And, yes, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, the year’s biggest movie – and now all-time domestic box office champ – scored a measly five nominations, four in technical categories and one for John Williams’s indestructible score.
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Whether you think the Oscars is still relevant or not, it’s impossible to deny how important the award show is to both the industry and pop culture at large. Many have speculated that the director would get a nomination because The Martian is touted to be his best movie. There is literally no higher honour.
“We gave it our all on this film and this appreciation from the Academy means a lot to me and my colleagues who made it possible”, said Inarritu in a statement.
The speculation is that the Academy voters want only one big, noisy blockbuster on the list of works and felt that the single spot should go to Australian auteur George Miller, for road carnage flick Mad Max: Fury Road, a crowd-pleasing action movie which gained 10 nominations, including Best Picture. But, this is her first Oscar nomination, and I couldn’t be happier for her. So, join us as we count down 10 particularly painful snubs that surprised us all. But it’s okay: Straight Outta Compton was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, so Hollywood’s institutional racism is obviously the stuff of a bygone era.
Other British hopefuls include best supporting actor nominees Christian Bale, for The Big Short, Mark Rylance, for Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies, and Tom Hardy for The Revenant. Black actors seem to only win nominations when they play slaves or otherwise oppressed characters.
“There was more diversity in the 1936 Berlin Olympics”, tweeted one user, named Richard Hine, alongside a picture of African-American athletes at the games.
Will Smith for “Concussion”, Idris Elba for “Beasts of No Nation” and Michael B. Jordan for “Creed” were among those expected to be nominated but noticeably left off the list.
She continued, “We have got to speed it up”.
“I feel very fortunate to have survived”, says the director, whose Birdman film picked up three Oscars. And as each year’s Oscar nominations are announced, if the resume building phrase “Oscar nominee” is only landing next to the names of white people, then what chance do actors of color have to break into those few roles that might become available?
The 41-year-old was nominated for a best actor Academy Award on Thursday for his lead role in The Revenant. However much DiCaprio may deserve it, this year’s best actor category is a strong field featuring audience-favourite Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame, Matt Damon’s triumphant performance in The Martian and Michael Fassbender for his Steve Jobs biopic.
Nominees for best director shunned not just one filmmaking legend in Scott, but also Spielberg. No best actor nomination for Johnny Depp in “Black Mass”, for those keeping score in Boston. As a producer of “The Martian”, he does have a shot at walking away with that golden statuette if it wins best picture, though. With this year’s Oscar nominations, as in previous years, we are continuing to perpetuate the tired-and outdated-reflection of culture: the idea that to be valuable, you should be a white, and likely straight, male.
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White Out If you want to find some color among this year’s roster of nominees, you really have to know where to look. Supporting actress is a real horse race, especially since the academy dutifully did the studios’ bidding and included leading ladies from “Carol” (Rooney Mara), “The Danish Girl” (Alicia Vikander) and arguably “Steve Jobs” (Kate Winslet) in the category, along with two sterling ensemble members, “Hateful’s” Jennifer Jason Leigh and “Spotlight’s” Rachel McAdams.
