This year was a tough year for the award season. No, not because the films were awful, but rather, there were far too many exceptional ones to choose from. In my opinion, the Golden Globes was a fair representation of all the deserving films: Best Motion Picture (Drama) went to 12 Years a Slave, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) was awarded to the very deserving Matthew McConaughey for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, and Best Screenplay to the talented Spike Jonze for Her.
But the Academy Awards, which premieres on March 2, is an entirely different story. The crude film series Jackass was nominated, Pixar was completely shut out of the race, Her and its star cast-member Joaquin Phoenix were barely recognized, and both Captain Phillips and Tom Hanks’ performance in the film, were completely snubbed.
People are not happy. When American Hustle was nominated for just about every category available, people took to social media to express their anger and shock on the fact that many few deserving films were not acknowledged by the Academy, especially Captain Phillips. Using social media analytics software — I used Viralheat — we can see a whopping 89 percent of the response on Twitter about Tom Hanks and the Oscar nominations had negative sentiment, with users adamant that the movie was wrongfully snubbed, while only a mere 3.5 percent of the Twitter community had positive feedback on the nonexistent nomination. Everyone, from Meryl Streep to Sarah Colonna, seem to believe that Tom Hanks and Captain Phillips deserved more recognition.
Sarah Colonna tweet:
I hope everyone in the Academy felt relieved after the big dump they took on Tom Hanks this morning. #TeamCaptainPhillips #Oscars
— Sarah Colonna (@sarahcolonna) January 16, 2014
Josh Gates tweet:
Also, somebody go check on Tom Hanks. He’s probably at a liquor store right now buying a box of Franzia. #Oscars
— Josh Gates (@joshuagates) January 16, 2014
Bill Kempin tweet:
In “Captain Phillips,” Somali pirates invade an unarmed ship and steal Tom Hanks’ Oscar nomination.
— Bill Kempin (@BillKempin) January 16, 2014
It appears 2014 just wasn’t the year for Tom Hanks. Yet another Hanks-starring film, Saving Mr. Banks, in which the the female lead was played by Emma Thompson, was also almost completely disregarded by the Academy. Meryl Streep was once again angered by this snub -she even reached out to Thompson after not receiving a nomination by writing her a heartfelt email. The only nomination for the film was for Best Original Score, which hardly stands a chance against competition like Her’s Score by Owen Pallet and William Butler.
Beyond the Academy’s blatant rejection of Disney productions (Pixar’s Frozen and Saving Mr. Banks), another shocking snub was that of Joaquin Phoenix in Her. His performance in the role, after his career seemingly went dormant and he reemerged as a rapper for a mockumentary, was as phenomenal as we all know Joaquin to be when he’s at his best. But though his performance was grade-A in Her, he was surprisingly not fairly represented. Does the Academy not realize how difficult it must have been to play a character who falls in love with an operating system? And to do so with believability! The Twitter-sphere was not happy either:
Oscars, try acting this scene – make love to your iPhone and make it look convincing without looking like a FOOL. Joaquin Phoenix did it.
— The Moviejerk (@themoviejerk) January 16, 2014
Just saw ‘Her’ and the Oscars are a sham cause Joaquin Phoenix acted his socks off AGAINST A PHONE for the enTIRE MOVIE yet no nomination?!
— Bryony (@BryonyCloud) January 20, 2014
I’m just baffled that Her wasn’t nominated for more oscars, especially Joaquin Phoenix for best actor. it’s so refreshing and poignant.
— Rachel Kumferman (@grrrayray) January 22, 2014
So what are the predictions for the 2014 Oscars? It’s likely that American Hustle and Gravity will walk away with numerous wins, seeing as both have nominations in 10 separate categories. On social media, The Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave are both extremely popular as well – according to IGN, Wall Street has more than 392,414 fans on social media, and 12 Years a Slave has 137,789 fans.
No matter who was snubbed, who was deserving, or who wins and who loses at the Oscars, 2013 sure was a great year for film. We can only hope 2014 will provide us with equally significant films.
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