Oscar Nominations Crack Down on Category Misplacement and Snub Major Contenders

Oscar Indirectly Calls Out Category Misplacement Via Snubs

Chase Infiniti, Paul Mescal and Ariana Grande were three names expected to be called out as nominees today on Oscar nomination morning, but they were snubbed, most likely due to category misplacement.

While Sinners enjoyed a beautiful day in the sunlight with 16 Oscar nominations, becoming the most nominated film in Academy Award history, major contenders found themselves snubbed in the acting categories. Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another), Paul Mescal (Hamnet) and Ariana Grande (Wicked: For Good) all found their names not mentioned on Academy Award nomination morning despite being on almost everybody’s front-runner list.

It may be as simple as this: Category misplacement has become a serious issue in Hollywood, and the Oscars’ voters don’t seem to be putting up with it anymore. Whereas Ariana Grande made it into the Oscar race for Best Supporting Actress last year for Wicked: Part 1, in the sequel, Wicked: For Good, she had a slightly bigger role which means it should have been potentially qualifying for Best Actress, not Best Supporting Actress like the category it was campaigned in.

Chase Infiniti always just had about 35 minutes of total screen time in One Battle After Another so many found it rather odd that she was pushed for Best Actress instead of Best Supporting Actress. After all, that was a film which was 2 hours longer than her screen time. Infiniti knocked her performance out of the park, so Warner Bros. jumped to push her for lead. Big mistake. Whereas she could have won Best Supporting Actress, she has been left without a nod, and her co-star Teyana Taylor is stealing her glory for a smaller part in the same film.

Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, F1: The Movie, Bugonia, Train Dreams, Sinners, One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, The Secret Agent, and Hamnet all earned Best Picture nominations and scored in other categories as well. Sentimental Value scored really big with a Best Director nod for Joachim Trier. Elle Fanning also won a nomination for her remarkable supporting work in that Trier picture.

Paul Mescal was missing from the Best Supporting Actor category for his work in Hamnet. It was more of a leading role, actually. Maybe, Oscar voters believe since he was already nominated for his leading turn in Aftersun that it wasn’t necessary to give him another nomination so early in his career for Hamnet. However, it was most likely category misplacement which led to his snub.

Category misplacement has been a problem in the past. Last year’s supporting category acting winners were essentially performers showcased in lead roles (for example, Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain). That win, in particular, led to initial front runner Guy Pearce’s loss for his work in The Brutalist. This year, the Academy voters have leveled off the playing field and made it more fair by voting for the right people in the right categories.

Delroy Lindo was the biggest surprise this morning, earning a well-deserved nod for his terrific supporting work in the great Sinners. Of course, over here, we’re rooting for Sinners and Rose Byrne to win. Byrne wowed art house audiences with her remarkable leading work in the brilliant If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and is well-positioned for an Oscar victory. It was great to see Kate Hudson earn a Best Actress nod as well for Song Sung Blue, but Byrne and Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) will duke it out for the victory in that particular category. Timothée Chalamet seems like the only possible candidate for a Best Actor win for his work in Marty Supreme and we’re fully backing him. Can Sinners top One Battle After Another for Best Picture, though? We’ll find out in March!

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