Oscar Snubs
By Tony Kollath
The 2004 film awards season has provided few surprises. The Academy Award nominations, announced on Tuesday, very much followed suit. Aside from The Aviator with its eleven nominations stealing some of the spotlight from the heretofor dominant Sideways, Oscar nominations rolled out largely as expected. Still, a few expected nominations did not come to pass. Some of the more notable of the overlooked are listed below.
Paul Giamatti for Lead Actor
The Sideways behemoth which had stormed the majority of the awards up to this point lost a bit of luster with the Oscar nominations, though mainly only in as much as it was overshadowed by The Aviator's banner take. Sideways came away with five nominations, including Picture, Director, both Supporting categories and Adapted Screenplay. Lead Paul Giamatti, though, was surprisingly left on the sidelines. Despite winning Lead Actor from several of the larger critics' associations including Toronto, New York and Chicago, Giamatti's portrayal of the quirky Miles was left unrecognized by the Academy.
Who likely took his place: Don Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda. A welcome surprise on Tuesday, Cheadle's performance as Paul Rusesabagina was one of the year's gutsier roles. Additionally, many may have been surprised at Clint Eastwood's inclusion in this category. Eastwood was a lock in the Director field, as were the acting nominations for Million Dollar Baby's Swank and Freeman. But Clint had only previously been nominated by the National Society of Film Critics in the Lead Actor category for this film.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for Picture
The Michel Gondry-directed piece might have suffered from being released well before awards season in 2004. It might likely have been too innovative for its own good, as Academy voters might have found it a bit on the trippy side. In addition to failing to win a Picture nomination as was expected in some circles, Jim Carrey did not receive a nomination in the Lead Actor category.
Which film likely took its place: Ray. Sure, Jamie Foxx's performance brought considerable attention to the film. Outside of Foxx's turn as Ray Charles, Taylor Hackford's film was seen by many as coming up short.
House of Flying Daggers for Foreign Language Film
Zhang Yimou's gorgeous martial arts/love triangle work was critically well received, and did respectable business at the US box office. Certainly, it was among the most recognizable names among the Foreign Language entrants. Signs pointed to a likely nomination as Flying Daggers won in the category from the Boston on LA film critics, as Zhang won for Director from Boston and the National Society of Film Critics. It was not to be, as this entry from China was not recognized by The Academy.
Which film likely took its place: As It Is in Heaven. Along with the nomination for The Chorus, we now have two nominees in the category about choral teachers.
Polar Express for Animated Film
The Animated Film category may well be a foregone conclusion. A win in the category by any nominee other than Brad Bird's The Incredibles will be regarded with shock. Yet the failure of Robert Zemeckis's screen adaptation of the children's holiday classic has to come as a surprise. The Polar Express received decent reviews from the critics and pulled in a respectable take at the box office. But it was denied by a pair of DreamWorks pictures. Among those two, Shrek 2's nomination was not much of a surprise.....
Which film likely took its place: Shark Tale. The critically pummeled summer entry hardly set the box office on fire. Its inclusion here surely raised a number of eyebrows.
"Old Habits Die Hard" for Best Original Song
The Mick Jagger/Dave Stewart compilation won Best Original Song at the Golden Globes earlier in the month, and seemed a sure nominee for the Oscars. The Academy has been kind to rockers in recent years, with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Eminem taking home the statue. The Rolling Stone and Eurythmic will have to satisfy themselves with their artistic integrity, hordes of adoring fans and millions and millions of dollars, as the song from Alfie was not recognized by the Academy this year.
Which song likely took its place: "Look to Your Path" from The Chorus.
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