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Written by Shandy Casteel and Pete Timmermann Tuesday, 31 January 2006 19:34

For the 1990 awards, Spike Lee and Do the Right Thing fail to get picture and director nominations. Remember Kim Basinger handing out the award and her unscripted rant? “The best film of the year, Do the Right Thing, is not on this list.”

 

The only real reason to watch the annual televised Hollywood circle jerk known as the Academy Awards is to revel in the stupidity of the judges, whether it’s for lack of a nomination or just plain ignorance. Fortunately, time seems to remember the true masterpieces, and while there are dozens of choices for a list such as this, these are few of the more egregious examples of incompetence.

1. In 1944, Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca loses to Paul Lukas for Watch on the Rhine. No role or performance in film even comes close to Bogart’s Rick Blaine.
2. Cary Grant’s career Oscar wins in competition: 0. We’re sure that special Oscar in 1970 made up for it.
3. Kramer vs. Kramer over Apocalypse Now in 1980. We wish there was something funny to say here, but really...
4. Forrest Gump wins over modern classics Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption during the 1994 telecast. Stupid is as stupid certainly does.
5. Raging Bull gets TKO’d in 1981 by Ordinary People.
6. For the 1990 awards, Spike Lee and Do the Right Thing fail to get picture and director nominations. Remember Kim Basinger handing out the award and her unscripted rant? “The best film of the year, Do the Right Thing, is not on this list.”
7. The nominations for the 1999 and 2000 Oscars, respectively, failed to recognize Bill Murray (Rushmore) and John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich) for their supporting actor roles.
8. Dances With Wolves and Kevin Costner somehow trick the Academy into picking them for Best Picture and Best Director in 1991, over Goodfellas and Martin Scorsese.
9. In 1982, Chariots of Fire defeated Raiders of the Lost Ark in the Best Picture category. Wonder how their DVD sales compare?
10. No nomination for Die Hard’s Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in 1989, certainly one of the finest villains in cinematic history.