The nominations for the Academy Awards were announced a couple hours ago (see previous report). Although Star Trek picked up four technical nominations, it didn’t get a nod for Best Picture. Although not considered a shoe-in, the film had received a lot of buzz and many are already calling ‘snub’, especially due to one of the films that did make it in. [UPDATE: More ‘Star Trek Snub’ buzz]
No Best Pic for Trek? – Is it a snub?
Going into the nominations, Star Trek had shown up on a number of industry watcher lists for a nomination for Best Picture, including Entertainment Weekly’s and the USA Today. The film was also nominated by the Producers Guild, which usually is a good gauge of the Oscar nods. However, Star Trek and Clint Eastwood’s Invictus were the only films that didn’t make both lists, replaced by The Blind Side and A Serious Man.
| PGA Best Picture |
Academy Best Picture |
| Avatar | Avatar |
| District 9 | The Blind Side |
| An Education | District 9 |
| The Hurt Locker | An Education |
| Inglourious Basterds | The Hurt Locker |
| Invictus | Inglourious Basterds |
| Precious | Precious |
| Star Trek | A Serious Man |
| Up | Up |
| Up in the Air | Up in the Air |
The exclusion of Star Trek has got some notice (and even riled some up):
[UPDATED quotes list]
Ten f–king slots for Best Picture, and not a-one of ’em for JJ’s STAR TREK? That list can’t have TWO giant sci-fi movie’s on it?
– Director Kevin Smith (via Twitter)
That a nomination did not go to Star Trek was a shock to many on the Facebook Livestream, which indicates how the public’s going to respond to the news of the list. Moreover, will the Star Trek snub impact Oscar ratings?
– SF Gate
Surprises: Trek got shafted, UP nommed for Best Film AND Best Animated!
– Pop Culture Zoo (Twitter)
In a 10-movie Best Picture field that had room for box office hits as well as indie darlings, I was surprised Golden Globe winner The Hangover, Star Trek, or (500) Days of Summer didn’t sneak in.
– Entertainment Weekly
STAR TREK might have peaked too early; also, it had such a zippy, fleet feel to it that maybe voters didn’t take it as seriously as the others? Honestly I do not know. But I agree that it deserved a nod.
– Washinton Post (critic Ann Hornaday from chat)
"Star Trek" – Did the Academy learn nothing from its egregious omission of "The Dark Knight" last year? The fact that the Best Picture field was expanded to 10 films and included another sci fi film, "District 9," makes "Star Trek’s" snub that much more painful. The clever and entertaining reboot of the popular franchise was crafted well. It deserved better than its handful of technical nominations.
– Zap2it
And what about the geek fave Star Trek directed by J.J. Abrams? Somebody at the Academy is not on board the Enterprise for sure.
– Urban Wire
What, no "Star Trek?" The news of today’s Oscar nominations from Los Angeles shot around the world, leaving critics and film buffs shaking their heads over snubs made by Academy Award voters.
– CTV
More Star Trek exclusion talk from:
- USA Today and again at USA Today
- Yahoo
- LA Times
- E Online
- Access Hollywood
- Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Examiner.com
- TheWrap
- IndieWire
- FilmStage
- Hollyscoop
The Blind Side over Star Trek? Really?
The inclusion of The Blind Side appears to be a total surprise. The Sandra Bullock led film about a family that adopts a homeless teenager has been a bit of a sleeper hit, earning $237M domestically. However, The Blind Side only scores a 58% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (Top Critics), and didn’t appear on any of the critic top 10 lists compiled at Metacritic (Star Trek has a 92% rating and is on 21 lists). Cinemablend called the nomination of The Blind Side for Best Picture (over Trek and other contenders) one of "Five things to be horrified by" with this years Oscars. The Detroit Free Press notes the
Blind Side pick is "a victory for the sort of blockbuster films that ticket buyers embrace more than critics." The Blind Side seems to be benefiting from the performance of Sandra Bullock, who was also nominated for Best Actress and already has won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for her performance in the film.
"Blind Side" made it onto the Best Pic list, but "Star Trek" did not
YES! Star Trek was snubbed but whats new??? The academy knows nothing when it comes to good theater.
definitly a bias against trek
As interesting as the movie was it is just not “Best Film” material.
knew?
Disappointing, for sure. Unexpected, not really. I’m sure the Academy has plenty of back-door politics going on, like everything else. A Star Trek nomination was certainly deserved, as much as Avatar or District 9.
I think its a snub for sure, at least a nomination would have been nice
.
Defently a Snub, Star Trek was Best Film Material and the Academy need to wake up!
Boborci…
You live in hollywood or at least work there. Who are the people who nominate movies into any given category? Do you know any of these people? What are the politics behind it all?
“The Blind Side” was okay…not great. But it’s the type of inspirational movie that is widely embraced that would get a lot of academy votes.
A movie with Houston Dale Nutt in it gets a nominated for best picture, and J.J. Abrams gets the shaft. What’s next?
The Scifi fans get ignored and a movie about football gets nominated. To quote Johnney Cage “This is like being back in Highschool”
Star Trek Deserved to be in the Best Picture nomination, I don’t know why they didn’t put it in, it was an awsome Movie!
Somehow I wasn’t too hopeful, but when I first saw this movie, I was like why wouldn’t it? I’m disapointed, but who ,knows…we still have a sequel that could?
As much as I love Trek, I do think ‘Blind Side’ is a good nomination. I really enjoyed it. It really is too bad Star Trek didn’t make the list, because some of those other movies were just awful.
It’s “Annie Hall” over “Star Wars” all over again.
#10. Two sci-fi films were nominated. “Star Trek” just didn’t make the cut.
Let’s not forget that today is Brent Spiner’s birthday. Please Trekmovie, do not forget.
Happy Birthday Brent!
“The Blind Side” isn’t even out yet in many parts of the world. O_o
A) Who cares, these awards are meaningless self-congratulation and B) Yes? No? Avatar was nominated, so stupid movies clearly “count” as “Best Picture” material.
I pick A.
One more media reaction: from Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday, during a chat on the newspapers website immediately after the Oscar nominations were announced:
“STAR TREK might have peaked too early; also, it had such a zippy, fleet feel to it that maybe voters didn’t take it as seriously as the others? Honestly I do not know. But I agree that it deserved a nod.”
Who cares to be honest, these awards have always been slightly pointless because they only ever focus on films the general public by and large really couldn’t care about.
Avatar however good it was – i did enjoy it – was hardly i feel worthy of a best picture nomination – visual effects sure by several miles it stood out for me but where as Star Trek made no bones about being part of the larger 43 year history of Trek and yet took the reboot format and made it into something original and exciting and with a story that was as Star Trek as ever, Avatar promised to be original, never before seen but ran like an over-bloated CGI-ed to the max version of Pocohontis(SP?)/Ferne Gully/Smurf’s – which while visually stunning, for me failed to deliver on the most important promise – originality.
Yes it was — “Snub Trek 2010”!
Was it a bit too full on with the punk kid thing to get a nod?
Definately a shame, but not unexpected. I think there is still a bit of a stigma attached to the brand which may have left a sour taste in the mouth of the more snooty voter. For me the film sucessfully resolved this, but hey.
Still, the sequel will give the academy members something to vote for ;-)
In all fairness, NuTrek was a fun romp at a certain level, but it had absolutely nothing to say to its audience. Expecting a “Best Picture” nomination simply because its institutional fan base enjoyed it is, it is fair to say, rubbish.
Sincerely,
C.S.Lewis
Star Trek 2009, as good as it was, it is still too silly to be deserved an Oscar nomination. Star Trek has been & always be a TV show…
It’s true, we have lived this long without getting respect… we didn’t get a nod even when TWOK came out, and our soundtracks though awesome typically get shafted too. This is just a pain.
Hopefully boborci and others on the ‘supreme court’ can simply continue what they’re doing so that we can no longer be ignored. We were still victorious in 2009, remember that.
What’s a snub? It was just outvoted by academy members. I’m disappointed, but I don’t suspect a conspiracy. And I’m excited that scifi movies are included in the extended playing field. I <3 Star Trek but Avatar is going to sweep everything anyway, going by the trends. At least I hope so.
I don’t think it’s a snub, personally. I really really love the film but I still don’t feel it was one of the best of the year. Plus, the Academy has a history of ignoring movies like Trek so it shouldn’t be surprising.
24 I disagree that Star Trek has been and always be a TV show. Star Trek 09 was a motion picture based on TOS TV show. now Star Trek The Motion Picture was a TV episode (a very expensive one) brought to theaters. It was actualy the pilot for the proposed new Trek series “Star Trek: Phase 2”. Big Difference.
Best film of the year??
It wasn’t even the best film of the month …
Then again…
I am surprised that Avatar was nominated for best picture O_O
Honestly guys, do you really think it was good enough to deserve that?
Now I think I know why some people believe Trek was snubbed.
First, “C.S. Lewis” is so wrong that his statement almost came back around to being right again.
Second, I can’t believe that D9 got a nomination over Star Trek.
Trekkers don’t need Oscars. Fans worldwide have given JJ + team + cast the best recognition ever. I hereby symbolically hand over the ‘Golden Nacelle’ to mr. Abrams and staff for the ‘Best Trek Movie Ever’. And that’s that!
‘Inglorious Basterds’ is NOT a great movie. It’s a so-so collection of the confusing tricks employed by Quentin Tarantino in past movies. It’s a piss-poor history. It’s a mediocre actioner. It does have one great performance by Christopher Waltz as the main Nazi baddie. The rest is pretty frothy, if bloody, stuff.
Sorry, but it gets old being told how great some truly middlin’ players are.
As for Trek not making the top ten… meh. I like most of the five I’ve seen; as usual, The Academy has filled (overfilled with ten??) the list with movies that appeal more to the spurious idea of greatness than to the gut-response of a truly fun night at the movies.
I wouldn’t mind if Avatar sweeps. But, I can’t say Oscar’s tastes match mine all the time, so I’m not worried about it.
thanks for the catch beerwriter, found the link and added to above
#27 – I didn’t think that history was going to change just because of the 2009 film, even though I loved it so very much, and even though it was certainly very important to me as a fan of a franchise that so many people were deriding as “dead” or “on life support.”
But we have the right to not think much of the Academy and to ignore their decisions, and I’m going to reserve that right as I always have. As a moviegoer, I have never paid much attention to the Academy Awards because I have always believed that the only opinion that really matters is that of the customers – mine, yours, ours.
(And personally, I think the Academy is corrupt. But that’s just my opinion, and it’s also likely to be an irrational one, so let’s not talk any further about that.)
You’re all over the top. ST9 was fun. The new cast was fantastic. I’m eager to see their fresh faces in many more Trek adventures… But best picture? Whether it’s more or less deserving of a nomination over say the Blind Side, isn’t really the point. In essence, Abrams forged ahead with a flawed narrative. He’s even admitted as such. That doesn’t mean it was bad. It was a good reboot, it bodes well for future entries, but it’s far from deserving of best picture.
How does a movie like “The Blind Side” that belongs on the Lifetime Network get nominated over Star Trek?
Star Trek wasn’t the best film of the year, but it is much better than “The Blind Side”, “A Serious Man” and “An Education”
Avatar is overrated.
May be the powers to be (with STAR TREK) can get Sandra Bullock to play a villian in the sequel so she can get us a Oscar nod. LOL
#1 – I agree with you all the way. That’s why I don’t take the Academy very seriously and probably never will.
No doubt about it Star Trek got snubbed…
From Yahoo
Best Picture Snub- “Star Trek”
“It’s an outer space adventure filled with dazzling special effects and featuring a largely unknown cast with a standout performance by Zoe Saldana. Yes, that description fits the Best Picture nominee “Avatar,” but it just as well could be talking about the snubbed “Star Trek.” While J.J. Abrams’ new take on the sci-fi classic didn’t create an entirely new world like James Cameron’s epic did, but instead it accomplished a feat that is even more impressive. The movie took a 40-year-old franchise and made it brand-new again, without alienating the fans who have adored it for decades”
Washington Post
“STAR TREK might have peaked too early; also, it had such a zippy, fleet feel to it that maybe voters didn’t take it as seriously as the others? Honestly I do not know. But I agree that it deserved a nod”
Lets boycott the Oscars for snubbing Trek
This isn’t unexpected. I was hoping it would make the list but I’m glad other great films made it. Like Inglorious Basterds, District 9 (which had more substance then NuTrek) and Up! That’s great for Pixar! I actually hope they win both best animated and best picture.
But I’m guessing Avatar will dominate the Oscars. Which is alright I guess but Avatar was a visually dominating film but in terms of story? Nothing grabbed me about the story.
And if Up doesn’t win, Inglorious is my runner up!
And by the way, has Star Trek picked up any technical moms yet? Or when do those get told to us?
C.S. Lewis,
It isn’t about the fan base. It never would have made the money it did if that were the case. And it was a darling with real critics…not just the fan base. The overall critical “ranking” for Star Trek was higher than just about every film on the list that did make the cut. (So qualified, unbiased critics seem to disagree with your assessment that the movie had nothing to say to the audience.) Take away box office (because we know that doesn’t matter to the academy) and focus just on critical acclaim. A movie not getting in on its superior critical merits alone?….that is, by definition, a snub.
(nuTrek? Ohhhhhh….you’re one of THOSE fans.)
I don’t think Star Trek deserved the oscar nomination for best motion picture to begin with, so this news doesn’t really bother me.
After seeing all three sci-fi films this year, my feelings are:
1. “Avatar”: game changer for the movie industry, and an entertaining film, but we won’t be quoting lines from it like we still do from “Aliens.” On par with “True Lies” in the Cameron ouvre, as in, good, but not one of his best.
2. “Star Trek”: Wildly entertaining and a real fun experience in the theatre. Not sure it deserves a Best Picture nod, though. A Best Director nod for J.J. Abrams seems more appropriate, as he single-handedly has reinvented the visual style we expect from this storied franchise, and that deserves recognition.
3. “District 9”: The only film out of the three I have seen twice in the theatre. Brilliant movie that absolutely deserves a Best Picture nomination. It has something to say, and says it well, yet is incredibly entertaining… and moving. It certainly deserved the Best Screenplay nomination as well, although Sharlto Copley was robbed of a Best Actor nomination.
Wow I guess it bothers some people to realize not everyone drinks the kool-aid..
oh well.. cheers!
I just posted this in the other thread, but I think something’s wrong here. I read two reports yesterday that included Trek in the best picture category, both from Associated Press. What the f**k gives???
The expansion to ten slots is probably the only reason that more than one fantasy film had a shot at a nomination. Were it still only five, “Avatar” would probably have been the only sf nom. Now, they had room for “Up” as well as the more seriously-intentioned “District 9,” so they satisfied whatever public demand they’ve been sensing for more popular fare on the list.
Except for being more successful than some others, there’s not that much to distinguish Star Trek from a number of other Summer 2010 popcorn flicks and so no reason to suspect the Academy of “snubbing” it.
I have seen Avatar and Up in the cinemas and liked them. I’ve read about District 9 and Inglourious Basterds. In contrast to this I haven’t heard anything of the other movies before. Like usual a lot of well known popular movies aren’t nominated.
I think it is much more important how much money a movie makes in the cinemas than how many nominations and awards it gets. So this list is much more important:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2009&p=.htm
2009 WORLDWIDE GROSSES
1 Avatar $2,042.7
2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $934.0
3 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs $884.5
4 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $835.3
5 2012 $767.9
6 Up $723.0
7 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $704.2
8 Angels & Demons $485.9
9 The Hangover $467.3
10 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $413.0
11 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $399.9
12 Sherlock Holmes $394.6
13 Star Trek $385.5
14 Monsters Vs. Aliens $381.5
15 X-Men Origins: Wolverine $373.1
16 Terminator Salvation $372.0
17 Fast and Furious $343.0
18 A Christmas Carol (2009) $323.6
19 The Proposal $314.7
20 Inglourious Basterds $313.6