Every year, the Academy Awards air on ABC, and are often seen as Hollywood’s most prestigious awards ceremony. That is to say, it’s not immune to controversy and chaos, as seen in 2022. Nevertheless, it’s a chance to celebrate the year’s best films and filmmakers, though understandably not everyone can get their moment in the sun.
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Many films, particularly dramas, receive awards buzz that never comes to fruition. Oftentimes, some of these films end up lambasted by critics for trying too hard to land a foot in awards season contention. Whatever their failures may be, these ten films weren’t enough to persuade Academy voters to champion them in their years.
10Radio
Cuba Gooding Jr. could’ve rested on his laurels after winning Best Supporting Actor forJerry Maguirein 1996. However, the Bronx-born star remained relentless, appearing in over a dozen films over the next few years. One of these films was the critically-pannedRadiofrom 2003, which hasn’t aged well, to put it nicely.
In the film, Gooding Jr. plays a man who suffers from a mental disability. However, he’s discovered by a high school football coach (played by Ed Harris), who turns him into a sort of mascot figure for his team. This film notably didn’t earn any award nods, butprobably ended up influencing “Simple Jack” fromTropic Thunder.
9The Life Of David Gale
Some movies take bold steps towards promoting (or in this case, fighting against) a cause. However, oftentimes critics fail to appreciate these movies, feeling beaten over the head by their message. That’s certainly the case with 2003’sThe Life of David Gale, starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet.
Winslet plays a reporter interviewing Spacey’s titular characteras he’s on death row. By learning his story and investigating herself, Winslet discovers that Gale is innocent, leading to a film that seeks to prove the injustices of capital punishment. However, its twist ending sort of undermines that premise, which perhaps confused audiences.
8Seven Pounds
Before Will Smith won Best Actor in a Leading Role forKing Richard, he made several films that could’ve led to his nomination and win. Previous roles inAliandThe Pursuit of Happinessearned him those nominations, though the 2008 dramaSeven Poundsfailed to. Sadly, this film just didn’t catch the attention of Academy voters.
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In the film, Smith plays a man who seeks to change the lives of seven people. That premise may seem somewhat basic, but it ultimately makes sense by the film’s twist ending. Its possible viewers didn’t have the patience to appreciate Smith’s subdued performance. Despite negative reviews, the film did become a box-office success.
7J. Edgar
The Academy Award for Best Actor seemed to be Leonardo DiCaprio’s white whalefor a long time. That is, until he finally won it for his performance in 2015’sThe Revenant. One of the films that failed to earn him even a nomination prior to this wasJ. Edgar, a 2011 biopic where DiCaprio portrays the infamous FBI director.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, DiCaprio’s performance was lauded by critics, though the film as a whole received mixed reviews. Unfortunately, the supporting cast of Naomi Watts and Judi Dench weren’t enough of a reason to earn this film any nominations at the Oscars.J. Edgarthusly became another biopic forgotten by film history.
6Jobs
It was certainly confusing when two biopics about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs released within a few years of each other.Steve Jobs, written by Aaron Sorkin, earned Oscar nominations for its lead actors: Winslet and Michael Fassbender. However,Jobs,starring Ashton Kutcher in the title role, failed to meet critics' expectations.
This was probably due to the lack of support the film had from people associated with the real Steve Jobs. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak had already signed on with Sony to help Sorkin’s script be historically accurate. Given this film’s lack of historical basis and over-sentimentalization, it just wasn’t as perfect as Apple’s product design.
5The Butler
Lee Daniels' The Butlerhad a lot going for it as a historical biopic. Starring Forrest Whittaker as Cecil, an African-American White House butler, the film sports an ensemble cast to depict the historical events that Cecil witnesses during his employment. However, this biopic was again the victim of historical inaccuracy.
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Many critics praised the film’s cast, including Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower and John Cusack as Richard Nixon. However, historians have taken issue with the film’s depiction of Ronald Reagan, portrayed by Alan Rickman, as callous. It didn’t even earn a nomination for Oprah Winfrey’s brilliant supporting role as Cecil’s wife.
4The Mule
Clint Eastwood has netted four Academy Awardsduring his decade-spanning career. Even recently, Eastwood has directed films that have garnered praise by the Academy, though others, likeGran Torino, were ignored. This trend continued with Eastwood’s 2018 filmThe Mule, where Eastwood plays a drug courier for a Mexican cartel.
While the film received praise for Eastwood’s directing and acting, it garnered no attention from any awards. It was, however the subject of a Weekend Update bit by Pete Davidson and John Mulaney onSaturday Night Live. The two comedians criticized the film’s lack of believability, which perhaps contributed to its lack of nods.
3Cats
Catshas become infamous in the film community since its release in 2019. It was directed by Tom Hooper, who helmed the 2012 adaptation ofLes Misérables, which received award nods. However, it’s obvious thatCatswas simply too ambitious of a musical to adapt on-screen in a way that didn’t outright disturb audiences.
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However,Catswasn’t immune to award attention at all. The film received a Golden Globe nomination for an original song written by Andrew Lloyd-Webber and one of the film’s stars, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. While the song and Taylor’s performance in the film were praised by critics, the Academy opted to forget it existed altogether.
2The Invisible Man
WhenThe Invisible Manpremiered in theaters in February 2020, it became an early frontrunner for the next year’s Awards ceremony. The door for more horror films to become nominated had been opened by films like 2017’sGet Out. It was an easy prediction that Elisabeth Moss would at least net an acting nomination.
Sadly,The Invisible Manwas victim to theaters closing due to COVID-19. Even after being made available to rent digitally, it somehow lost its momentum in the chaos of a worldwide pandemic. Even at the Critics Choice Awards, the film only received a nomination for special effects, which it lost to Christopher Nolan’sTenet.
1House Of Gucci
This film by Ridley Scott, at the very least, wasn’t as forgotten by film fanatics asThe Last Duel. However,House of Guccihad a lot of awards buzz leading up to the nominee announcement for the 2022 Academy Awards. The film’s lead actress, Lady Gaga, received nods from the Golden Globes and SAG Awards for her performance.
However, once Oscar nominations came around,House of Guccisurprisingly received only one nomination for makeup and hairstyling. Unfortunately, this wasn’t as successful as run for Lady Gaga the actor as her movie star turn in the remake ofA Star Is Born.Hopefully the door isn’t closed yet for Gaga to earn her golden statue.
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