WTF Oscars.
I shouldn’t be surprised at this point. I know that. And I know there are plenty of people out there who like to espouse the “just don’t care” “the Oscars are pointless anyways” “it doesn’t matter” mantras.
But here’s the issue: the Oscars do still matter. Maybe they shouldn’t, but that’s a different conversation. Right now, in the year 2020, being nominated for and/or winning an Oscar matters — it matters in whose films get attention, it matters in who gets hired, it matters in what types of stories continue to be made and shared, it matters in where the budgets go… it matters. The industry still lives and dies by these awards.
So, almost every year since I was eight years old (so, going on…uh…well, a lot of years at this point) I have watched the Oscars telecast AND I have tried to watch as many of the nominated films as possible. I tend to focus on the “Alpha” categories (things like – acting, directing, screenwriting, best picture). But this year…ugh. I’m having a hard time getting excited.
Now, to be clear — I haven’t seen any of these movies yet. Like any good Twitter resident (hey, you can follow me: @ThatColette), I’ve spent the morning reading and ruminating and discussing all the nominees, but it is all speculative to me at this point, because I’ve got a lot of movie watching to do. But still, reading about the Snubs I have to say…those sound a LOT more appealing/interesting to me than what is actually nominated this year.
So, I’m making two lists. Well, technically three – I’m gonna have a “cross-over” category just for Little Women basically, which did get a ton of nominations but somehow something can have the best script, acting, and PICTURE but not the best director… (*facepalm*).
We’ll start with what DID get nominated, in the “Alpha” categories (Best Picture, Best Actor/Actress/Supporting, Best Adapted/Screenplay, Best Director)
The Nominees Are…
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Bombshell
Ford v Ferrari
Harriet
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Judy
Knives Out
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Richard Jewell
The Two Popes
Seventeen films. Of those seventeen, before this morning, I’d heard of fourteen of them, and I had eight of them on my personal “I’d like to see this” list.
Now, here are the movies that people are highlighting on the various snubs lists that are going around (and/or are just replying to me with on Twitter and/or Facebook). And to be quite honest, this list sounds a hell of a lot more interesting than the other list.
The Nominees Aren’t (aka, Snubs)…
Dolemite is My Name
The Farewell
Honey Boy
Hustlers
Just Mercy*
The Lighthouse
Midsommar
Queen & Slim
Rocketman
Uncut Gems
Us
*There’s some controversy this morning over whether or not Just Mercy was actually eligible, but I think it did have a limited release pre-ballot window, so basically, people are using the “it wasn’t widely available yet” as a bullshit excuse. But I need to confirm this.
My “Cross-Over” list of things that were nominated in some categories but really should’ve been nominated in others/more is just:
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Little Women
Knives Out
In total, the Nominees Are and Aren’t lists include 28 films (again, focusing on the awards/snubs for Acting, Directing, Writing, and “Best Picture”). I’m not sure how many of those I’ll actually sit down and watch, but I’m gonna give the list a fair shot. Thankfully, with its 24 nominations (and a handful of snubs!), I can get a lot of these on Netflix.
What do you think? Do you watch the Oscars? Do you agree/disagree with what was nominated? Am I missing anything on my “Snubs” list? Share your thoughts in the comments or tweet me at @ThatColette.
Colette Marie Murphy 