When it comes to Oscar snubs
of A-list actors, directors, and even hallmark films, the list is surprisingly
long. Legends such as Marilyn
Monroe, Richard Burton, Judy
Garland, and many others thrilled audiences around the world with
their breathtaking performances. But none of these artists took a golden statue
home.
Even some movies were not
left out as well. And so in honor of Hollywood’s best and deserving talent that
was never acknowledged on any of the previous editions of the Academy Awards,
here are the top 5 biggest Oscar snubs of all time:
Alfred
Hitchcock: Nominated, but Never Won Best Director
Nicknamed the Master of
Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock was nominated up to five times, but he never
clinched an Oscar. This was despite churning out great cinematic style in films
like “The Birds,” “Psycho,” and “Vertigo.”
However, the Academy
rectified this by honoring the director – who passed away in 1980 at age 80 –
with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1968.
“Saving
Private Ryan” lost to “Shakespeare in Love”
“Shakespeare in Love” successfully toppled the heavy-hitting
World War II film “Saving Private
Ryan” directed by the fantastic Steven Spielberg, and this win rocked
Hollywood to its heels in 1999.
This resulted in an era of
unmerciful behind-the-scenes campaigning which was led by the now-disgraced
Harvey Weinstein, the movie mogul.
Paltrow won Best Actress for
“Shakespeare,” but even she was targeted by Weinstein, according to the
actress. Even though the best film may have won, celebrating the movie these
days is much harder.
Spike
Lee: Never Won Best Director
Spike Lee has had an
illustrious career as a director that has brought us impressive films like “Malcolm X,” “Inside Man,” and “Do the Right
Thing.”
However, Lee has been
nominated for best director, not more than once, and that was for “BlacKkKlansman.” Oh, many movie
buffs are still infuriated that the highly creative “Do the Right Thing” was never nominated for best picture in
1990, which is the same year that “Driving Miss Daisy” won.
But Lee got lucky much later,
for there is now gold in the director’s house. The film director won an
honorary Oscar for career achievement in 2016 and also took home Best Adapted
Screenplay in 2019.
Peter
O’Toole Never Won
This impressive actor was
nominated eight times, even including for “Lawrence
of Arabia,” a 1962 film, but he never won.
In the end, O’Toole was given
an honorary Oscar in 2003 and accepted it in person at the Academy Awards. His
final acting nomination was for “Venus”
in 2007. O’Toole passed away in 2013 at the age of 81.
Pam
Grier was robbed
A lot of fans are still hurt
by the fact that Pam Grier was robbed for 1997’s “Jack Brown.” Grier gave an astonishing performance, depicting the
role of a part-time smuggler and flight attendant, as written by Quentin
Tarantino.
But despite this, Grier did
not even get nominated, though Robert Forster, her co-star did. Helen Hunt (“As Good As It Gets”) bested nominees
Julie Christie (“After Glow”), Kate
Winslet (“Titanic”), Helena Bonham
Carter (“The Wings of the Dove”), and
Judi Dench (“Mr. Brown”) to win that
year.
