The nominees for the 95th Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning, highlighted by numerous accolades for films like The Fabelmans, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Top Gun: Maverick and All Quiet on the Western Front. While there weren’t too many surprises — shoutout to a very deserving Stephanie Hsu for her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once — it can be hard to get everything right.
Now that we know all of the actors, directors and technical/creative contributors that have earned a nomination, let’s see who was left off the list for the 2023 Oscars.
Here are some of the snubs:
1
Viola Davis - The Woman King
It’s known at this point that Viola Davis is a powerhouse actress. Her performance in The Woman King was worthy of a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture for the Golden Globes, but the former Oscar winner (Fences, 2017) was absent this year. Both Davis and Danielle Deadwyler (Till) were expected by man to earn nods, but lost out to Ana de Armas (Blonde) and a late push for Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie).
The internet was disappointed.
Viola Davis, we will avenge you. pic.twitter.com/mwZMC1trzf
— Dane McDonald (@TheDaneMcDonald) January 24, 2023
Danielle Deadwyler and Viola Davis missing for Ana De Armas and Andrea Riseborough is maddening. It could have been the rare (first?) year that we had a majority POC Best Actress lineup—and with the actual best performances of the year.
— Karl Delossantos (@karl_delo) January 24, 2023
Can't believe they snubbed Danielle Deadwyler and Viola Davis in favor of Ana de Armas and Andrea Riseborough. Mind-blower!
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) January 24, 2023
2
Top Gun: Maverick Technical Awards
It’s hard to have many complaints with the awards Top Gun: Maverick earned as the summer blockbuster was nominated for six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Sound, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song, Film Editing and Visual Effects.
But hear me out.
Top Gun: Maverick not being included in the Cinematography and Best Director categories is wild to me. Joseph Kosinski was literally directing FIGHTER JETS. The actors were essentially mini directors in the cockpit, dealing with G-forces and air sickness. How does that not earn you a spot in either of those categories?
3
Taylor Swift - Best Song
Now you’ve done it. You’ve made the Swifties mad. Swift’s song “Carolina” for the motion picture Where the Crawdads Sing was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Critic’s Choice Award, leading many to believe that it was a shoe-in for Best Song.
Well, not so fast. Swift’s name was left off the nominees list.
4
Jonathan Majors - Devotion
I understand that picking just five nominees out of all the performances over a year is difficult. What I don’t understand is how Jonathan Majors didn’t make the cut for his outstanding performance in Devotion. In the big picture, Devotion is a movie that just didn’t get enough attention or love. JD Dillard’s epic on the true story of naval aviators Jesse Brown (Majors) and Tom Hudner (Glen Powell) flew wildly under the radar.
But Majors — and Chanda Dancy, who created the beautiful score — was mesmerizing in the role. It’s likely not going to be the last time Majors will make a push for a major award, but this is a miss in my book.
5
James Cameron - Avatar: The Way of Water
Avatar: The Way of Water has passed $2 billion in box office sales, cruising to yet another blockbuster hit for James Cameron. The film has been widely praised, but the legendary director at the helm didn’t hear his name called on Tuesday morning.
