Oscars snubs: 15 Films and directors that should have been nominated

In 2013, “Argo” won the Oscar for Best Picture. Star and director Ben Affleck was not nominated, however, in a strange move by the Academy. Shouldn’t the best film of the year also have the best director — or at least be nominated as such? That year’s Oscar went to director Ang Lee for “Life of Pi.”

This one blows our minds. Despite being one of the funniest movies of all time, “Bridesmaids,” written by Kristen Wiig and Amy Mumolo, failed to win for Best Original Screenplay. Believe it or not, Woody Allen won for writing “Midnight in Paris,” but as usual, he wasn’t at the ceremony to accept the award.

Known for edgy films that border on the surreal, David Lynch has been nominated three times for Best Director: for “Mulholland Drive” in 2002, for “Blue Velvet” in 1987, and for “The Elephant Man” in 1981. However, this American cinematic genius has never won. Lynch is set to bring back his beguiling TV show “Twin Peaks” in 2016.

Though Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth and Charlie Kaufman won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” neglected to make the Best Picture cut despite being one of the most beautiful and influential films of the early 2000s. “Million Dollar Baby,” starring Clint Eastwood and Hillary Swank, won Best Picture that year.

We’re sorry, but this one gets us fuming. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” directed by David Fincher and starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig, was hands-down the most entertaining, thrilling and sexy film of 2011, and it wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture. This is proof that sometimes, the Academy makes mistakes. The Best Picture Oscar went to the French silent film “The Artist.”

While Leonardo DiCaprio has been nominated for four Best Actor awards, he was completely overlooked for his leading role in “Titanic.” Italian actor Roberto Benigni took home the Oscar for his role in “Life Is Beautiful” that year instead. Benigni surprised viewers by jumping up on seats where other guests were sitting, bear-hugging Sofia Loren and going a little bit nuts in his speech.

1976’s “Taxi Driver” earned both Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster Oscar nominations in their respective acting categories, but director Martin Scorsese was completely ignored by the Academy. It wasn’t until 2007 that Scorsese actually won the statue, for directing “The Departed.”

“Do the Right Thing,” a film about racial tensions in urban Brooklyn, was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Danny Aiello was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. However, Spike Lee wasn’t nominated for Best Director. While Lee still continues to make groundbreaking films, like 2013’s “Oldboy,” he’s never been nominated for Best Director.

Sacha Baron Cohen has a unique point of view when it comes to comedy, and his wild performance in “Borat” tickled and shocked audiences all over the world. While Cohen was nominated as one of the five writers for “Borat,” he didn’t win, likely because the Academy rarely seems to reward comedy.

The original master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock was nominated for Best Director for “Rebecca” in 1941, “Lifeboat” in 1946, “Rear Window” in 1955 and “Psycho” in 1961. What’s so bizarre is that the Academy never actually gave Hitchcock top honors. “Psycho,” arguably his most famous film, was likely snubbed because the Academy has always been biased against the horror genre.

While 1985’s “The Color Purple” was nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, it’s mystifying why director Steven Spielberg wasn’t nominated. That year, Sydney Pollock won Best Director for “Out of Africa,” which also won Best Picture.

Considered one of the greatest film directors of the 20th century, Stanley Kubrick was nominated four times for Best Director, but not for 1980’s “The Shining.” Even 20 years after snubbing Psycho, the Academy continued its prejudice against the horror genre.

No one can argue the lasting power of the epic 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland. While it was nominated for Best Picture and took home two Oscars, one for Best Song for “Over the Rainbow” and the other for Best Score, it didn’t win the big prize. What won the award for Best Picture in 1941? A little film called “Gone with the Wind.”

“Unbroken” tells the story of a true American hero, Louis Zamperini, and his struggle to survive a Japanese prisoner of war camp in World War II. Best known for her edgy acting roles, Angelina Jolie directed this inspirational film with spirit yet got passed over by the Academy, which shocked many people in Hollywood.