A-listers, prestige projects fall short
For many in Hollywood, it’s the most delightful (or dreaded) day of the year. ⬤ Scores of A-listers have been stumping for their respective films and performances, in a breakneck awards season truncated by the nearly four-month Screen Actors Guild strike. On Tuesday, big names such as Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things”) and Julianne Moore (“May December”) awoke to the unhappy news that they were snubbed for Oscar nominations, while the team behind “Saltburn” kept their champagne corked after being blanked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Although there’s still much to celebrate, here are the most shocking omissions from the much-anticipated announcement: ⬤
Margot Robbie
No one campaigned harder than Robbie this awards season, attending every Q&A and roundtable imaginable to bang the drum for her billion-dollar blockbuster “Barbie.” Robbie gave the iconic doll a beating heart, beautifully conveying her journey from an unattainable ideal to a complex human woman. Her omission in best actress is even more appalling given that her co-stars Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera each were acknowledged in supporting categories.
Leonardo DiCaprio
“Killers of the Flower Moon” had a robust showing, with 10 nods including best supporting actor (Robert De Niro) and best actress (Lily Gladstone, the first Native American nominated in the category). But after glaring snubs from the Screen Actors Guild Awards and British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), DiCaprio was shunned in best actor for the Martin Scorsese epic. While many awards pundits have been predicting his snub, it’s still a mild surprise given DiCaprio’s Oscar pedigree (six acting nominations and one win for “The Revenant”).
Greta Gerwig
Apparently, creating a pop-culture juggernaut isn’t enough to land a slot in the mostly male directing field. With “Barbie,” Gerwig brought her unique sensibilities to a polarizing toy, making a film that was equal parts eye-popping and emotional. Sure, her clever script with Noah Baumbach was recognized in the adapted screenplay. But her absence in director is jarring and could swing the pendulum in favor
of “Barbie” when it comes to best picture. There was resounding online furor when Gerwig missed best director for “Little Women” in 2020, and the outcry will only be louder this year.
Charles Melton
It was an awards season Cinderella story: a young actor plucked from a teen soap (CW’s “Riverdale”), winning rave reviews and major critics’ prizes for his first dramatic turn in “May December,” in which he holds his own against Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. But the tide began to shift after Melton missed out at SAG and BAFTA. We’d been holding onto the faint hope that Melton might sneak into supporting actor, but sadly, the movie’s dark humor and melodrama might’ve been alienating to Academy members. The film managed only a nomination for original screenplay.
Bradley Cooper
We know Cooper got a best actor nod for “Maestro,” portraying a makeup-caked version of composer Leonard Bernstein. But the movie star-turned-filmmaker has been gunning for his first director nomination, after being passed over in the category for 2018’s “A Star Is
Born.” Cooper’s awards campaign has focused squarely on his work behind the camera, but it appears that the directors branch isn’t quite ready to welcome him into the club.
Dominic Sessa
If you’re fans of “The Holdovers,” then you know just what a fantastic discovery this first-time actor is. With co-star Da’Vine Joy Randolph leading the supporting actress race, and Paul Giamatti picking up steam in best actor, we had hoped Sessa could ride their coattails. Although he didn’t cross the finish line this year, we have no doubt that Sessa, 21, will be back in the running.
Greta Lee
Team “Past Lives” has run a stellar campaign this awards season, keeping the gentle romantic drama top of voters’ minds a full year after its Sundance Film Festival debut. Celine Song’s first feature managed nominations for picture and original screenplay, but its heart-wrenching performances were overlooked.
‘Origin’
Celebrities from Ben Affleck to Angelina Jolie hit the pavement to support “Origin” in recent weeks, touting the achievements of director
Ava DuVernay and actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as they tackled the implications of the caste system. But the campaign wasn’t enough to push this epic into the Oscar fold.
‘The Color Purple’
It’ll be fascinating to look back and analyze what exactly went wrong with this star-studded movie musical, which garnered glowing reviews but quickly petered out at the box office. The film’s awards haul was a mixed bag throughout the season, and its excellent performances often were overshadowed by a promotional tour. While Steven Spielberg’s 1985 original picked up 11 Oscar nods, this “Color Purple” walked away with just one for supporting actress (Danielle Brooks).
‘All of Us Strangers’
Like “Color Purple,” this is another case of “what exactly went wrong?” Andrew Haigh’s gorgeous tearjerker should’ve been a shoo-in for multiple nominations, including adapted screenplay and best actor (Andrew Scott), as well as nods for its supporting cast of Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell. The film has been on the festival circuit for months, but its drawn-out release hasn’t helped generate word of mouth. The marketing pushed a steamy romance over the family drama it really is.
Penélope Cruz
Cruz will always elevate whatever film she’s in. The same goes for Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” which only finds a pulse whenever the she is on screen. After Cruz scooped up a SAG nomination, we hoped she would earn her fifth Oscar nod.