The Academy Awards, aka. the Oscars, aka. the Superbowl for Women, aka. Hollywood’s Big Night Out (okay, we made that up). No matter what you call it, you likely have an opinion on it – from what Angelina is wearing to who wins the night’s big prize, it all makes its way into water cooler talk the next day. What isn’t talked about though, are those artists and films not nominated. So to give everyone their due, we present our top five Oscar snubs of 2012.
Michael Fassbender (Best Actor)
From the moment we laid eyes on his emaciated frame in Steve McQueen’s Hunger, we knew we’d be seeing a lot of Michael Fassbender on the silver screen. His reunion with McQueen for Shame was one of our favourite performances of the year (and not just because his, errr, member appears in the first two minutes). Not only was Fassbender’s performance raw, honest and gritty, he was also naked for most of the movie. Poor guy.
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Verdict: The Academy hates penises, loves baseball (see: Moneyball).
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Best Film)
So, let’s get this straight. The Academy decides to open the Best Film category to include room for ten films, and then they only nominate nine? Not only that, they shut out the final film in one of the most epic movie franchises in history? This film had everything: action, drama, romance, heartbreak, joy – the whole shebang. And it’s not like they haven’t rewarded epic fantasy films in the past (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King won in 2003).
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Verdict: The Academy hates magic, loves animals (see: War Horse).
Bridesmaids (Best Film)
Again, ten spots and only nine nominations. We know it’s rare for a comedy to take the top prize (the last time was in 1960 for The Apartment), but we were shocked that Bridesmaids didn’t even get the nod. This film was hilarious, sure. But it was also touching, well-acted, really well-written and one of the first all-female leading cast films our boyfriends were happy to watch for a second time. At least Melissa McCarthy got her (very well-deserved) nomination.
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Verdict: The Academy hates women, loves Woody Allen (see: Midnight in Paris).
Tilda Swinton (Best Actress)
We need to talk about We Need To Talk About Kevin. Has any film ever made you question the nature vs. nurture debate more? Swinton’s performance as the long-suffering mother of a mass murdering, school shooter chilled us to the bone. We empathized with her the entire film, but also experienced a very acute sense of schadenfreude.
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Verdict: The Academy hates serial killers, loves goth hackers (see: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).
Albert Brooks (Best Supporting Actor)
What can we say? We loved Drive! The soundtrack, Ryan Gosling, Brooks’ villanous turn, Ryan Gosling, the costumes, the 90s throwback aesthetic, Ryan Gosling. Okay, we’ll be honest: we’re less outraged by Brooks’ snub than we are that our last shot of having The Gos at the awards in a tux. Le sigh.
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Verdict: The Academy hates Ryan Gosling. Period.
Tune into the Oscars this Sunday! Who do you think was snubbed?
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