The 2012 Oscar Injustices

The 2012 Oscar Injustices
The nominees who should-have-been at the 84th Academy Awards

OK, now that the excitement over the actual nominations is dying down a little, let’s talk about the holes in the list. Who should have been there and isn’t? Who was robbed or denied by the voters this year? Now of course we know that not everyone can get a place, and much as we love Fast Five, some cherished nominations were never going to happen, but it’s still fun to consider the Oscars that might have been. We’ve profiled some of the most glaring omissions and possible candidates here – have a read and see who you would add...

WORDS PHIL DE SEMLYEN, ALASTAIR PLUMB

Michael Fassbender for Best Actor
Movie: Shame



The man behind the year’s big ‘Ooooh-matron’ moments, Michael Fassbender was extremely unlucky not to pick up an Oscar nomination for Shame. His performance as Brandon Sullivan, a character whose fractured sexual psyche leads him into some of the most intense movie moments since, well, Hunger, was the kind that normally has the Academy in raptures (see also: Midnight Cowboy and Last Tango In Paris). Sadly not this time. Possibly he's too young for the Academy, which has a terrible record when it comes to awarding lead actors under 40, or possibly he hasn't quite broken through in the US yet. Still, if he keeps producing work of this standard, and maybe keeps at least some of his clothes on next time so the male voters don't get an inferiority complex, he should take home the prize in the near future.


Drive for Best Picture



We accept that not everyone has recognised the godlike genius of Nicolas Winding Refn’s LA noir. It’s even possible that some people – whisper it quietly – found it all a bit slow and mysterious, and didn’t much like the bit where ‘Him from the Notebook’ turned that elevator an interesting shade of head. But we’re confident they’ll come around one day. Sadly, it'll be too late for Academy members who will rue its omission forever. After all, a nod for Drive might finally have made the Academy look cool, hip and in touch with the kids. Instead, they nominated Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. So there you go.


The Adventures Of Tintin for Best Animation



It’s increasingly difficult to define what’s an animated film and what’s not. Tintin was performance captured, so it seems unfair on the likes of Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis to call it such – and yet, when it comes down to it, Tintin has to be an animated film. Just ask BAFTA voters. Animators have always used live performance as a basis for their work; the only difference being that it's usually the animators doing the acting, not name stars. And in a year where so-so spin-offs like ? In Boots can nab a nomination, it’s crazy that an exceptionally well-made, entirely delightful movie like Tintin can’t beat Kung Fu Panda 2 into the top five – even if, admittedly, it doesn’t feature Gary Oldman as a kick-ass peacock.


Olivia Colman for Best Actress
Movie: Tyrannosaur



By rights, 2012 should have been Colman’s year. Her jaw-dropping performance as the kind-hearted but damaged Hannah in Paddy Considine’s Tyrannosaur would get a more established actress, in a film with a bigger publicity budget, an instant nomination. Instead, she’s been overlooked by not only the BAFTAs, but the Oscars too. Even her supporting role in The Iron Lady – a movie pretty much every Academy voter will have watched – wasn’t enough to increase her profile. Perhaps her prosthetic Carol nose left her too unrecognizable and failed to produce The Kidman Effect. Still, with her role as Queen Elizabeth in Bill Murray’s FDR drama, Hyde Park On Hudson, coming up later in the year, perhaps 2013 will be her year... for the BAFTAs, at least.


Tilda Swinton for Best Actress
Movie: We Need To Talk About Kevin



We Need to Talk About Tilda. Specifically, how the Academy overlooked her terrific, fractured performance at the dark heart of Lynne Ramsay’s domestic horror film. Not to knock a blistering turn from Dragon Tattoo’s Rooney Mara, but Swinton is deeply unlucky to be the only one of the SAG’s Best Actress nominees not to make the Academy’s cut. Also, apart from perhaps Tom Ford, she’s the most stylish star in Hollywood, so her absence automatically makes the Kodak red carpet 27 per cent less interesting. Seriously, she might have turned up in a ball gown and moon boots.