A Reel Opinion: Concerning the Oscar Nominations and Snubs

Nominations for the 85^th Academy Awards were announced late last week. Every year seems to hold a few surprises in scattered categories, with this year bringing about a triple shocker in the Best Directing competition. 

The nominees for Best Director are Steven Spielberg (LINCOLN), Ang Lee (LIFE OF PI), David O. Russell (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK), Benh Zeitlin (BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD), and Michael Haneke (AMOUR). 

What is shocking about the selections has to do with the people who aren’t there, more than the people who are. The entire world was expecting nominations for Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow, and Tom Hooper. Cries of “snub” have been up and all over the internet, and perhaps for good reason. Affleck turned in his best directing effort to date with ARGO; as a friend of Reel Speak has said; he made moments like the simple act of characters waiting in line a nail-biter. Bigelow put together not only a nail-biter but a stunningly realistic and significant film with ZERO DARK THIRTY, and Tom Hooper turned the genre of musicals on film up on its head with the innovative, singing-live-on-set filming technique with LES MISERABLES.  A strong argument could be made for all three of these fine filmmakers. 

The problem is there are only five spots to compete for in the Best Directing category. If any one of the omitted three were to get in, who would we swap out in their place? Spielberg may have just directed Daniel Day-Lewis to an unprecedented third Oscar. Ang Lee may have created the most visually stunning film ever made. Michael Haneke’s AMOUR is one of the best reviewed films of the year. David O. Russell got the best performance out of Robert DeNiro in decades, and Benh Zeitlin directed a six year old girl to a Best Leading Actress nomination. A strong argument could certainly be made for all five of these fine filmmakers.

The bottom line is that this is a very competitive year, with many films and filmmakers eligible for mention in any internet argument or late-night drunken debate. With the Academy nominating between five and ten films for Best Picture with only five Best Director nominees, someone is bound to be left standing without a chair when the music stops; which doesn’t necessarily mean a knock or a jab against their filmmaking skills.

Despite not having a Directing nomination, ARGO, ZERO DARK THIRTY, and LES MISERABLES were still nominated for Best Picture. In the eighty-five year history of the Oscars, only three films have won Best Picture without a Best Director nomination, with the most recent being DRIVING MISS DAISY (1989).  So, there is hope for these movies, small as it is. If these nominations are any indication, Oscar Night (Feb. 24) should be full of surprises. 

What say you?