Oscars nominations 2018: Biggest snubs and surprises

Jordan Peele

There is no second guessing the fact that Jordan Peele’s Get Out was an exceptional piece of cinematic work. But it was also a horror film about an African-American man who finds himself trapped at his white girlfriend’s house. And that makes the handful of nominations it earned this year surprising (Best Picture, Daniel Kaluuya for Best Actor, Peele for Best Director and Best Screenplay).

The Snubs:

James Franco

James Franco won the Best Actor Golden Globe this year for his film The Disaster Artist which has also been called one of the best films of 2017. But soon after, he was also accused of sexual misconduct by a former actor. While Franco denied the allegations, looks like it still got in the way of him receiving an Oscar nod.

Wonder Woman

Warner Bros’ hit Wonder Woman was not only the first stand-alone superhero film with a female lead since 2005 but was also directed by Patty Jenkins who became the highest-grossing female director in Hollywood ever. However, the Academy voters didn’t find it Oscar-worthy. But then the Academy is also known to prefer art-house films over big-ticket superhero movies.

Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg’s The Post had all the makings of an Oscar shoo-in — a timely journalist drama starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. But while it did receive a nod for Spielberg in the Best Picture category, he was eclipsed by fresher directors, Geta Gerwig for Lady Bird and Jordan Peele for Get Out in the Best Director category. Two-time-winning Spielberg also suffered the same fate with his earlier outings, War Horse and Bridge of Spies.

In The Fade

Golden Globe winning German film In The Fade was expected to be the front-runner in the Best Foreign Film category at the 2018 Oscar nominations. And in one of the most shocking moments, the Faith Akin directorial was completely left out of the race.

Martin McDonagh

A significant snub was also suffered by the Oscar Best Picture front-runner Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri in one shocking category — Martin Mcdonagh for Best Director. Just like Spielberg, McDonagh was outshone by Paul Thomas Anderson, Gerwig and Peele along with the much-expected nominations for Christopher Nolan and Guillermo Del Toro.