Adam Sandler and Jennifer Lopez were expected to receive Oscar nominations last week, Sandler for his career-best performance in Uncut Gems and Lopez for her scene-stealing turn in Hustlers, but both were snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It’s a shame, too, because their presence would have made the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress races more interesting — “two-time nominee Scarlett Johansson” just sounds wrong, y’know? The New York Post spoke to a “longtime character actor and Academy member,” who of course refused to divulge their name, and they offered an absurd explanation for why Sandler and Lopez were rejected.
“That [performance] was a tour de force. He’s emerging as a truly great actor, but then he does cheesy Netflix comedies that are really dumb,” they said. “There are a lot of movies, a lot of performances per year for us to watch. Unfortunately, actors become brands. Sandler’s brand doesn’t scream ‘Oscar,’ but Leo DiCaprio’s and Jonathan Pryce’s do.” DiCaprio and Pryce were nominated for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Two Popes, and now I hope Sandler plays a pope in his next Netflix movie, out of spite. He could paint the Wendy’s logo on the side of the Popemobile.
Last month, Sandler may have rubbed some of them the wrong way when he joked on Howard Stern’s show: “If I don’t get [the Oscar], I’m going to f*cking come back and do [a movie] again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay.”
“There was an arrogance to [Adam],” huffed a voting member. “It’s a lack of respect.” (Via)
As for Lopez, the unnamed Academy member offered an equally baffling explanation for her snub: “First of all, Hustlers is not an ‘Oscar movie.’ It’s a little too rough around the edges, and I’m assuming some other people in the acting category didn’t see it… Actors tend to think of Jennifer Lopez as a phenomenon more than an actress, per se. [It’s like last year, when] Lady Gaga lost the Oscar to Olivia Colman — a real actor’s actor.”
Jennifer Lopez was nominated for a Golden Globe for Selena; Out of Sight is often considered one of the best movies of the 1990s; and Monster-in-Law made her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. So, yes, she is a “phenomenon,” but it’s a compliment, not an insult, as the Academy voted intended. Also, Anaconda rules.
The Oscars air February 9. Check out the full list of nominees here.
(Via New York Post)
