The Academy Awards are one of the oldest and most significant award shows; they have been around for more than 80 years. Fans tune in worldwide to watch the spectacular show every year, but how much do we actually know about the Academy Awards? Do you even know that winning an Academy Award is winning an Oscar? Yes, it’s the same thing! The annual awards ceremony honours cinematic achievements in the film industry. Since the first ceremony in 1929, the Oscars have become one of the most iconic awards shows in Hollywood. The build up to the awards show is all a part of the extravaganza; from the nominations to what the A-list stars will wear on the red carpet.
The Academy Awards are known for many things but they are famous for their stinginess when it comes to awarding an actor or actress with an award, and some of these snubs have led to the discussion if it is because of the actors or the judges. Is there a certain sense of biasness or have other actors just deserved the awards more?
Leonardo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wallstreet
Leonardo DiCaprio, the name that rings out when it comes to the Oscars, because from Titanic to The Great Gatsby this acting legend has never nabbed himself an Oscar.
Sigourney Weaver is a legend starring in movies like Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl, earning her nominations but no awards.
The Pulp Fiction actor, Samuel L. Jackson is one of very view actors that has starred in a large variety of different genres of movies and still impresses from time to time with his diverse fan bases. He was nominated for his role in The Long Kiss Goodnight but has never won.
Brad Pitt is an iconic figure in Hollywood and has starred in movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Moneyball, and 12 Years a Slave and although he has been nominated multiple times, has never won an Oscar (for Acting).
Marilyn Monroe is the definition of iconic; some might even say she is even the definition of beauty. The Oscar nominated star that deserves the award for her role in Some Like It Hot is the funny girl that paved the way for today’s funny females of Hollywood.
Mark Wahlberg has been around longer than most people know, from being a rapper to starring in diverse movies like Pain & Gain and The Departed which earned him an Oscar nomination but missed out on the win.
Angela Bassett, the actress who stunningly portrayed Whitney Houston in What’s Love Got to Do With It, loosely based on Houston’s life managed to steal a Golden Globe for her role but just missed out on the Oscar.
Tom Cruise is well known for his Mission Impossible movies but continues to make movies that are beyond Oscar worthy, such as Born on the Fourth of July and Magnolia, both earning him nominations.
Johnny Depp is famous for multiple reasons and has starred in hugely different movies and deserves many Oscar’s, although his first nomination was for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Glen Close has earned herself six Oscar nominations but is yet to win an award, not even closing the deal for her role in The Fatal Attraction.
If actors of this calibre aren’t winning Oscars, what are they doing wrong? In the past, Oscar winners have played roles that needed them to take extreme measures like losing weight and acting blind, does this mean Eddie Redmayne will win the Oscar for The Theory of Everything because he portrays Stephen Hawking with motor neuron disease? Does this trump Bradley Cooper’s intense role in American Sniper, even having to act aside a fake baby?
Or are the actors doing everything right but the judges falling short? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) are an honorary group of judges that decide who receives that golden statue… but are they doing it right? Many critics don’t think so. According to The Washington Examiner, “The elite 5,783 judges who will decide Sunday night’s Oscar awards are out of touch with what consumers look for in a movie, often choosing films about activists overcoming oppression instead of Iron Man smashing a tank.”
How right are they? Should the Academy Awards review their judging methods and process of choosing the winners?
With the nominations announced, the wait is on to find out who wins some of the most anticipated awards of the night, from Best Picture to Best Animate Feature Film.
The 87th Academy Award Nominations for the 2015 Oscars
Best Picture
American Sniper
Bird Man
Selma
Imitation Game
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Boyhood
Whiplash
The Theory of Everything
Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper
Steve Carell
Michael Keaton
Eddie Redmayne
Benedict Cumberbatch
Actress in a Leading Role
Reese Witherspoon
Rosamund Pike
Felicity Jones
Marion Cotillard
Julianne Moore
Actor in a Supporting Role
Edward Norton
Mark Ruffalo
J.K. Simmons
Ethan Hawke
Robert Duvall
Actress in a Supporting Role
Emma Stone
Laura Dern
Keira Knightly
Meryl Streep
Patricia Arquette
Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
Song of the Sea
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
With the 87th Academy Awards nearing, Oscar buzz is growing and expectations are high! After the nominations were announced, it sparked outrage thanks to the Oscar snubs in various categories including films such as Gone Girl and The Lego Movie, and Jenifer Aniston for her role in Cake, there are so many more and this is just growing the debate on who’s doing what wrong. Neil Patrick Harris is the official host of the 2015 Oscars and he is known for putting on a show wherever he goes, this one could only be even more impressive! Everyone is talking about it, already predicting the winners all in anticipation of the red carpet event.
We want to know your opinion?! Was your favourite actor even nominated? Can you predict this year’s winners? Let us know if the AMPA’s are doing it right or if actors just need to up their game?
