As is basically the case every year, but seemingly more so lately, this year’s Oscar nominations contained some very notable snubs, including Alita: Battle Angel getting snubbed for Best Visual Effects and Wild Rose’s “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” getting snubbed for Best Original Song. But perhaps most egregious is the complete shutout for the Safdie Brothers film Uncut Gems, which received zero Academy Award nominations. One of the film’s actors, Eric Bogosian, had a great response to Uncut Gems’ Oscar snubs. Check it out:
Eric Bogosian, who plays Arno in Uncut Gems, isn’t too bothered that the nerve-wracking and fantastic film was left out in the cold when the Oscar nominations were read. He is of the opinion that great artists don’t need awards, so it is no great loss for him to see Uncut Gems snubbed so completely. He is presumably of the belief that great art is its own reward, so no golden statue is necessary.
By saying that great artists don’t need awards in his tweet, Eric Bogosian is also letting it be known how he feels about the artists he worked with on Uncut Gems. Josh and Benny Safdie didn’t receive an award for Best Director (nor were they expected to), and they, along with co-writer Ronald Bronstein, didn’t get a Best Original Screenplay nomination. Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that they are great artists.
The same too goes for Adam Sandler, who many people would have loved to see get an Oscar nomination, even if he wouldn’t have won. Eric Bogosian’s tweet indicates that he believes he worked with great artists on Uncut Gems, and although the Academy didn’t see fit to recognize that with a nomination, those great artists don’t need awards.
Now of course, had Uncut Gems received some nominations, Eric Bogosian would have obviously been happy for the film and the nominees. It would have been great to see Uncut Gems receive some nominations. Oscar recognition reflect the appreciation of your work from peers in the industry. Awards also draw attention to a film, and for a smaller film like Uncut Gems that mainstream audiences might generally ignore or never even hear about, those things are important.
But nominations and awards are a form of recognition, not validation. Glenn Close has never won an Oscar, nor has Joaquin Phoenix (at least for another three-and-a-half weeks), and The Wire never won an Emmy. So Eric Bogosian is right, great artists don’t need awards.
Eric Bogosian isn’t the only one who took Uncut Gems’ shutout in stride. Star Adam Sandler saw the silver lining of not having to wear any more suits and congratulated his The Waterboy co-star Kathy Bates for her Best Supporting Actress nod. Whether he makes good on his promise to make a bad movie now, we’ll have to wait and see.
Fortunately, despite Uncut Gems shutout, the film set a record for A24 at the box office. So hopefully recognition of the financial variety results in more unique films from great artists like this one getting made.
Uncut Gems is now playing. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what movies you can look forward to this year.
