One of the reasons why I started following the Oscar race is because I was always fascinated by the films and performances that were in the running, but just missed the cut.
With the final 5 (or 10 for Best Picture, these days) often being determined by fairly random or unpredictable factors – box office, popularity, topicality, timing, serendipity – there are usually a handful of deserving shut outs that there simply was not space for - often just as good or better. These are the forgotten gems of the Oscar race, and they're often more fun to dig out.
So here are the more significant casualties of this year's Oscar race, as I see them:
Best Picture:
With 10 slots for Best Picture, there aren't really too many movies that could realistically have been nominees but didn’t make it. In a way, it makes the race more satisfying, in another way it is less dramatic (no big Into the Wild-style shut outs). Many argue that 10 nominees is less prestigious, and they may have a point, but I would argue that it gives a better, more well-rounded view of the specific year in film. By being able to cater for more tastes and styles, they create a better snapshot of the year, and become more relevant, if slightly less prestigious.
This year’s list is pretty great & diverse, with indie favourites (Winter’s Bone, The Kids Are All Right), art-house hits (Black Swan), Box Office brilliance (Inception, Toy Story 3) & just plain solid (True Grit, The Fighter, The King’s Speech) and topical (The Social Network) dramas. I’m not sure exactly where 127 Hours fits in – probably a little bit of all of the above.
For the coulda-been-contenders, go ahead & click
