Oscars 2019: Biggest Nomination Snubs

Bradley Cooper for Best Director

Film: A Star is Born

While it is true that Bradley Cooper was recognized in the Best Lead Actor category at this year's Oscars, he did not earn a nomination for Best Director.

This particular snub stands out based on the fact that he was nominated for his direction by the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, the British Academy Film Awards, the Directors Guild of America Awards, the Satellite Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards.

Toni Collette for Best Lead Actress

Film: Hereditary

Toni Collette is no stranger to award nominations, as she has been nominated for multiple Golden Globe and Satellite Awards.

She even won a Golden Globe in 2010 for her performance in the hit series United States of Tara. She has also been nominated for an Academy Award before, earning an nod in the Best Supporting Actress category in 2000 for her role in The Sixth Sense.

This year, she delivered a performance in the suspense/horror film Hereditary that has had critics raving.

While the Oscars clearly overlooked her incredible acting in the film, she is still up for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.

Ethan Hawke for Best Lead Actor

Film: First Reformed

Thankfully, First Reformed did not go completely unnoticed by the Academy, earning a nomination in the Best Original Screenplay category for Paul Schrader, who also directed the film.

However, Ethan Hawke absolutely deserved recognition for his performance in the film, one that may very likely go down in cinema history as his greatest ever.

The film, frankly, would not have had the same impact without him.

Debra Granik for Best Director

Film: Leave No Trace

One thing that became awkwardly clear when the 2019 Oscar nominations were announced was that no female directors were included. This is despite there being a many high quality, Oscar-caliber films helmed by women in the last year.

One of those films is the drama Leave No Trace (starring Bed Foster, who is pictured above), which tells the story if a father and daughter who prefer to live a minimalist lifestyle but are tragically misunderstood by the government who tells them their way of life is not acceptable and tries to force them to change.

Granik crafted a brilliant and emotionally captivating film here, and she 100 percent deserved a Best Director nomination for it.

Lynne Ramsay for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay

Film: You Were Never Really Here

Another female director who more than deserved a nod this year is Lynee Ramsay, who and directed the bleak and violent You Were Never Really Here.

The film follows a ex-military man named Joe (played brilliantly by Joaquin Phoenix), who now works as gun-for-hire tracking down kids who run away or go missing.

As he works on his newest job, he finds himself falling further and deeper into a tangled conspiracy that he hadn't planned for, and he soon discovers that he will very likely not complete his mission without it costing him more than he gained.

The film is quite captivating, and features some incredible cinematography, and it is truly a shame that Ramsay did not earn an Oscar nod for her crafting of the story.

John David Washington for Best Lead Actor

Film: BlacKkKlansman

Believe it or not, Spike Lee has never won an Oscar, and though he has been nominated twice in the past — Best Original Screenplay in 1990 for Do the Right Thing, and Best Documentary Feature in 1998 for 4 Little Girls 3 — he has never been nominated for Best Director. Until now.

Lee has formally been nominated for a Best Director Academy Award for his work on the partially-biographical film BlacKkKlansman, and it has been a long time coming.

However, while it is exciting that Lee is finally getting the recognition he deserves, it's unfortunate that he leading star in BlackKklansman, John David Washington, isn't.

It's also bit surprising, considering Washington was nominated for Best Actor at this year's Golden Globes.Washington carries the film with a poise and energy that is rarely seen together in Hollywood, and he should be recognized for it.

Notably, BlackKklansman is also nominated in the Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Adam Driver), and Best Adapted Screenplay categories.

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal for Best Original Screenplay

Film: Blindspotting

Actors/rappers Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal wrote and star in this film that is loosely inspired by their longtime real life friendship growing up in California's Bay Area.

It addition to being and extremely poignant commentary on race and class in America — specifically focusing on the way it is depicted in the Oakland and Berkely, California areas — Blindspotting is full of emotional depth and a surprising amount of humor.

The two brought a sobering dose of reality to their film, and it is a shame the Academy did not acknowledge them for it.

'Eighth Grade'

We couldn't just narrow down Eighth Grade's snubs to one category, because the whole film was snubbed in multiple categories.

Firstly, actress Elsie Fisher was nominated for a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, an Independent Spirit Award, and a Satellite Award for her performance in the film, so it seemed like she was sure to get an Oscar nod.

Secondly, writer/director Bo Burnham should have garnered at least one nomination, for either Best Director or Best Original Screenplay.

Finally, Eighth Grade is one of the best reviewed movies of 2018, and holds a higher Rotten Tomatoes Fresh rating than any of the Best Picture nominees. So, it seems like it should have been included in that lot.