Christopher Nolan Snubbed! Does the Academy Hate the 'Inception' Director?

By Moviefone Editors Posted Jan 25th 2011 01:45PM

He has directed some of the most critically acclaimed, visually arresting movies of our time and has been celebrated by his colleagues, but this morning Christopher Nolan's name was a notable snub on the list of Best Director Oscar nominees.

Nolan -- a three-time Directors Guild of America nominee for 'Memento,' 'The Dark Knight' and 'Inception' -- has yet to be recognized in the director category by the Academy. Sure, his movies often score nominations galore; 'Inception,' for example, is up for eight awards this year, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. But for some reason, the Academy continues to ignore him as a directing contender. Now our friend from Moviefone, Sharon Knolle, dives deeper.

Could it be because his inventive movies are typically also enormous blockbusters? Doubtful. Enormous box-office success didn't prevent Steven Spielberg from joining the nominees' circle early in his career (for 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,' all popcorn flicks). And it certainly hasn't hurt two-time-winner James Cameron.

The Academy does have something of a history of snubbing commercial directors. After all, despite his early nominations, it took Spielberg until 1993's 'Schindler's List' to actually win a directing Oscar, and wildly popular director Alfred Hitchcock never won an award in the category. However, it's still surprising that Nolan got the shaft with 'Inception.' It's not like he hasn't been racking up the kudos for the Leonardo DiCaprio film. First came a Golden Globe nomination, then one from Directors Guild of America; back home, the London-born Nolan also reeled in his first BAFTA nomination for Achievement in Direction. Yet no love from the Academy.

Nolan's Craft on Display

Of course, Nolan is no stranger to Academy snubs. 'The Dark Knight' earned a well-deserved Oscar win for the late Heath Ledger as well as seven other nominations, but its omission from the Best Picture slot was perceived as a major snub at the time -- not to mention the Best Director category. 'Batman Begins,' by the way, was nominated only for Best Cinematography; 'The Prestige' also received a nod for Art Direction, and 'Memento' earned nominations only for Best Original Screenplay and Film Editing.

The 'Dark Knight' slight moved Nolan's brother Jonathan (who co-wrote 'Memento' with him) to respond with an e-mail to fans: "Any nominations for a comic book movie is a thing of beauty no matter how you slice it, and that takes the sting out a bit. Besides, I've been to the big show before, and, like any of these things, it's a little disappointing. Did you know it's not even an open bar once the show starts? At least this time I would have remembered to bring a little cash so I could buy myself a drink after losing."

So, what will it take for Nolan to be recognized by the Academy for his directing skills? Does he need to make a movie about Facebook, World War II or blue aliens to stand a chance? Or does he simply have to hang in there for 20 or 30 more years until the Academy finally decides it's his time? Or could it be that the Academy just confused Nolan's 'Inception' with one of the many popular Internet memes relating to the movie?

Whatever the case, we hope it'll be rectified with Nolan's next feature.

Tags: Christopher Nolan, inception

Comments

(8)

Tuesday 25 January

By candy

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The academy probably didn't understand the movie!!!

By RKER321

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According to CNN the Oscars are run like any Political campaign, lots of people involved. parties are given, individuals go to the members and try to convince them for whom to vote, I imagine lots of perks etc.
I guess this guy needs to spend money on all of this, in order to see his name.
Perhaps, he already makes too much money with his films and don't care about the prizes.

By themeeker

Oh WHAH! I'm a bazillionaire and no one wants to give me an award for it. Stop crying and do your job. If you're that good, they should throw you a bone eventually.

By bkwormsjv

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Ummm, it isn't Christopher Nolan who is crying foul, it's the fans and reporters. And the point they are making is that he IS already good enough that the Academy should have already thrown him a bone.

By Laurence Cripe

Christopher Nolan is a winner - he doesn't need no stinking award, especially the over-rated, politically entrenched symbol of the Academy. The presence or absence of such an award doesn't accurately reflect the inherent worth of a film. They've adorned some real stinkers - likewise, they've praised some winners. The real question is: Who really cares?? It's an over-glorified fashion show...

By diane

I remember reading Earnest Borgnine voted against Brokeback Mountain even though he had never seen it and would not ever see it.

By Heyes

Ernest is still alive???.. geez he must be 130yrs old by now!

Wednesday 26 January

By Raina

It's ridiculous. The Oscars are a joke now ever since the year they decided the critics don't get to vote because they wanted their precious film Titanic to win and were worried that L.A. Confidential would win and they couldn't have that. It's pathetic that it's all about politics rather than the merits of the films.

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