Note: I tried to limit myself to awards hopefuls that actually stood a chance at being nominated. For instance, I felt that The Cove was the Best Picture of 2009, but never entertained the delusion that it could be nominated. The real sting of a missed nomination comes from expecting it to actually happen. That being said...
10. Andy Serkis for Best Supporting Actor, 2002
I'm starting off the list with the snub that was least likely to yield a nomination anyway; Andy Serkis' extraordinary mo-cap performance as Gollum in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, specifically 2002's The Two Towers. Despite the unlikelihood of overcoming obvious biases within the actors branch, the producers actually campaigned very hard on his behalf. Since then, the issue of mo-cap performances being judged on the same playing field as conventional screen turns has been a perennial debate, but it should have been a hotter topic back when Serkis gave us this, his finest performance.
9. Black Hawk Down for Best Sound Editing, 2001
While mixers Chris Munro, Michael Minkler, and Myron Nettinga rightly took home the Best Sound Mixing trophy for Ridley Scott's intense account of the 1993 conflict in Mogadishu, supervising sound editors Karen Baker and Per Hallberg were baffling left off the slate of Best Sound Editing nominees. Mind you, this was back when Best Sound Editing only allowed for three nominees, but the sound branch didn't even nominate that many! They tipped the hat to Pearl Harbour and Monsters, Inc. only. What wasn't good enough about Black Hawk Down's sound effects that it couldn't occupy a third slot?
8. Paul Giamatti for Best Actor, 2004
Here's a sober reminder that, barring a weak field of contenders, actors in comedic-leaning films often face an uphill battle with Oscar. As heartbreaking and affectingly grounded in sincere emotion as Paul Giamatti's star turn in Sideways was, and despite the fact that he had been nominated for SAG, BFCA, and Golden Globe awards, it was still a performance in a comedy. On nomination day we woke up to find that his spot on the Best Actor roster had been usurped by Clint Eastwood, flanked by four other nominees playing dramatic real-life/historical-figure roles. (*Note: that said, they were all really good)
7. 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days for Best Foreign Language Film, 2007
People were already beginning to grumble that the collective taste of the Academy's foreign language film nominating committee was out of touch with the critical and popular consensus, but when Cristian Mungui's universally acclaimed Romanian abortion drama failed not only to be nominated, but to even make the shortlist of nine finalists, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Ever since then, AMPAS has entrusted an executive committee to select four of the nine finalists, a blatant vote of no confidence in their general membership's ability to recognize and appreciate progressive world cinema.
6. “The Wrestler” for Best Original Song, 2008
The music branch continues to live in infamy for its finicky nomination procedure of Best Original Song, whereby clip(s) featuring the song in question are screened and then given a numerical grade that must achieve a certain standard in order to make the cut. This inherently burdens end credit tracks with the hindrance of being viewed without context, which proved the kiss of death for Bruce Springsteen's soulful epilogue to The Wrestler. Here's the kicker: the two leading contenders once “The Wrestler” was eliminated were “Jai Ho” and “Down to Earth”, both of them end credit tracks (mind you, with visual stimuli).
5. District 9 for Best Makeup, 2009
The makeup branch is known for going its own way, often shining a light on terrible films that happen to have excellent makeup. While the philosophy of considering the quality of the makeup itself and not the quality of the film is one with which I couldn't agree more, the rebuff of Joe Dunckley and Sarah Rubano's wonderfully grotesque body prosthetics in favour of The Young Victoria's milquetoast wig powdering is a decision that I just cannot get behind. What's the rationale? Did branch voters mistakenly think that the film was trying to pass off the CG prawns as inventions of the makeup?
4. Almost Famous for Best Picture/Director, 2000
Cameron Crowe's beautiful love letter to rock and roll took home top honours from numerous critics circles (plus the Golden Globe) in 2000/2001, but more importantly scored nominations from all key guilds; DGA, PGA, WGA, SAG, and ACE, among others. Alas, as he so often does, the malevolent Harvey Weinstein had his way with soft Academy voters, convincing them to put Chocolat on their Best Picture ballot instead. That still doesn't excuse the directors branch from shafting Crowe as well, but he would have the last laugh, picking up a richly deserved Best Original Screenplay Oscar.
3. There Will Be Blood for Best Original Score, 2007
The arcane rules and regulations of the music branch kicked the legs out from under Johnny Greenwood's unnerving Hermann-esque string score before it even got out the gate – disqualified weeks before nominations were announced. And why? Because of a single piece of preexisting classical music, artfully and sparingly used in only two scenes, that “diluted” his contribution to the soundtrack. Bull. Shit. If ever there was evidence of the music branch's insular preferences, this is it. Although, the recent nomination and win for Trent Reznor may be a sign that things are improving. Maybe...
2. City of God for Best Foreign Language Film, 2002
Fernando Meirelles' electrifying Brazilian crime thriller tore up the festival circuit in 2003, copping a Golden Globe nod, a New York Film Critics award, and dozens of festival prizes in the process. But when it came time to impressing the Academy's stiff foreign film committee, it naturally came up empty. As outrageous as that was, missing out on the nomination turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it freed up the film to be eligible in all applicable categories in the year of its official U.S. release. The following year, it turned up with four nominations including Best Director and Adapted Screenplay.
1. WALL-E and The Dark Knight for Best Picture/Director, 2008
It's not often that one of the most critically praised domestic releases of the year also happens to be the year's top grosser. For two of the most critically praised films of the year to happen to be among the year's top grossers is practically unheard of. And yet, in the winter of 2008, the writing was on the wall: Christopher Nolan's comic book epic The Dark Knight and Pixar's new age sci-fi masterpiece WALL-E stood atop the domestic box office with $533 million and $224 million respectively, while also appearing on more critics' top ten lists than any other homegrown productions. Surely, at least one of them, was due for Oscar recognition.
Okay, so WALL-E was always a bit of a long shot given the firmly entrenched animation bias, but an unexpected and inspiring win from the L.A. Film Critics – among other groups – at least kept the possibility alive. The real hopeful was Nolan's film; a dense, thematically rich, genre-transcending morality tale that was stunningly evoked and brilliantly acted, netting a billion dollars worldwide during a remarkable summer run. Along with fellow Best Picture leaders Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, Frost/Nixon, and Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight cruised through phase 1 of the awards season earning nominations from every single guild. How, in good conscience, could the Academy possibly overlook it for the industry's top honour? Two words: Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein knew the prime bait he had on his hands with The Reader. The poor Dark Knight, with its comic book origins and fanboy popularity, was an easy target for his sneaky campaign ploys. Exploiting the Academy's aging demographic, he arranged screenings of The Reader with the right people at the right time, and the rest is history.
The Oscars are still feeling the shock waves. Not a year later did AMPAS implement its new system of ten Best Picture nominees and a preferential ballot, reeling from a telecast with predictably low ratings due to The Dark Knight's absence from the big category. While they continue to tweak their approach to Best Picture (now flexible enough to include anywhere between five and ten nominees), the fact remains that this unforgivable snub changed the entire complexion of the Oscar race, for better or worse.
