An Almost Complete 2020 Oscar Ballot Made Up Exclusively of Snubs!

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | February 6, 2020 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | February 6, 2020 |

We are mere days away from the 92nd Academy Awards and another year of the agony of awards season coming to an end! 2019 was an especially wonderful year for film, one where the sheer variety of greatness on offer across genres, budgets, and languages offered an excellent reminder of why we bother with this crap every single year. So, of course, with such enviable riches on offer, the Oscars ended up making choices that were often right but mostly kind of boring and predictable. I have an admittedly hashed-out theory that the mediocrity of the Oscars in any given year is in direct contrast to the wonder of that season’s choices. It may simply be, however, that we notice the Academy’s dullness more when the options are better. It’s not just that they went for so many safe choices and reinforced decades of systemic racism and sexism while they did it (oh look, no female directors nominated AGAIN); it’s that they did that even though the options available to ensure they didn’t repeat the mistakes of the past were plentiful! As we’ve discussed before, there were so many incredible movies that did everything the Academy demands of its nominees — they received critical acclaim, made good money, toured the festival circuit, told the stories and tackled the themes they love to take notice of, and they campaign their arses off for it! But, of course, how could we celebrate such majesty when we just have to keep nominating Joker?

It doesn’t have to be this way, and 2019 offered a whole lot of alternatives. With that in mind, Team Pajiba decided to put together an alternative Oscar ballot for this season made up entirely of snubs and overlooked titles! The rules were simple: Fill up (almost) every category with films and people that didn’t get nominated. This was pathetically easy because 2019 had so much to choose from. This is not to say that none of this year’s actual nominees are deserving — Team Parasite all the way, baby — but it’s a shame those truly excellent choices are exceptions to the rule of middlebrow mediocrity that the Academy has fetishized for decades. Come on, AMPAS, at least try!

(Image via giphy)

BEST PICTURE

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Booksmart
Hustlers
Knives Out
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
The Lighthouse
Midsommar
The Nightingale
Pain and Glory
Portrait of a Lady on Fire

BEST DIRECTOR

Pedro Almodovar — Pain and Glory
Greta Gerwig — Little Women
Lorene Scafaria — Hustlers
Celine Sciamma — Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Lulu Wang — The Farewell

BEST ACTOR

Choi Woo-shik — Parasite
Daniel Craig — Knives Out
Taron Egerton — Rocketman
Kelvin Harrison Jr. — Waves
Eddie Murphy — Dolemite is My Name

BEST ACTRESS

Ana de Armas — Knives Out
Awkwafina — The Farewell
Jessie Buckley — Wild Rose
Lupita Nyong’o — Us
Alfre Woodard — Clemency

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe — The Lighthouse
Noah Jupe — Honey Boy
Rob Morgan — The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Jack Reynor — Midsommar
Song Kang-ho — Parasite

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Lopez — Hustlers
Thomasin McKenzie — Jojo Rabbit
Park So-dam — Parasite
Da’Vine Joy Randolph — Dolemite is My Name
Zhao Shuzhen — The Farewell

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Farewell
Fast Color
High Flying Bird
The Lighthouse
Portrait of a Lady on Fire

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY