Of Jamie Lee Curtis' Oscar "Snub"

When hypothesizing about upcoming movies' box office performance I don't give much thought to whether those movies are "good" or not according to some artistic criterion. As I am speculating about movies weeks or even months away from release there is no way of knowing that--all as, to be fair, cinematic quality according to any standard has an at best shaky relationship to box office receipts.

Likewise when I consider a film's Oscar prospects I do not go by quality (again, the nominations come out often before the general public has had a chance to see the films in question), but rather the boxes ticked by the film individually and the ceremony as a whole given the extreme politicization of the affair--aspects of which have been formalized in this age of "representation and inclusion standards" you can read right on the Academy's own web site.

So does it go as I look at the Academy's "snub" of Jamie Lee Curtis, "failing" to accord her the nomination many (including the folks at Variety) took for granted as coming to her for her role in The Last Showgirl. In fairness the film's makers ticked at least some of the right boxes, and so would have such recognition--given the obvious push to build up Gia Coppola as a filmmaker the way the Hollywood community built up her aunt Sofia a generation ago, as well as the desire to recognize the film for its thoroughly Academy-friendly theme. This is all the more the case given the fact that the film failed to make the cut in the other categories, all as "Best Supporting Actor/Actress" prizes in particular fulfill a "consolation prize" function in such situations. However, there are only so many slots for all the contenders to go around (perhaps not an impressive bunch by many a critical standard, but a robust enough bunch where the Academy's priorities are concerned), Curtis had not just the nomination but the prize itself for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once just two years ago (in which, not incidentally, her characterization, on-screen impression, etc. were also a pointed contrast with her on-screen image in her younger years)--all as Demi Moore's turn in The Substance may have made her a front-runner for Best Actress, and that film's similarity of concern at multiple levels (extending from the situation of those aging while working in show business to the self-referential casting of the lead) in turn pushed the Academy in the direction of doing something else with the Best Supporting Actress prize, leaving Curtis, and Showgirl, empty-handed.