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EW knows the perfect formula for creating an Oscar-winning movie – 12 of them, in fact. Among our faux posters is this gem for Bipolar Napoleon:
Leonardo DiCaprio affects his most French accent yet in a historical biopic that dares to suggest that history’s greatest military leader also suffered from one of the Academy’s favorite mental illnesses. Using the same digital effects that convinced you that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a good movie, DiCaprio plays Napoleon through every part of his life: Adorable toddler, emotionally damaged teenager, brilliant general, decadent emperor, tormented exile, and cancer victim. Just for good measure, DiCaprio also lost 100 pounds on a starvation diet, then gained 200 pounds of muscle, then reverted to his original weight to play Napoleon’s twin brother. It’s a performance that’s bound to make every Oscar voter say, “Oh, what the heck, we gotta give him one of these sooner or later.”
Oscar snubs Michael Fassbender, Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘Tintin’: Which omission hurts the most?
Shame, indeed. Despite being one of the biggest breakout stars of 2011, thanks to his mesmerizing performance as a sex addict in the harrowing drama Shame, Michael Fassbender was surprisingly not called among the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards. Long considered a shoo-in for a Best Actor nominee, Fassbender was edged out by first-time nominee Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and dark horse nominee Demián Bichir for A Better Life. (EW’s Dave Karger hoped Oscar voters would take notice, and it seems like they most certainly did.)
But Fassbender wasn’t the only shocking snub in the Best Actor category. Ryan Gosling was a triple threat in 2011 with his acclaimed turns in Drive, The Ides of March, and Crazy Stupid Love. (Though the latter would have been in the Best Supporting Actor race.) Between breaking up street fights, being a good sport about your, uh, supporting actor, and of course, turning in great performances, fans of Gosling and Fassbender are no doubt wondering this morning, ‘Jeez, what’s a guy have to do to get an Oscar nomination?!’
Joining Fassbender and Gosling in the notable snubs in the acting races are Golden Globe and SAG nominee Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar (Best Actor), Gosling’s Drive co-star Albert Brooks (Best Supporting Actor), and We Need To Talk About Kevin‘s Tilda Swinton, who lost her spot in the Best Actress race to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo‘s Rooney Mara.
As if awards show perennials like DiCaprio and Swinton getting left out weren’t surprising enough, there were plenty of other baffling snubs in other categories. A Golden Globe nominee, Will Reiser’s equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking autobiographical 50/50 was omitted from the Best Original Screenplay race. Hollywood legend and three-time Oscar winner Steven Spielberg was snubbed from the Best Director category for War Horse. While The Adventures of Tintin won the Globes’ Best Animated Feature trophy, it was no match for out-of-left-field choices like A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita. And lest we remind Harry Potter fans, the Deathly Hallows — Part II was left out of all of the major categories.
As this year’s Oscars race heads into the home stretch a new video game is letting players help six-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio FINALLY claim the prize.
Iconic action franchise ‘Mad Max’ returns in an epic chapter that explores the past and sees Anya Taylor-Joy take the wheel as Furiosa. Read EW’s latest cover story.
