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EXCLUSIVE: Add David Letterman to the outcry over today’s exclusion of Zero Dark Thirty‘s Kathryn Bigelow from the Best Director Oscar nomination roster. While the film is up for Best Picture and four other major awards, I’m told that on tonight’s Late Show With David Letterman, Dave calls Bigelow’s exclusion “a travesty.” That’s tame compared to some of the reactions around town. Megan Ellison, whose Annapurna Pictures financed the film, demanded a recount and called it “So fucked up” in a Tweet. LA Times critic Kenneth Turan called Bigelow a casualty of “the bullying power of the United States Senate and an undeserved loss for Zero Dark Thirty in general and director Kathryn Bigelow in particular.” Now, I thought Letterman swore off movies after his work in Cabin Boy, but I’m told he’s a big fan of Zero Dark Thirty. He had Jessica Chastain on the show early this week and Bigelow guested last night. Here’s a clip of what she had to say about the controversy last night:
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“That film didn’t direct itself!”
This is what folks usually say when the best picture and best director lists don’t match. Problem is, if you have 9 or 10 pictures nominated, but only 5 directors, somebody has to get screwed.
There is no perfect system.
Feel for Bigelow and Tarantino… Both got railroaded by Political Correctness.
Pathetic.
Thank you both for the fantastic films.
Brady
Exactly. PC uneasiness shafted some superb, challenging cinema this year. Didn’t love Django but either Tarantino or Bigelow deserved the nod ten times more than David O Russell
Does anyone else find it appalling that Hollywood is meeting with the government to try to figure out how to curb gun violence and GUN MANUFACTURERS aren’t?
Movies are just as violent, in fact — far more violent — in Asia and South America, and good luck finding a grade-school mass shooting in those places.
Oh gimme a break. She was apparently given inside CIA info, in a way the Senate now plans to investigate, and even with that leg up she and Boal delivered a painfully tedious movie (TRT: 2 hrs, 37 min!) that treated a dangerous, nail-biting, heroic raid by Seal Team Six as a mere afterthought, and instead gave us scene after scene of poor Jessica pouting around the office and writing whiny messages in lipstick on her bosses’ windows. Plus, as they cheerfully admit, B+B took audacious liberties with the truth….all in the service of a dratic tension that they then egregiously failed to achieve. It’s astonishing that film is getting any award buzz at all, no doubt a bit of leftover mo from The Hurt Locker. Bigelow and her acolytes should be grateful for that and stop this whining campaign.
Yup.
These sheeps need to hop off Bigelo and Tarantino’s bandwagons.
First world problems.
@Pitiful Could not possibly have said it better. Script was amateurish, and JC weak. Herd Mentality, completely.
When a movie is nominated for Best Picture, the representative that picks up the award is he producer of the movie. Given that there are few if any producing moguls in the sense of old school Hollywood, and that modern moviemaking has recognized that the director as the true “maestro” of the process, can anyone please explain why the Academy has never blended the Director into the Best Picture honorees? I mean, aren’t we honestly way beyond the “did the movie direct itself” debate? Is the Academy being stubborn, old fashioned, or is there another reason? It’s such an obvious move, especially now that there is a gap between the amount of Director and Picture nominees. The director of the best picture can go up and get his or her Oscar for directing as the producers receive theirs for producing.
Because the Academy members all dream about being a famous producer who wins a Best Picture Oscar. Anyone can be a producer all you have to do is make phone calls and shmooze the right way. Very few have the skill to actually direct a film of any caliber. It’s simple math although they have limited the number of producers who can go up on stage to get the Oscar it’s now just 3 it used to be 4 or 5.
aawwww…poor little Megan couldn’t buy a nomination for her movie. What a shame.
Reality is, ZERO DARK THIRTY is a good movie, not a great movie.
Be honest. Same with all of the rest of the nominees.
The idea of someone being “snubbed” is absurd. The Academy chose their five nominees and that’s all there is to be said. Was Haneke undeserving of a nod? Did Zeitlin “steal” her nomination? Or Spielberg for that matter? It’s not like anyone is guaranteed a nod. She’s a terrific filmmaker and she made a great film. Isn’t that enough?
Kathryn was snubed for best drector it’s unbleiveble how Zero Dark Thirty was nominated for best picture, sceen play and so on but why was she left out for best director? Who the hell is picking these nominations. I’m not happy
Zero Dark Thirty is a good movie. But not a great one. No great injustice here.
Kathryn is 60. Or maybe older. Is that amazing?
Bigelow is overrated and she only won because of sentiment against her jackass of an ex-husband and the piece of garbage called “Avatar.” Any other year, she’s not even in the conversation. She should be thankful anyone even knows her name.
you’re an idiot and a sexist. she stands on her own as a filmmaker and is one of the most talented and ballsy directors there are right now. she’s making films about issues that matter and although you don’t have to agree with her perspective as a filmmaker – any association of her with the ex-husband is downright pathetic and ignorant.
She deserved the nomination but she does already have the hardware…where’s the Affleck outrage? This is three times he’s been overlooked for excellent work.
There’s no Affleck outrage because Argo is a good-but-not-great movie that took an enormous amount of liberties with the events as they happened. In addition, Afflack is a competent director, nothing more.
Seconded! Why aren’t more people bent out of joint about Affleck? Also agree with “Bill C.” above who cited the simple math: people’s tastes may differ, but can we argue that any of the other nominees “stole” their spot? Ten films in the running, with only 5 Director slots–this is what we’re going to run into every year. “Get Real Please” also has a point worth discussing: how is it that a Director wouldn’t go up to collect the Best Film Oscar, when we generally agree that the director (guided by a singular vision) steers the ship through the process, from conception to completion?
Three times? You need to go back and rewatch Gone Baby Gone. I was a fan of the book, saw it opening day, and was shocked at how amateurish the film was despite the people he assembled. The directorial style in particular was flat and uninspired; lots of poorly framed, uninteresting and standard conversation shots. The acting was hammy and wildly out of control especially Ed Harris, and the editing was inexplicably awful even with a respectable editor on board (which leads me to believe the problems lay in badly planned shots).
That said, Affleck has come leaps and bounds since – The Town was a major improvement and a fun action thriller, and Argo is another huge leap forward – definitely one of the best of the year. He didn’t deserve an Oscar nod in the past but based on what I’ve seen this year, he definitely deserves one for Argo.
Still no mention of ZDT already popping up all over the internet. Wonder if that will change on Sunday, assuming it doesn’t perform very well in wide release?
Wow. Didn’t know Letterman was a fan of propaganda. Guess it’s time for Grandpa to retire since he seems unable to understand the implications of honoring a film that paints a grossly distorted picture of the efficacy of torture. And to think that he’s considered to be the mentally sharp one on at late night.
I thought she got robbed for not WINNING the Oscar for “Point Break”!
You crossed the line. People trusted you and they didn’t get nominated. You gotta go down!
Holy Crap I laughed out loud and my entire office is looking at me!!!
Well done.
Hurt Locker was great, Bigelow is great, Zero Dark Thirty is not great. Better luck next time.
Which is exactly the type of curse-laden response I’d expect from some brat running around with her daddy’s checkbook.
Zero Dark Thirty was dreadfully slow, and too long. The only reason people feel the way they do about it is because of the context. Without context, it is nothing more than one of the nineteen popcorn military flicks that come out every year.