Tough crowd – King, Lee among nomination snubs
The Oscar field has been officially set for the pandemic-delayed April 25 Academy Awards.
But in an awards season turned upside down with movie delays, theater closures and even a lack of awareness about films in contention, many strong performances and major stars were left off the final Oscar ballot.
On several key nominations, the Academy voters ignored precursor shows and went their own way, overlooking roles ranging from Jodie Foster in “The Mauritanian” to filmmakers such as Regina King and Spike Lee.
Here are the biggest snubs:
Regina King
Oscar-winning actress Regina King, 50, has received many accolades for her feature directing debut, “One Night in
Miami,” including a Golden Globe best director nomination. King could not break into the top five best director nomination spots for Oscars, however, for helming the period drama which did not receive a best picture nomination. Leslie Odom Jr. received a best supporting actor nomination.
Jodie Foster
At last month’s Globes, the pajamawearing Foster, 58, expressed genuine surprise to win best supporting actress for her role as crusading lawyer Nancy Hollander in “The Mauritanian.” The two-time Oscar-winner did not earn a spot on the final Oscar list.
Tom Hanks
Hanks served up not one but two worthy dramatic performances in the past year – as the World War II destroyer Captain Krause in “Greyhound” and an
Old West news reader saving an orphan girl in the Paul Greengrass drama “News of the World.” Two-time Oscar winner Hanks, 64, received his sixth nomination last year playing Mister Rogers in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” but was shut out Monday.
Sophia Loren
The Italian legend returned after a decadelong screen absence with an awards-friendly role – Holocaust-survivor and former sex worker turned orphan mentor Madame Rosa in “The Life Ahead,” directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. But Loren, whose 1962 best actress Oscar win was the first for a foreign language film (“Two Women”), did not earn a best actress nomination for her recent Italian language film.
Chadwick Boseman
The late actor Boseman looked to make history with two posthumous nominations. Boseman received a best actor nomination for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” but did not find a slot in the best supporting actor category for his dramatic role in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods.”
Spike Lee, ‘Da 5 Bloods’
Lee did not receive a best director nomination for his Vietnam veteran drama, which was not nominated for best picture. Standout actor performances in the ensemble cast, including Lindo and Boseman, were also bypassed. “Da 5 Bloods” was nominated for best original score.
Rosamund Pike
Pike won a Golden Globe for her role as a scamming legal guardian in “I Care a Lot,” but was not able to break into the best actress Oscar nominations.