The Hollywood Reporter has some obvious/interesting analysis of Barbie’s Oscar snubs, in which the directors’ and actors’ branches of AMPAS all decided that Greta Gerwig didn’t deserve a nomination for directing Barbie and Margot Robbie didn’t deserve a nomination for bringing Barbie to life. THR suggests something which I think is a real possibility: the Argo solution. In 2013, AMPAS snubbed Ben Affleck for a director Oscar nom but gave the film a Best Picture nom. The backlash was so big that Argo ended up winning Best Picture. As it looks now, Christopher Nolan is likely a shoo-in for Best Director, but will Barbie win the sympathy/outrage vote for Best Picture given the Gerwig and Robbie snubs? Well, probably not – they are, after all, women.
Meanwhile, America Ferrera received a somewhat surprise nomination in Best Supporting Actress. Ferrera had a lowkey-yet-effective campaign, and while she’s pleased to be a first-time Oscar nominee, she could not hide her disappointment that Margot and Greta were snubbed:
When Tuesday morning’s Oscar nominations were announced, “Barbie” star America Ferrera was snuggled in bed alone and watching on her phone as her husband Ryan Piers Williams drove their kids to school.
“There was a moment where I wasn’t sure if I had made it up,” Ferrera tells Variety. “And then my phone started blowing up so I figured that I must have heard it right…I still haven’t really been able to get in my feelings because I’m still on like the top layer of ‘I can’t even believe that this is real,’” Ferrera explains.
Her publicist got to her first, and then Williams called. “He was screaming and emotional. And I just heard my kids in the back, like so confused. ‘What are you screaming about?’” Ferrera says, laughing. She next heard from her “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” co-stars: Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel. “They FaceTimed me as a group right away,” Ferrera says. “It was hilarious and funny and emotional and it’s wonderful to be celebrated and held up by my sisters. These women who I’ve had the honor of growing up with in this industry and being loved and cheered on and supported by them. Which we all do for each other. They’re amazing, and such a gift in my life.”
In addition to Ferrera’s nomination, “Barbie” also collected nods for best picture, supporting actor (Ryan Gosling), adapted screenplay (Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach), costume design, production design, and original songs (“I’m Just Ken” and “What Was I Made For?”). However two notable nominations were missing from that group: Greta Gerwig (best director) and Margot Robbie (best actress).
“I was incredibly disappointed that they weren’t nominated,” Ferrera says. “Greta has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it. Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list.”
As for Robbie — who earned a best picture nomination for producing “Barbie,” but was snubbed for what would’ve been her third acting nod — Ferrera has nothing but praise for her complex performance.
“What Margot achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable,” Ferrera says. “One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did. She brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character. In my book, she’s a master.”
I completely agree with her about Margot’s performance – people saw a beautiful blonde woman bring humor, warmth and humanity to a Barbie doll and they thought “well, that wasn’t hard for her, she looks just like Barbie, hurr durr.” Margot is so gifted and gave such a funny, touching performance, people really didn’t think she was “acting.” It’s insane but that’s where we are. That would be one good thing if Barbie goes on to “pull an Argo” – Margot is executive producer on Barbie, so if the film wins Best Picture, Margot’s first Oscar will be as a producer.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JANUARY 13: America Ferrera at the 2024 BAFTA Tea Party at at The Maybourne Beverly Hills on January 13, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. Copyright: xFayexSadoux,Image: 836836672, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Faye Sadou / Avalon
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- Sydney, AUSTRALIA – Australian pink carpet premiere of the Barbie movie in Sydney. Pictured: Greta Gerwig, Issa Rae, Margot Robbie, America Ferrera BACKGRID USA 30 JUNE 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Marc Skinner / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Photocall for ‘Barbie’ after the premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square in London. Featuring: America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, America Ferrera and Michael Cera attend ‘Barbie’ screening and Q&A at DGA Theater in New York Featuring: America Ferrera, Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig Where: New York, New York, United States When: 28 Nov 2023 Credit: Marion Curtis/StarPix for Warner Bros./startraksphoto.com
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- Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, America Ferrera and Michael Cera attend ‘Barbie’ screening and Q&A at DGA Theater in New York Featuring: America Ferrera, Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig Where: New York, New York, United States When: 28 Nov 2023 Credit: Marion Curtis/StarPix for Warner Bros./startraksphoto.com
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- Celebrities arrive at the 29th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards held at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Los Angeles Featuring: America Ferrera wearing a custom Alberta Ferretti dress with Pomellato jewelry and a Tyler Ellis clutch Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 14 Jan 2024 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
My husband and I both shook our heads when we realized GG and MR hadn’t been nominated, but hubs called it. In his best Arnold Schwarzenegger growl he said: “They’ll be back.”
Greta’s directing snub is huge. I mean, she was nominated for best director for Lady Bird but not since though her first thee solo directing efforts were all nominated for best picture. But for her to miss a nomination in a year where the industry was worried about box office after the previous three years and for her to make a billion dollar, cultural phenomenon that was funny, clever, and widely liked? A film that had a million references to other films in a way that was absolutely original yet paying tribute? And they passed her over because they couldn’t nominate more than one female filmmaker in a year where women were killing it? Fully wild. And Ken getting nominated over Barbie pretty much says everything(though Ryan is amazing).
Reminded me of Succession where Shiv says about Logan, “My father couldn’t fit a whole woman in his head.” That’s the Academy but it’s that they can’t fit more than one woman in their heads.
Margot Robbie’s Barbie cosplay during the press tour likely from her performance for voters. She looks like Barbie ergo she is Barbie when no, she’s Margot.
Oscars have become about the effectiveness of the campaign rather than the quality of the film. It’s just ridiculous.
Also, I’ve been getting video ads which play with the sound on, including in this page. I’m on an iPhone. I read in my commute and breaks at work. If I can’t do it silently, I can’t visit anymore.
The only two Americam movies I watched in the cinema this year were Barboe and the Marvels.
Tired of supporting male dominated movies unless it is for a very good reason.
They have only dominated 90% if not more of Hollywood movies throughout history :/
It would be great if Barbie now pulled off the Oscar for best picture because of the snubs, but I don’t see that happening. I think Oppenheimer is safe.
Reminds me of a scene from Barbie:
“We’re actually doing patriarchy very well…”
Barbie is not the same kind of movie as Oppenheimer. The latter is classic Oscar bait: BW, historic male figure with issues, weapons that explode causing mental anguish, courtroom scenes, limited female characters and less female perspective. Adult entertainment. It’s long, but well done. However, it does fit a pattern. I’m not sure if Hollywood and the film industry are diverse enough to realize that? I think that GG should have been nominated as a director, especially since Barbie is different, it pulled the most people into theaters—especially people who might not go, and it increased the amount of movie goers who saw Oppenheimer. I honestly don’t know how many Oscars Barbie potentially should win, but the movie definitely deserves to have been more nominated.
The director’s guild is such a sexist good ole boys club. And I saw people tweeting yesterday that the acting nominations frequently go to the people who do the “most” acting, not the best acting. And I definitely think Margo was a victim of that phenomenon.
Since the 19th century, women’s culture and women writers in the US were negatively associated with low brow culture and popular culture, while men’s craft was deemed serious and respectable for the mid to upper classes. (That’s why Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for saying “America is now wholly given over to a damned mob of scribbling women” and I should “have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash.”….”)
Then and now, women artists and laborers are deemed not serious, not smart, too sentimental, and too popular. Of course– this is def about patriarchy. Anything related to women—esp if it’s popular– is read as implicitly inferior.