This use of the word “snub” when it comes to stuff like Academy Award nominations really needs to stop.
Snub indicates a conscious effort to ignore or embarrass someone or some thing. Although they might be easily susceptible to the suggestions of canny Oscar campaigners — congrats on all of those “Imitation Game” noms, Harvey — the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are too much a herd of opinionated cats to collectively dis this actor or that film. They have a lot of good work to choose from in any given year, and far fewer slots to squeeze it all into, so of course stuff doesn’t make the cut.
That said, the nominations for the 87th Oscar races, announced Thursday morning at the Academy’s Beverly Hills headquarters, do reflect some of the more unfortunate aspects of the group’s predominantly old white guy make-up.
Is “racist” a fair word to describe the results? Kind of. How about sexist? Definitely.
For a year that could have seen an unprecedented two women (let that sink in for a moment) vying for the best director Oscar, neither “Selma’s” Ava DuVernay nor “Unbroken’s” Angelina Jolie crashed the all-male list. Both screenplay categories are also men-only affairs, which should come as a surprise to someone like Gillian Flynn, whose adaptation of her own “Gone Girl” novel was, to put it mildly, the bee’s knees.
DuVernay’s missed chance to be the first African-American woman in directing contention extended to the actor who rather brilliantly played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma,” David Oyelowo. In fact, this year’s acting slots are 20 for 20 white, with just six European nominees and one non-English language performance, Marion Cotillard’s in “Two Days, One Night,” representing diversity.
“Birdman’s” Alejandro G. Inarritu is in the running to become the second Mexican director in a row to win an Oscar, following his buddy, Alfonso Cuaron for “Gravity.” Perhaps it’s noteworthy, though, that the king of Hollywood’s old white guys, Clint Eastwood, failed to snag a nod for directing the otherwise surging “American Sniper.” Baby steps and all that.
“American Sniper” (Warner Bros.) was one of only two releases from traditional major studio operations to earn best picture nominations, “Selma” (Paramount) being the other. “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” the two with the most nominations at nine each, both come from the Fox Searchlight specialty division. The other four best picture nominees are IFC Films’ “Boyhood,” The Weinstein Company’s “Imitation Game,” Focus Features’ “The Theory of Everything” and Sony Pictures Classics’ “Whiplash.”
That bunch makes for quite a race, at this point anyway. “Birdman” and the unexpectedly strong “Budapest” are obviously in the thick of it, but their nomination totals do not necessarily give them top prize advantage over the widely loved “Imitation Game” (right behind them with eight noms) and the even more passionately adored “Boyhood” (six noms, but by far the year’s critical and early award shows’ favorite). Even without the Eastwood nod, “Sniper” looks like a real best picture contender too; it will undoubtedly be the highest-grossing one soon after its wide release begins this weekend.
As for all of those Caucasian faces, best actor nominees are Steve Carell (“Foxcatcher”), Bradley Cooper (“Sniper”), Benedict Cumberbatch (“Imitation”), Michael Keaton (“Birdman”) and Eddie Redmayne (“Theory of Everything”). It’s Cooper’s third consecutive acting nomination and the first for each of the other four. The smart money is split between Keaton and Redmayne at the moment, but there’s lots of love out there for Cooper and Cumberbatch, and admiration for Carell.
In the best actress category, it’s Cotillard, “Theory’s” Felicity Jones, “Still Alice’s” Julianne Moore, “Gone Girl’s” Rosamund Pike” and “Wild’s” Reese Witherspoon. Cotillard and Witherspoon are previous best actress Oscar winners. This is Moore’s fifth nomination, Jones and Pike’s first. This race is Moore’s to lose, but making anyone have to choose between her delicate, precise portrayal of an Alzheimer’s sufferer and Cotillard’s heart-wrenching depressed working woman is just plain cruel.
The supporting actor field is made up of Robert Duvall (“The Judge”), Ethan Hawke (“Boyhood”), Edward Norton (“Birdman”), Mark Ruffalo (“Foxcatcher”) and J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”). Simmons, the only virgin nominee here, currently has the edge over Norton, though both are arguably up for career-best work. Again, cruel to make us choose.
The supporting actress nominees are “Boyhood’s” Patricia Arquette, “Wild’s” Laura Dern, “Imitation’s” Keira Knightley, “Birdman’s” Emma Stone and the record (again) 19th (!) nomination for “Into the Woods’” Meryl Streep. If anyone has a win in the bag this year, it’s first-timer Arquette.
Perhaps it’s safe to predict that “Boyhood” director Richard Linklater should make room on his mantle, or bathroom counter, too. His 12-years-in-the-making approximation of real life is a mighty impressive, and certainly unique, filmmaking feat. But then, so are Inarritu’s faux single-shot/real-time/effortless-looking/showoff magical realism and Wes Anderson’s “Budapest.” Give the voting members due credit for more or less appreciating bold cinematic statements this year; that’s not something they’re always hip to.
Which is, if we must, a good segue back to that awful “S” word.
Another unexpected absence from the best actor race is Jake Gyllenhaal, who seemed to be gaining traction for his creepy “Nightcrawler” video journalist. And Jennifer Aniston, who tried hard to push her change-of-pace turn as a woman plagued with physical pain in the indie film “Cake,” also came up empty.
And, quite simply, not awesome: The popular and critically lauded “The LEGO Movie” ain’t in the animated feature running. And why does the Academy hate critics when, in a lot of ways, they liked what we told them to? No nomination for the feature documentary about the late, beloved Roger Ebert, “Life Itself.”
On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine a better cinematography lineup than “Birdman,” “Budapest,” the stunningly black-and-white “Ida,” “Mr. Turner” and “Unbroken.” If only the Academy’s racial and gender sensibilities painted such beautifully diverse pictures, there wouldn’t be much to complain about this year.
