Is it just me, or did Sam Rockwell get snubbed for the Oscars?

Karl Hungus

I'm quite surprised that Sam didn't even get a best actor nomination for his performance in Moon. The man is an incredible actor, and out of any film I saw this year, I don't know if I can think of a single other central performance that was as good as Sam Rockwell's. It's a shame, I think this was his best performance to date, and he certainly would have deserved an Oscar, had he been nominated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q

actuallylike

Definitely thought so, Moon was probably one of the best films I saw all year and a lot was down to Rockwell's performance, he plays a typical American better than anyone I know, very watchable and very easy portrayer of every emotion. I don't know why he didn't get a mention.

Although, not really a fan of the Oscars anyway, feel they can be flawed way too much (for example, Scorsese getting his Oscar for Departed was just a way of saying sorry we blanked you for so long, Departed was noooo way Best Film!).

niallon

Simple stuff really, Moon only made a $2,000,000 profit, not even a fraction of what is necessary for a studio to put in the promotional work required for an Oscar campaign. I'll never forget reading in Empire about David Lynch sitting on a fold up chair on the side of the road campaigning for Laura Dern to be nommed for Inland Empire, really sums up the Oscar system. It's all a popularity contest as we know but what also has to be remembered is how much wink wink persuasion is involved in even getting the nomination. Was Inglorious Basterds recognised for the fact that it was one of the best films of last year? Nope, it was due to the fact that Tarantino has a Weinstein. Was The Hurt Locker recognised for it's visceral and raw take on modern warfare? Not at all, how many people, even those you know for sure don't know their Scorcese from scoreboards, have come up to you and remarked on "Yer wan beating her ex-husband to the oscar!!". Great publicity tool.

But on topic, yeah Karl, Rockwell was robbed but IMO, due to his choice of film he will always be robbed. Personally I'm happier seeing him produce the incredible performances he does regardless of whether or not the academy recognise them.

Duggy747

Ha, I was actually thinking of this the other day!

He absolutely made that film work and during it I actually came to the conclusion that he would make a perfect MacGuyver. He's got that Dean Anderson sarcasm about him to a tee.

While I haven't seen Crazy Heart I don't doubt Bridges did a bang up job on getting his trophy but Rockwell at the very least should've got a nod. Like Niallon said, the film isn't even widely known around these parts which I think is the bigger crime than an oscar snub.

fitz

I think the movie itself was robbed too. Superior movie to Hurt Locker imo.

Necronomicon

It was in no small part thanks to Sony though, who flat out refused to push the film for any Oscars. They wouldn't send screeners out to the Academy, because it was coming up to the release of the DVD/Blu-ray and they were worried about leaks cannibalising its sales.

Now whether or not they strictly needed screeners to recognise how fantastic he was, I don't know. Would Moon not have been in theatres before the nominations/voting started?

expectationlost

dvd sales would be key for a film like that and had they won on oscar or even got a nom, how mcuh would improve their dvd sales

* Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight)
* George Clooney in "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Colin Firth in "A Single Man" (The Weinstein Company)
* Morgan Freeman in "Invictus" (Warner Bros.)
* Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)


swop clooney for rockwell

district 9 missed out too, least it got a nom

bnt

Duncan did get a BAFTA, for Outstanding Debut. Not that he's sulking: he's currently busy directing Source Code, with Vera Farmiga, Jake Gyllenhall, and Jeffrey Wright:

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a helicopter pilot who participates in an experimental anti-terrorist Government program. “Source Code is a kind of sci-fi thriller based in different time continuums,” Gyllenhaal recently told.

The movie centers on a soldier Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) who wakes up in the body of an unknown commuter and is forced to live and relive a harrowing train bombing until he can determine who is responsible for it. Vera Farmiga plays his handler who advises him through his investigations, while Michelle Monaghan plays a passenger romantically involved with the man Gyllenhaal’s mind is occupying.

humanji

He was good in Moon, but personally, I thought Bridges was better. I was surprised he wasn't nominated though.

Galvasean

Don't worry guys. The boards film awards will make ammends

robby^5

Up in the Air was standard Clooney imo, nothing special and I definately dont think it deserved a best actor nod. Nor was I that impressed with Morgan Freeman, I have a feeling the lefties in the Academy felt obliged because he was playing Mandella. Both of those actors I think get nominations because of who they are and not their performances.

Rockwell should have picked up a nomination at least, but Bridges did deserve the win and I dont think anybody was really a contender to him this time around. Rockwell has plenty of time to pick up an oscar, I have no doubts that he will win one someday.

AttackThePoster

Well yeah, Bridges did put in a better performance but Rockwell was good too. He's usually good in things.

Handsome Bob

It's a flawed system, there are a lot of comparisons between the characters that Mickey Rourke and Jeff Bridges played in their respective roles in The Wrestler and Crazy Heart. However, in my humble opinion, Rourke's performance was better than Bridge's by a considerable margin. Both excellent performances, but all the same, Rourke's is much more lasting in the memory.

So, the Academy snubbed Rourke last year, yet awarded Bridges this year for a very similar yet inferior performance. It's a political game where actors are rewarded based on not so much the actual performance but for what kind of service they have given in general to the industry. Or in the case of the likes of Clooney, what their social standing is in the industry.

AttackThePoster

Rourke's plastic face is hard to look at though so that automatically makes Bridges the winner.

But in all seriousness, Bridges put in a far better performance, that much is certain.

Vomit

He wasn't that great in Moon. Sure, he was GOOD, but if he was less than good he shouldn't be acting for a living.