Bigelow, Ben Affleck among Oscar nomination snubs

LOS ANGELES, United States of America – The list of lucky Oscar nominees announced Thursday was almost as interesting for who it left out as who it included, with key Hollywood players snubbed by the Academy. See full list of of nominees here. 

Kathryn Bigelow made history in 2010 when she became the first woman ever to collect an Academy Award for best director for her Iraq war movie “The Hurt Locker.”

Yet when the nominees for this year’s Oscars were announced, her name was notably absent from the list of contenders for what is officially known as the Academy Award for best achievement in direction.

Her Osama bin Laden manhunt epic “Zero Dark Thirty” has been among the most-hyped projects of the current Oscar season, and indeed it is among the 9 contenders for best picture.

Another past best director honoree is Tom Hooper, who collected the coveted statuette in 2011 for “The King’s Speech” but failed to make the list this time around with “Les Miserables.”

Others who film buffs expected to see on the best director list were Ben Affleck for his Iranian hostage thriller “Argo” and Quentin Tarantino for his gory spaghetti Western tribute “Django Unchained.”

Tarantino was a best director nominee in 1995 for “Pulp Fiction” for which he won best screenplay. Affleck shared the same screenplay laurel with Matt Damon in 1988 for “Good Will Hunting.”

Notable among actors without nominations was Leonardo DiCaprio, the ruthless plantation owner in “Django Unchained.” He might be used to the feeling, given how he has never won an Oscar despite three nominations and a strong career.

Snubbed among actresses were Marion Cotillard, who many thought was a shoo-in for “Rust and Bone,” and Helen Mirren for “Hitchcock.”

Cotillard had won best actress in 2008 for “La Vie en Rose” and Mirren in 2007 for “The Queen.” – Rappler.com