscar nomination. However, that wasn’t meant to be. And looking at the field, it’s understandable why she may have been snubbed (Meryl!).

Wonder Woman Header Image

1 – Nothing for Wonder Woman

But the biggest snub of all has to go to Wonder Woman. Comic book films have always been a long shot to earn Best Picture recognition, but the first good DCEU film has earned high praise for its direction, writing, and costume design. It even got snubbed for the technical awards, sound mixing, sound design, and visual effects. So what’s the deal with it not getting any nominations? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Guess we will never know why it got snubbed.

Surprises

With snubs comes surprises. So here are some good things that we should take away from this year’s nominations…

Jordan Peele's Get Out

5- Jordan Peele’s Get Out Gets Some Love

The love that Get Out has been getting is great. Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Acting, and Best Screenplay couldn’t have been better. Jordan Peele‘s – who is also the fifth black director to earn a nomination for Best Director – social commentary film that could be seen as a horror, comedy, or documentary, or maybe all three, made waves early last year, and many talked about it in the months leading up to the Oscar announcements. It was a thought-provoking film that dealt with social issues in a surreal artistic manner. Of course, the fact that this is being considered a horror film would put it out of the running, but it looks like the Academy overlooked that fact and gave it a Best Picture nom anyway. Which is great, because that’s what Universal has been pushing for.

The Shape of Water

4 – Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape Of Water Leads With 13 Nominations

Another multi-genre film that would otherwise get overlooked because it wouldn’t have been the arthouse standard filmmaking. Many are considering Octavia Spencer‘s nom to be a surprise, but let’s be honest, she is consistently great in every role that she is given. She is one of the most versatile actresses out there. But the one thing we shouldn’t overlook is the 13 nominations the film has received. They were all well-deserved. And to see Guillermo del Toro, a Mexican director, earn a nom for Best Picture and Best Directing, along with Best Original Screenplay with his female co-writer Vanessa Taylor, I’d have to say that the Academy is taking yet another small step forward in the right direction for having more diversity in these categories.

Rachel Morrison

3 – Mudbound Helps Get First Female Cinematographer Nomination

Mudbound may have had a limited run due to the fact that it was a Netflix exclusive, but the screeners that were sent out and the subscribers that saw it on the streaming site were clearly aware of Rachel Morrison‘s cinematography. And that may earn her the award for Best Cinematographer. What’s more, it’s the first time that a female has been nominated for this award. Let’s hope this opens the doors for more females to be recognized in other categories.

2 – Greta Gerwig’s Best Director Nod For Lady Bird

And if we are talking about numbers, Greta Gerwig is the fifth female director to earn the nomination for Best Director, here for her work in Lady Bird. Like Jordan Peele, Gerwig’s Lady Bird is the filmmaker’s directorial debut. And all of the acclaim it has been getting is well-deserved. And like Get Out, this film is smaller, personal, and more focused. Hopefully, Gerwig’s nomination will start a new trend of having more female directors being recognized for their work in film.

Movies of 2017 Logan Wolverine movie

1 – Wolverine Film Logan Gets a Best Adapted Screenplay Nom

For all the flack that comic book films have been getting, Wolverine film Logan was named as a favorite to get nominations for its writing and performance. Though the latter was always a long shot, James Mangold‘s screenplay doesn’t fall into the generic superhero movie tropes. Instead, we get something more personal and heartfelt. The film is proof that even superhero films can get respect.

The 90th Academy Awards ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, March 4, 2018 at 8pm EST, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting.

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