As we head towards January 5th, when Oscar ballots are sent out to Academy members, the various branches are currently busy narrowing down the choices in a select few categories. The Visual Effects branchhas whittled its list of contenders downto 10 films that will compete in a bake-off, out of which the final nominees will arise. And now the Makeup & Hairstyling branch has narrowed its own list of contenders down to a shortlist of seven movies. Business as usual, right?
Well, not exactly. In our first major snub of the season, for some insane reasonThe Shape of Waterhas been left off this shortlist, despite featuring a tremendously designed creature as one of its lead characters. This makes no sense, and I have to assume there’s some weird politics going on with the nominating committee—this feels personal. Especially when you look at the list of contenders thatdidmake the shortlist:
Darkest Hour
Ghost in the Shell
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
Victoria & Abdul
Bright? Really? I mean I knowSuicide Squadwon this Oscar previously, but we’re gonna go with that uninteresting ogre makeup overGuillermo del Toro’s Fish Man?
It’s pretty ridiculous, and I really do hope this isn’t a harbinger of things to come, in which del Toro’s critically acclaimed fairy tale gets sidelined at the Oscars for being too “genre.” It’s one of the best films of the year, period, and deserves a whole lot of love. I still think it could be one of the films with the most nominations overall, but this is a very shocking bump in the road.
Moreover,Shapewasn’t the only odd snub in this category—ITwas also left off this final shortlist. Again, really? I likeKurt Russell’s hair inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2as much as the next guy, but this is silly.
Okay, rant over. Catch up with all of my Oscar predictionsright hereand look forDarkest Hourto take this category easily on Oscar night for literally transformingGary Oldmaninto Winston Churchill.
