Wait, Oscar, you forgot to nominate these amazing women

The things about awards season is there are only so many spots, voting is often the most political, and when nominations come out, snubs about. We got the Oscar noms in this morning, and there are a lot of exceptional artists being celebrated AND there are a lot of exceptional artists that weren’t even nominated. We want to take this moment to give a shout out to the ladies who may not have been nominated by the Academy, but were CERTAINLY nominated in our hearts

Directors

Ava DuVernay for Selma– What kills me is that DuVernay absolutely deserved a nomination for her incredible work steering this film (it was nominated for Best Picture after all), and what double kills me is that this would have been a historic nomination—the first woman of color Oscar-nominated for Best Director. I want excellence rewarded and I want history made on the regular, is that so much to ask? But really, DuVernay’s work this year was some of the most critically praised and widely regarded.  She tackled a monumentally important subject and a larger-than-life historical figure with, what the The New York Times called “passionate clarity and blazing conviction.” Award please. 

Angelina Jolie for Unbroken– In a year of historic epics, Jolie did extraordinary work helming this pic about an Olympian athlete who survived a WWII POW camp and she absolutely deserved a nom.

Jennifer Kent for The Babadook– The scariest art movie in history, Kent directed the ISH out of this film and SO deserved a nod.

Screenwriters

Gillian Flynn for Gone Girl– When’s the last time a novelist BRILLIANTLY adapted their own mega-bestseller for the screen? Usually you get 12 writers taking turns working on an adaptation for years until it just becomes mush. Flynn DESTROYED IT with her adaptation, and deserved some hardcore Oscar love for her efforts.

Gillian Robespierre for Obvious Child– Remember like 6 or 7 years ago when little movies that could like Little Miss Sunshine and Juno scored big at the Oscars. Take me back to 2008, someone with a time machine! I know Whiplash is the little movie with the big awards buzz this year, but I wish we could have saved some love for Obvious Child’s breakout writer/director Gillian Robespierre, who gave us an awesomely complicated and deeply human heroine.

Lead Actresses

Jennifer Aniston in Cake– She got a Golden Globe nom for her turn playing a painkiller-addict drowning in her own grief, but no Oscar love. Bad move, Academy, no Rachel haircuts for YOU.

Amy Adams in Big Eyes– You guys, she WON her Golden Globe category (Best Actress in a Feature Film- Comedy or Musical) playing ’60s painter Margaret Keane whose unhinged husband Walter (Christoph Waltz) takes credit for her work. Not even a nom? NOT EVEN A NOM?

GuGu Mbatha-Raw in Belle or Beyond The Lights– THIS IS THE GIRL TO WATCH. She had two star turns this year and should’ve gotten some award nom love for ONE of those killer-great perfs.

Emily Blunt in Into The Woods– Blunt acted the pants off this role and she sang like a dream, I’m so happy Meryl got a supporting nod for The Witch but Em really should have gotten some sugar for her turn as The Baker’s Wife (pun completely intended).

Jenny Slate in Obvious Child– She just NAILED the humor/pathos/heart/authenticity of this role, she slam dunked this sucker and the rewards should have been hers.

Supporting Actresses

Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer– The CRAZIEST and GREATEST character performance of the year and no nod? I’m leaving Earth and moving to a planet where every alien actress who is awesome in an alien movie gets an alien nomination for the annual Alien Academy Awards.

Lorelai Linklater in Boyhood– The picture, the director, and both adult actors (Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, who’s coming off a Golden Globe win for her role) are nominated, but the “Boy” in “Boyhood” (Ellar Coltrane) and his sister, director’s daughter Lorelai Linklater are missing from the ballot. And Lorelai not only grows up over the course of the 12 years the film was shot, she could not be more honest or compelling in her role.

Rene Russo in Nightcrawler– This was her big comeback and she was perfection as a morally conflicted graveyard shift news producer who gets dragged down into morally messed up things by the unblinking and excellent Jake Gyllenhaal.

I, of course, want awards love for the ladies listed, but I have to at least be grateful that these movies are being made and these opportunities for ladies to kick ass and take names in film are out there. And I am. I’m grateful for a year of great movies, and a year of great ladies—both those nominated for Oscars and those who deserved to be.

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