\n<\/p>\n
Every year since the Academy Awards were invented, somebody has been overlooked, ignored, passed over, disregarded or brushed off. You know what they say about beauty and beholders.<\/p>\n
But perceived Oscar omissions \u2014 snubs, as we have come to call them \u2014 have grown into a frenzied annual conversation, with people left off the nomination list, or nominated but denied a statuette, sometimes receiving as much attention, or more, as those who win. \u201cBarbie\u201d was nominated for eight Academy Awards, but Greta Gerwig\u2019s exclusion from the best director lineup<\/a> has been the headline (never mind that she is in the running for adapted screenplay). The academy and ABC, which will broadcast the Oscars on March 10, has been promoting the show with a commercial that pointedly references<\/a> the lapse.<\/p>\n \u201cI know a few of you are feeling snubbed by the Oscars,\u201d Judd Apatow, host of this year\u2019s Directors Guild of America Awards<\/a>, said from the stage. \u201cI know how you feel,\u201d he continued, pointing out that he was overlooked for \u201cThe 40-Year-Old Virgin,\u201d \u201cKnocked Up\u201d and \u201cTrainwreck.\u201d<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cI\u2019ve never even been mentioned in the articles about the people who got snubbed. That\u2019s a double snub! Next time, I\u2019m going to hire a publicist to just get mentioned in articles about who got screwed \u2014 a snublicist.\u201d<\/p>\n Snubs can be a serious matter. The #OscarsSoWhite outcries from 2015 and 2016, prompted by all-white slates of acting nominees, led the academy to diversify its membership.<\/p>\n But there was also truth in Apatow\u2019s tease: In many ways, the rise of the snub can be traced to Hollywood publicists and modern Oscar electioneering.<\/p>\n Studios have always campaigned for Oscars. In the 1990s, however, Harvey Weinstein turned the pursuit into a blood sport. The game evolved to include squadrons of publicists who, starting months before the ceremony, whisper in the ears of journalists about which actors, directors, writers and other artists are front-runners. Pundits pontificate. Articles are written, and rankings posted<\/a> on sites like Gold Derby. Fans continue the conversation on X and Instagram.<\/p>\n This creates expectations<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe proliferation of so many other honors and awards and telecasts has also created this sense that there is room for everyone,\u201d said Dave Karger, a Turner Classic Movies host and author of \u201c50 Oscar Nights<\/a>.\u201d Karger said he loathed the word \u201csnub,\u201d which makes omissions \u201csound like a personal attack, when really it\u2019s just math.\u201d<\/p>\n Because vote counts are secret, added Tony Angellotti, a veteran publicist and awards campaigner, \u201cwe never know how close one comes to being a nominee or a winner.\u201d (Fun fact: The Variety magazine online archive goes back to 1913. In a search, \u201csnub,\u201d as related to an award, first appears in 1965: \u201cBob Hope Stunned by Another Emmy Snub.\u201d It doesn\u2019t appear again until 1993.)<\/p>\n Some people in Hollywood dismiss snubs as the invention of a clickbait-focused news media. \u201cI think it\u2019s tawdry to play the snub game!\u201d the film historian Sam Wasson<\/a> said in an email. \u201cNot everyone wins. Not everyone is nominated. This brings a lot of anger \u2014 mostly to those not in the movie business.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, as soon as the Oscars are over on Sunday night, you can be sure that Hollywood phones will start to ring with gleeful schadenfreude. Can you believe so and so lost? Snubbed<\/em>.<\/p>\n