The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were unveiled this morning, and while for some including Everything Everywhere All at Once, All Quiet on the Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin the race to Oscar glory is on, others never made it off the starting line.
Announced in the pre-dawn hours in Los Angeles by self-described “over-caffeinated” past Oscar winner Riz Ahmed and M3GAN star Allison Williams, the nominations covered a lot of ground with the blockbusters, streamer offerings and traditional dramas in the mix this year. However, not every contender made it into final races.
Take a look at our list of the most noteworthy performers and projects that didn’t get any appreciation from the members of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences on Tuesday — plus, some names that were read out that no one really expected. Also, please tell us who you think we and AMPAS overlooked.
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For the calendar, the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted 2023 Oscars will be presented March 12 live on ABC at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.
SNUBS
Tom Cruise
Top Gun: Maverick took off with a Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations, but the high-wattage star who leads the highflying franchise was grounded by the Academy today.
Taylor Swift
Just the idea of the superstar performing on the 95th Academy Awards could have brought in millions of potential viewers to the ratings-sagging ceremony. Add the fact that Swift’s “Carolina” tune from Where the Crawdads Sing fell short with AMPAS after already getting noms from the Golden Globes and Critics Choice, you have to wonder if Oscar voters are tone deaf.
The Woman King
Nothing. Nothing for star and past Oscar winner Viola Davis. Nothing for director Gina Prince-Bythewood. BTW: Davis picked up well-deserved SAG and BAFTA noms, but today, a complete abdication by AMPAS.
Olivia Colman
Even the beloved past Oscar winner could not turn on the switch for her Empire of Light performance.
Women directors
The Sarah Polley-helmed Women Talking received a Best Picture nom this morning, but Polley was shut out for Best Director. Aftersun director Charlotte Wells, The Woman King‘s Prince-Bythewood and Till’s Chinonye Chukwu also weren’t allowed in the boys club. Look, AMPAS, replicating the Golden Globes’ disdain for these talented artists is never a good look, and today’s oversight of this plethora of talent is a serious error of judgment.
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David Bowie
Director Brett Morgen snagged an Oscar nomination nearly two decades ago for On the Ropes, and his Moonage Daydream documentary homage to the Thin White Duke was a true artistic tour de force about a man who was a true artistic tour de force. Sadly, there was no call from AMPAS Ground Control on Tuesday.
Till
The harrowing tale of the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till by racists and his mother Mamie Till-Mobley’s fight for justice put a spotlight on a vital piece of our nation’s history. Chukwu’s work behind the camera and Danielle Deadwyler’s riveting performance as Till-Mobley were eye-openers. The Academy looked away – and it shouldn’t have.
Paul Dano
The Fabelmans co-star Judd Hirsch was rewarded with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for what essentially was an extended cameo, but the often-overlooked Dano didn’t get a seat at the Academy Awards table. Shunned by AMPAS back in 2008 for his There Will Be Blood performance and denied a nom for 2016’s Love & Mercy, Dano’s fatherly turn in Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age pic should have been his entrée into the Oscars club. Should have been. Wasn’t.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The global blockbuster sequel scored a slew of nominations this a.m., including the big tickets of Supporting Actress nomination for front-runner Angela Bassett and Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” for Best Song. Yet, director Ryan Coogler was forsaken, and no Best Picture nom for the Disney/Marvel movie.
Baz Luhrmann
Elvis swiveled its feature film hips to a slew of nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Golden Globe winner Austin Butler as the man himself. Which begs the question: How did the man who redefined the marriage of music and movies with Moulin Rouge! get left out of the Best Director race this year?
Janelle Monáe
Back at the 2020 Oscars, the multi-talented multimedium performer put a floodlight on snubbed films in the ceremony’s opening number. So let’s just say it cuts deep that Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery star herself was snubbed today.
James Cameron
Proving to be the 2022 dictionary definition of crowd-pleaser, long-awaited Avatar: The Way of Water swam to a Best Picture nomination and more this morning. Alas, the one-time King of the World and 1998 Best Director winner for Titanic did not repeat his 2010 nomination for the groundbreaking original Avatar. AMPAS, you know he literally was the meticulous, hard-driving force behind Way of Water, right?
Margot Robbie
Bathed in excess onscreen, the Babylon star was left distinctly outside the walls by AMPAS voters today.
Will Smith
After the 2022 Best Actor winner’s shocking onstage slap of Chris Rock and before a stunned audience of millions during last year’s ceremony and the excommunicating fallout, no one seriously expected Smith’s Emancipation role to receive recognition today. However, the fact is the King Richard star was the Best Actor winner last year and to be cold-shouldered by his peers this year only can be viewed as a further punishment
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SURPRISES
Stephanie Hsu
Everything Everywhere All at Once always was going to go large with the awards-season run that Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan have had, and everyone expected Jamie Lee Curtis to get a nomination. However, even with previous SAG Awards and Critics Choice noms, co-star Hsu was seen as a longshot – not so much now.
Brian Tyree Henry
The past Tony Award nominee raises the stakes and quality of everything he is in and already had scored an Independent Spirit Award Best Supporting Actor nomination for his Causeway role. Yet, if you had taken his name to the betting office before this morning, the odds would not have looked so good — well, AMPAS rolled the dice and it came up deservedly sixes for Henry on Tuesday.
Andrea Riseborough
The To Leslie star’s late-blooming word-of-mouth awards campaign for her title role resulted in the Brit’s first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, upending received wisdom about the direction of this year’s race. “I’m astounded,” she told Deadline this morning. “I’m not entirely sure how the f*ck this happened.”
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