And the Oscar Should Have Gone to...

[marywebgirl]

I also thought "Three Kings" was the best movie of 1999 but it was truly shafted at the Oscars.

Word to that. I don't know why Three Kings was overlooked so much. Good original story, good acting, some funny moments to get a bigger audience, George Clooney...what's not to like?

[Mikal]

After renting Hotel Rwanda last night, I would like to ask Jamie Foxx (who was wonderful) and Cate Blanchett to mail off their Oscars to Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo sometime today. I was completely blown away by their roles.

And how did Hotel Rwanda not even merit a Sound, Editing, Cinematograpy, Score, Director or Best Picture nomination I will never understand.

Oh, and Gale Garcia Bernal? Was robbed of a nom for Bad Education.

[Karen]

Gwyneth Paltrow and Roberto Benigni are the most hideous pair of winners. They were both out-acted by each of the four other nominees in their categories. I would have given the Oscars to Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen in '99.

To go way back, Bette Davis should have been nominated and won for Of Human Bondage. Not only was it a stunning performance for that time, her win for Dangerous the next year can unfortunately be said to have started the trend of the make-up award.

[proper stranger]

I'm still boggled that claptrap like "A Beautiful Mind" could win "Best Picture" but a true, genre-challenging work of art like "Mouin Rouge" couldn't.

God, I hated A Beautiful Mind. Insufferably boring and poorly written. I saw it for free and still wanted my money back. Or money for the two-and-a-half-hours that I'll never get back. Moulin Rouge was robbed.

Liz Taylor got a sympathy Oscar (following a near-death health crisis) for the lame call girl flick Butterfield 8. Any of the other actresses up for Best Actress that year should've won, but especially Shirley McLaine for The Apartment or Melina Mercouri for Never on Sunday

Or my personal favorite, the perpetually-shafted Deborah Kerr, in The Sundowners.

Overrated Grace Kelly stealing Judy Garland's Oscar for A Star is Born.

I would have loved to see Marlon Brando win for Streetcar, but Humphrey Bogart won for The African Queen--and I love that performance, too.

Is it wrong that I still agree with my seven year-old self in thinking that E.T. should have won Best Picture over Gandhi?

[mrpancake]

Is it wrong that I still agree with my seven year-old self in thinking that E.T. should have won Best Picture over Gandhi?

No, not at all. I love E.T. and always have. When I was young I literally watched it daily, even though the very beginning where he gets chased scared the Hell outta me. I thought I would find E.T. in our hallway at night for a while, and I'd always run fast down it so he wouldn't scare me!

But I digress. I saw Ghandi about 2 years ago, and I was unimpressed. Yeah, it was good, but it was a safe bet for Best Picture. All the elements were there, but that didn't (in my opinion) stop it from being dull. E.T. has stayed with me, and I never get tired of watching it, whereas Ghandi once was more than enough. E.T. was indeed robbed of the Best Picture Oscar.

[Deleted]

I don't know why Three Kings was overlooked so much. Good original story, good acting, some funny moments to get a bigger audience, George Clooney...what's not to like?

I think that powerful people in Hollywood hate David O. Russell (we know that Clooney has problems with him and Clooney has powerful friends) because otherwise I cannot imagie why some of the smartest, funniest, ballsiest movies with fantastic performances get overlooked time and time again. I'm not saying that D.O.R's films could win but the establishment usually likes to throw a few bones to the up and coming artsy filmmakers (usually with a writing nomination) and the academy has never nominated D.O.R. - or any of his films - for anything in any capacity. Man must have enemies.

Denzel Washington needs to give his Training Day Oscar to Tom Wilkinson for In the Bedroom. Denzel gave such a one note performance in TD and he is capable of so much more! What a waste of a statue. I feel the same way about Morgan Freeman's win for M$B. It is right that they have Oscars but I wish they had each won for a truly stellar role rather than the Academy make-up award. Clive Owen should have won the Supporting Oscar for Closer not Freeman for M$B.

To be fair to Denzel (and Russell), the year of American Beauty (the 2000 awards) was a fantastic year for best actor - Sean Penn for Sweet and Lowdown, Denzel for The Hurricane, Rusty for The Insider, Spacey for American Beauty and Richard Farnsworth for The Straight Story. No matter who won (all deserving in my book - even Spacey) make-up Oscars would have been needed. Sigh.

Also, Sean Penn from Mystic River needs to give his Oscar to Sean Penn from 21 Grams. Much better performance (maybe I'm biased because I thought that 21 Grams was amazing and thought that Mystic River was decent).

I could go on but I'll stop. For now.

[stupidgirl]

Kevin Costner needs to FedEx his Oscar to Martin Scorcese ASAP. How Dances with Wolves (or as I call it in my house 'Puts StupidGirl to Sleep) won over GoodFellas is one of life's mysteries.

And I know the movie 'Breaking the Waves' was controversial and I do love Frances McDormand, but I think Emily Watson was robbed that year. McDormand won for Fargo (which IMO is overrated), but all these years later I can still remember how devestating Watson's role was.

[brinksteria]

Is it wrong that I still agree with my seven year-old self in thinking that E.T. should have won Best Picture over Gandhi?

Not at all. I finally saw Gandhi this year, and it was boring, self-important, and clumsily put together. Gandhi, the man, was a visionary & saint. But the Academy should remember they give out Oscars not the Nobel Peace Prize. And when they celebrated this bio-pic, they were rewarding a crappy film not the actual man.

I also quibble with Ben Kingsley getting an Oscar for that role. I think it contributed to him getting knighted. Now he's insufferable on American red carpets insisting that Joan Rivers or the guest correspondent from Access Hollywood call him Sir Ben Kingsley. And God forbid anyone neglect to call his wife Lady Kingsley. ::eyeroll::

[Auroranorth]

I also quibble with Ben Kingsley getting an Oscar for that role. I think it contributed to him getting knighted. Now he's insufferable on American red carpets insisting that Joan Rivers or the guest correspondent from Access Hollywood call him Sir Ben Kingsley. And God forbid anyone neglect to call his wife Lady Kingsley. ::eyeroll::

Perhaps he should keep in mind Miss Manner's dictum that rather than blasting it at everyone, it is much classier to have it discovered that one has a title that they have not bothered to show off.

[Wol]

Imo, Sir Ben Kingsley can call himself Super King Ben of Kingsley-Gandhi as long as he keeps getting robbed for performances such as Sexy Beast and House of Sand and Fog.

Sean Penn should give his Oscar to Bill Murray but should have won for Dead Man Walking.

That the words "Academy Award Winner" will forever precede the names Roberto Benigni, Halle Berry, and Ben Affleck is definitely disturbing. That the words "Two Time Academy Award Winner" now link Jodie Foster with Hilary Swank is also disturbing.