A new year is a new beginning rife with bigger and better possibilities that shun the ‘shade’ that came with the year before it, or so some actors thought before the announcement of the 2016 Oscar nominees.
The road to the Oscars has been and still is a long one but with recent announcement of the nominees for this year’s Oscar Awards - that sparked a intense debate from viewers and actors - many are replenished with the hope of seeing their favourite nominee clinch the coveted accolades.
Moreover, the event that is expected to roll out its red carpet on February 28, as it marks its 88th annual award ceremony, already has tongues wagging for its much criticised decision to snub non-white actors.
All of the 20 nominees are white. Is that a coincidence?
Last year, the Oscars received backlash from viewers after they did the same and presented a nomination list void of people of colour, which led to the trending of the hashtag #OscarsSowhite.
At the opening of the Academy Awards, host Neil Patrick Harris joked: “Welcome to the 87th Oscars. Tonight we honour Hollywood’s best and whitest.” Then, after a beat: “Sorry...brightest.”
It seemed like a joke to many considering that it was a year that saw movies such as Selma, a film about Martin Luther King Jr, which was the best reviewed film of the year, shut out of every category but best picture. This year, the joke went a bit too far after nominee hopefuls such as Idris Elba and Samuel L Jackson were left out despite Elba’s impressive role in the movie Beast of no Nation and Jackson’s role in the Hateful Eight movie as well as the motivational Will Smith .
President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences responded to the blatant lack of diversity among this year’s Oscar nominees and said: “Of course I am disappointed, but this is not to take away the greatness [of the films nominated].” She added: “This has been a great year in film. It really has across the board,” while acknowledging that “We have got to speed it up,” with reference to increasing diversity.
The Oscars failed to nominate Straight Outta Compton for Best Picture. The film about the rap group N.W.A that was widely considered by reviewers and fans as one of the best films of the year.
To some, the nominaton of the movie’s white scriptwriters for Best Original Screenplay was a joke taken too far.
What was more surprising was that on rotten tomatoes (movie review site), Straight Outta Compton was more acclaimed by viewers compared to The Revenant, which received the highest number of Oscar Nominations.
A question lingering on many people’s minds is why movies such as The Revenant, Trumbo, Bridge of Spies, and Mad Max: Fury Road are not in the same conversation with equally brilliantly produced movies such as Beasts of Nation, Straight Outta Compton or Tangerine?
Some have accused the Oscars of dealing the race card but many will attest that despite the iconic non-white actors and producers not getting nominated for the Oscars, they’ve already won awards in our hearts!
The Revenant, which won Best Picture at the just ended Golden Globes, grossed 12 nominations coming out at the top. George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road bagged ten nominations. Other movies nominated in the best picture category include : The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, The Martian, Room and Spotlight.
Best Actor nominees include Bryan Cranston for his role in Trumbo, Matt Damon in The Martian, Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant , Michael Fassbender, in Steve Jobs and Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl
Cate Blanchett for her role in Carol, Brie Larson in Room, Jennifer Lawrence in Joy, Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years and Saoirse Ronan for her role in Brooklyn were all nominated for the Best Actress categories.
