This years Oscar nominations have finally arrived. And while the nods for Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle are well-deserved, theyre not enough to keep Peter Travers from unleashing enough rage to shatter the famous Hollywood sign.
See Peter Travers Favorite Films of 2013
The snubs are plentiful this year, but none more egregious than Robert Redfords stunning, solo and completely silent performance in All Is Lost. Playing asailor who must navigate the Indian Ocean through a treacherous storm, the Hollywood vet picked up Best Actor at the New York Film Critics Circle for his performance and is about to kick off the 40th year of his Sundance Film Festival yet he still comes up empty-handed in this years Oscars race. Another top-notch, veteran performer left hanging this year: Tom Hanks. His snub for Captain Phillips is a shocker, especially consideringthe film itself is up for Best Picture and rookie performer Barkhad Abdi picked up a nod for Best Supporting Actor. Travers theory about Redford and Hanks snubs: These guys made the mistake of being on water. It was wrong. Anybody that wasnt on water managed to get nominated.
Why Captain Phillips Is Worthy of Its Nominations
While Travers cops to being a tad facetious, hes no less enraged that the Academy didnt acknowledge Oprah Winfreys standout supporting turn in Lee Daniels The Butler. Who out there is so crazy that they want to risk the wrath of Oprah? he asks. How could you! You just cant possibly put yourself in that position. Oprah acting up a storm, smoking cigarettes and you say no? Also left out this year were independent films, particularly infuriating after the Academy heaped praise and nominations upon Beasts of the Southern Wild. This year, however, the Oscars chose spectacle and grandeur while ignoring thoughtful, affecting films like Fruitvale Station. Even the Coen brothers homage to the Greenwich Village folk scene, Inside Llewyn Davis, was mostly overlooked.
Whats Real in the Coen Brothers Inside Llewyn Davis
Admittedly, 2013 was such a stellar year for movies that giving everyone their due was, as Travers puts it, like hitting the broad side of a barn. And while the young vote did its part to get Leonardo DiCaprio a nomination for Best Actor for TheWolf of Wall Street along with helping all four leads ofAmerican Hustle (Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper) capture nods the dearth of ignored performances is still staggering. All Im saying is, you have missed some major people in order to just put out namby-pamby things, Travers says. How do you answer to that, Oscar? Im holding you accountable, cause years are gonna pass and people are gonna say, Whats the matter with those. . . Oh, I dont want to blip myself.