Fans were shocked last week when the 92nd annual Academy Awards nominations were released and some prominent names were missing from the Best Actor category.
Jennifer Lopez wasn’t nominated for her role in “Hustlers,” Adam Sandler wasn’t nominated for “Uncut Gems,” Eddie Murphy was snubbed after appearing in “Dolemite Is My Name,” and Awkwafina didn’t get nominated for “The Farewell,” even after winning for the role at the Golden Globes. The New York Post spoke to several members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Services about why the actors weren’t nominated.
Terry Moore, who votes on Oscar nominees and was herself nominated in 1952 for her supporting role in “Come Back, Little Sheba,” told the outlet that Lopez’s performance was overrated.
“I would have been shocked if she did get it,” Moore said.
“First of all, ‘Hustlers’ is not an ‘Oscar movie.’ It’s a little too rough around the edges, and I’m assuming some other people in the acting category didn’t see it,” another actor and Academy member told the outlet. “Florence Pugh seems to have gotten the J. Lo spot — maybe because ‘Little Women’ is a prestige movie and she’s a bright, new star.”
“Actors tend to think of Jennifer Lopez as a phenomenon more than an actress, per se. [It’s like last year, when] Lady Gaga lost the Oscar to Olivia Colman — a real actor’s actor,” the unnamed character actor and Academy member said.
This anonymous source also explained why Sandler was snubbed for his performance in “Uncut Gems.”
“That [performance] was a tour de force. He’s emerging as a truly great actor, but then he does cheesy Netflix comedies that are really dumb,” the actor told the Post. He also told the outlet that some Academy voters probably didn’t even watch “Uncut Gems,” “Hustlers,” or “The Farewell.”
“There are a lot of movies, a lot of performances per year for us to watch. Unfortunately, actors become brands. Sandler’s brand doesn’t scream ‘Oscar,’ but Leo Di Caprio’s and Jonathan Pryce’s do,” he added.
The Post suggested Sandler’s joke on Howard Stern’s show may have kept him from the nomination as well, since the comedian said, “If I don’t get [the Oscar], I’m going to f–king come back and do [a movie] again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay.”
One voting member told the Post that there “was an arrogance” to Sandler and that his joke showed “a lack of respect.”
Voters also snubbed Murphy because he apparently campaigned too hard for the nomination by hosting “Saturday Night Live,” a show he had ignored for 35 years.
Moore said she “didn’t like his attempt for it,” but said that if Murphy or Sandler make “another great film” they could be nominated.
- Murray Abraham, the “Amadeus” actor who won best actor at the 1985 Oscars, told the actors who didn’t make the cut this year that, “Either you can accept it graciously, or you can fight against it.”
The Daily Wire previously reported on this year’s nominees.