The 11 biggest 2019 Oscar snubs that have us shaking our heads

Advertisement
The 11 biggest 2019 Oscar snubs that have us shaking our heads

Crazy Rich ASians

Warner bros

"Crazy Rich Asians."

Advertisement

In a year when the award season, for the most part, has been wide open, we expected to see some surprise choices when nominations for the 91st Academy Awards were announced Tuesday morning.

But wow did that lead to some huge snubs.

Bradley Cooper not getting a best director nomination for "A Star Is Born," the Mr. Rogers movie "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" not in the best documentary category, and "Crazy Rich Asians" not getting a single nomination are just a few of the major snubs.

Here are the 11 biggest snubs from the 2019 Oscars:

Advertisement

The Oscars air on ABC February 24.

{{}}

Bradley Cooper ("A Star Is Born") — Best Director

Bradley Cooper ("A Star Is Born") — Best Director

Don't worry, you will be seeing a lot of Bradley Cooper on Oscar night as he's nominated in the best actor, best picture, and best adapted screenplay categories for "A Star Is Born" (he may even sing alongside Lady Gaga on Oscar night for the movie's nominated best original song, "Shallow"). But the Academy did not recognize him for perhaps the category that would mean the most to him, best director.

After a slew of directors and actors came in and out of the project over the years, Cooper is the one who finally had the right way to do the latest remake of the title. So having his name not called was certainly the biggest shock.

Historically, a best-picture-nominated movie not getting a best director nom is a kiss of death. But it has happened. The most recent was 2012's "Argo." Ben Affleck was not nominated for directing the movie but went on stage to accept the best picture Oscar.

"First Man" — Best Original Score

"First Man" — Best Original Score

The disrespect for "First Man" continues. Though it wasn't likely the movie was going to get nominations in any of the major categories, the movie's score seemed to be a lock not just for a nomination in the best original score category, but for a win, too. However, composer Justin Hurwitz's name was not called.

Though many argued over the movie's slow pace and minimalist acting style by Ryan Gosling, the music Hurwitz came up with was universally praised. That's a big reason why this snub is all the more shocking.

Advertisement

"Won't You Be My Neighbor?" — Best Documentary

"Won't You Be My Neighbor?" — Best Documentary

This look inside the life and career of Fred Rogers from director Morgan Neville was a box-office hit in 2018 and many thought it would run away with the best documentary Oscar. It not getting a nomination may be the biggest snub in this category since "Hoop Dreams" in 1995.

"Eighth Grade" — Best Original Screenplay

"Eighth Grade" — Best Original Screenplay

Not hearing Bo Burnham's name called for best original screenplay was also a punch in the gut. His writing (and directing) for "Eighth Grade" was one of the highlights of 2018 as he captured what it is like to be a teen in today's world. And it wasn't just the dialogue he came up with for his lead Elsie Fisher, but also scripting the story in a way that felt authentic and not a over-polished movie version of teen life.

Advertisement

Peter Farrelly ("Green Book") — Best Director

Peter Farrelly ("Green Book") — Best Director

Love or hate the movie, "Green Book" has been up there as one of the frontrunners of the Oscars, so, like Cooper, not seeing Peter Farrelly get a nomination was a big surprise. Known best for his comedy work in the late 1990s like "Dumb and Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary" (co directing with his brother, Bobby), maybe Academy voters couldn't separate this dramatic offering from his gross-out hits from his past.

Timothée Chalamet ("Beautiful Boy") — Best Actor

Timothée Chalamet ("Beautiful Boy") — Best Actor

Many thought Chalamet was a lock for a second-straight lead actor Oscar nomination (last year was for "Call Me by Your Name"). But his incredible performance in Amazon's "Beautiful Boy" didn't make the cut. It's disappointing since his performance as a kid struggling with addiction is one of the rawest displays of acting in 2018. But he's one of the most in-demand actors from young Hollywood at the moment, so he's going to be just fine.

Advertisement

Ryan Coogler ("Black Panther") — Best Director

Ryan Coogler ("Black Panther") — Best Director

You may be realizing that the best director category had a lot of competition. And Ryan Coogler is another one we thought should have been nominated. He made a superhero movie that wasn't just a record breaker at the box office, but also made history at the Oscars by being the first superhero movie ever to get a best picture nomination. Because of that, we thought Coogler would have been individually recognized as well.

"A Star Is Born" — Editing

"A Star Is Born" — Editing

There are a lot of great things about "A Star Is Born," but one of the biggest is its editing. Jay Cassidy increases the emotion of some key scenes — from Jackson Maine's rocking live performances to the movie's powerful ending — with his talents as an editor. And seeing that not recognized is a major disappointment.

It could also hurt the movie's chances to win best picture. Like the best director category, most best picture winners are also nominated in the editing category.

Advertisement

"A Quiet Place" — Sound Mixing

"A Quiet Place" — Sound Mixing

It's arguably the movie in 2018 that needed a perfect sound mix to work. The movie is so light on dialogue that the sounds have a bigger importance because they elevate the story (and scares). So John Krasinski's thriller not getting nominated for sound mixing is another big head scratcher. Thankfully, it did get a nod for sound editing.

"Three Identical Strangers" — Best Documentary

"Three Identical Strangers" — Best Documentary

It's not as shocking as the Mr. Rogers doc not getting a nomination, but this wild story about three men who were adopted and later learn they are triplets had been riding buzz since premiering at the Sundance Film Festival a year ago. It's just another casualty of the always uncertain documentary feature category.

Advertisement

"Crazy Rich Asians" — Zero Nominations

"Crazy Rich Asians" — Zero Nominations

It was the year that you were certain the Academy would nominate ten best picture nominees just because of the amount of movies that were worthy. But with only eight, numerous titles were left out and that's the case for "Crazy Rich Asians," which should have been in the category. And at the very least, fans of the movie thought a smaller category, like costume design, would be a lock for a nomination. But the movie was shut out of that as well.