The 88th Academy Awards are all set to roll out this Monday morning. The years's list of nominees includes many obvious names in the expected categories, but as it happens every year there are some glaring omissions as well. The biggest snubs of 2016 are 'Straight Outta Compton' and 'Carol'.
'Straight Outta Compton' was one of the greatest, most exciting and dramatic, most socially relevant, and most critically acclaimed films of the year. It played almost like a summer blockbuster. The PGA and SAG, with two of the biggest, most powerful voting blocks in the Academy nominated 'Straight Outta Compton' in their equivalent 'best picture' categories, but the Oscars let it go. Presumed to be a leading contender for Best Picture and Best Director, as F Gary Gray’s work was unquestionably one of the finest of the year. It’s lack of nomination has raised serious concerns about the 'whiteness' of this year’s nominees, so much so that even 'Straight Outta Compton‘s single Oscar nomination was for its 'white' screenwriters. And this has got the whole industry talking about it!
'Carol' retained strong support and the presumption of Best Picture nominee status for months. However, the lack of a nod from the PGA was seen as a possible indication.Its momentum had fizzled and wouldn’t carry through to the Oscar nominating process. While it did score the expected nods for lead and supporting actress, Carol couldn’t secure a spot on the Best Picture list.
Another snub is 'Martian' director Ridley Scott. 'The Martian' earned its Best Picture nomination, along with nods for lead actor, adapted screenplay, sound mixing and editing, production design, and visual effects. However, the lack of a nomination for director Scott was totally unexpected, and surely means the film’s chances for a Best Picture are next to nil.
Well, 2016 has seen its share of snubs, lets' take a look back at the biggest Academy Awards snubs. Oscars knows how to create a buzz before it's show with the hits as well as misses:
Leonardo DiCaprio, 'Titanic'
When Leonardo DiCaprio didn't even get a nod for his role in 'Titanic' it came as a shock to many. In fact, after 25 years in filmdom, DiCaprio has never won an Oscar, walking away empty handed year after year. Maybe 2016 will be the year when the A-lister can finally put a shiny gold Oscar award on his mantelpiece . The star has been nominated for Best Actor for his performance in this years' frontrunner 'The Revenant' and has already won Best Actor at Golden Globes, BAFTA and other major awards.
Jamie Foxx, 'Django Unchained'
Jamie Foxx failed to even get an Oscar nomination for his performance as Django at the 2013 Academy Awards. He played the leading role in Quentin Tarantino's controversial slavery-themed blockbuster 'Django Unchained'. The film's other lead Kerry Washington also failed to receive a nomination while their co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Waltz did.
Jack Nicholson, 'The Shinning'
One of the classic horror films of all times was made scarier by the lunatic act of Jack Nicholson in 'The Shinning'. Yet, the legendary Hollywood tar did not receive an Oscar for his breathtaking performance in the 1980’s classic. Despite making the thriller into an all-time classic as the wild-eyed Jack Torrance, Nicholson couldn't get a nomination at the Academy Awards.
Bette Davis, 'Of Human Bondage'
This snub is in a league of its own! Fury was sparked when Hollywood star Bette Davis didn't make the 1934 list of Best Actress Academy Award nominees for her incredible performance in 'Of Human Bondage.' There was such a massive public outcry that the Academy essentially owned up to their mistake and allowed a special write-in campaign to get her on the ballot.
Martin Scorsese, 'Taxi Driver'
It's not an overstatement to say that Martin Scorsese, who made Hollywood classics including 'Taxi Driver', 'Goodfellas' and 'Raging Bull' is one of the best directors of all time. Still, Scorsese's classic 'Taxi Driver' wan't able to fetch him an Academy nomination for Best Director, despite being nominated for Best Picture.
Mila Kunis, 'Black Swan'
Mila Kunis, transformed from television comedian into serious actress with her role in 'Black Swan', and though she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Critics’ Choice Awards, she was completely snubbed by the Oscars. Well, the Academy Awards has a tendency of doing it.
Christopher Nolan, 'Interstellar'
Christopher Nolan was skipped from the list of 'Best Director' nominees for 2015 sci-fi blockbuster 'Interstellar'. Not once has he won an Oscar for his efforts be it for 'Memento' or 'Dark Knight Rises' . 'Interstellar' can now join this list after dominating the tech categories with nominations for Best Visual Effects, Sound Mixing and Production Design - but with no cap-doff to the director.
Selma
Just like 'Carol', last year 'Selma' was considered an Award's favourite, only to end up empty handed in the end. African-American actor David Oyelowo didn’t even get a look in. The same was also true for DuVernay, who, had she been nominated, would have been the first Black female in history to be up for a Best Director’s gong. Guess the problem of black representation at the Oscars started showing itself from the last year.
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