Top 10 BEST & WORST Oscar Nominations of 2020

[@jaypeerogel]

Up to this day, still upset with Carey Mulligan's loss for Promising Young Woman.

[@Kevin-rg3yc]

same here i will argue forever that Carey should've won the oscar over frances mcdormand tbh

[@jaypeerogel]

@@Kevin-rg3yc couldn’t agree more. 💔

[@user-if4ux9io8q]

It’s an amazing role.

[@tml184]

Chick flic.

[@acesovernines]

Totally concur

[@beautifulmidnight]

I agree with you about Chadwick. I thought that there was no other way that the Oscars could’ve ended, and they were moving Best Actor to the end for that reason. I’m sure Anthony Hopkins was amazing in the Father. (As someone who’s had to take care of her father for a long time, it’s just not… a film I can get into the headspace for.) Chadwick Boseman was fucking *electric* in Ma Rainey’s. You couldn’t look away from him when he was on-screen, even though it hurt. (Also, weirdly - I hated the first Borat and thought the second one was a huge improvement.)

[@knightterror2826]

I badly wanted Mads Mikkelsen to be nominated for Best Actor for Another Round as it was probably my favorite movie of the year, but at the same time I was terrified of the notion of him actually winning and upsetting Chadwick Boseman.

[@nathanriver1556]

It would have been a tremendous nomination. Another Round was a fantastic movie and Mads really carried much of it.

[@criss8836]

Yes to everything! Great work, Brian. We miss you, Chadwick. The Oscars did him dirty but his legacy is stronger ❤

[@chelmrtz]

I love Glenn Close and I hope she wins soon

[@pascalmanuel3]

Gosh, you are a great youtuber. These videos are exactly what I've been looking for. You dive deep into each nominations and you also mention other categories as well, instead of just acting, directing and picture. I really enjoy that. Keep up the good work man!

[@saggioproductions4506]

I think Ellen Burstyn was over looked for Pieces of a woman. Her monologue broke me!

[@satriasyafridhani5497]

YES!!!

[@tbam73]

One Night Im Miami was ridiculously overlooked

[@lansesteiner3563]

Love “Promising Young Woman”. I wanted Carey Mulligan to win too

[@800Ms-k6n]

I still hate how Steven Soderbergh decided to end the show abruptly with the Best Actor category just because he and everybody else expected Chadwick Boseman to win when it's actually Anthony Hopkins. It's just so weird man, seriously no excuse of any reasons Soderbergh and his team did that

[@Gemnist98]

It wasn’t because of Boseman; that was what we the audience were just expecting to happen. Soderbergh later said that he put the lead acting categories last because he found that more people were excited for those than freaking Best Picture. It being the guy that wasn’t even in America at the time was purely coincidental, but also doomed the end of the ceremony (poor Joaquin, left up on the stage like that). It was a disaster no question, but it wasn’t based on respect for the dead, only a misguided perception of what people want.

[@PeterRabbit4Eva]

Also, till these days Steven Soderbergh haven’t apologize for the incident at all. I hate him. 😡

[@singstreetcar5881]

​@@Gemnist98that's a lame excuse. He wanted to end the show on an emotional note cause he thought chadwick was gonna win and his widow will accept the award giving a heart felt speech

[@gauravw6947]

I don’t understand why some people feel entitled to have an “apology” for something surprising and coincidental like this in an awards ceremony… As if “hate” hasn’t already ruined the world enough…

[@800Ms-k6n]

​@@Gemnist98Nah, Soderbergh and his team expected Chadwick to win so his partner could end the show in a heartfelt speach which that turned out to be not true at all

[@icarosousa8568]

I think everybody wanted Carrey mulligan to win best actress that year

[@Kimdone365]

LITERALLY. Carey not winning that year for that role is the beginning of my joker arc

[@jonathanvelazquezph.d.2719]

​@@Kimdone365🤭

[@BROJANGSTER]

well, if *everybody* wanted her to win… she would’ve won 🤣🤣

[@pophector]

Yes at the #1! Chadwick Boseman was so incredible and I was so let down that he lost, primarily with the way they left Best Actor at the very end. Left an awful taste in my mouth for that reason. It would have hurt less if he had lost to Riz Ahmed, who not only was actually there but gives an excellent performance on the level of both Boseman & Hopkins in The Sound Of Metal. I also wanted Carey or Viola to win Best Actress, they gave my top 2 favorite performances in the Best Actress category. I actually loved Glenn in Hillbilly Elegy and was one of the only redeeming parts of that film about the awful JD Vance. Great video, Brian! Your Oscar fiasco video about Hillbilly Elegy will be an interesting one to revisit 😅

[@gauravw6947]

So, it hurt more because Boseman lost to a superior performance by a legend??? Riz was great in The Sound Of Metal, but certainly not equal to the masterclass in acting that Sir Hopkins showcased in The Father…

[@nathanriver1556]

I don't think we can really hold it against Anthony Hopkins for not showing up, it was still early during COVID and he offered to be available for a livestream, he just wasn't willing to travel because of the pandemic.

[@shawncarter5434]

@@gauravw6947Anthony was great but overrated. Riz and Chadwick had the better performance overall

[@AA-yc8yr]

@@shawncarter5434 Bulshit. You clearly never saw the Father. Our of those three, the one actually overrated was Boseman. Not only his performance for which he was nominated, but his pronouncement as 'great' - what precisely makes him 'great', performance wise? Day Lewis is great, Hopkins is great, Pacino and De Niro are great, Nicholson is great. Boseman? Not so great. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[@acesovernines]

​@@gauravw6947I agree with you. Anthony Hopkins was at a different level altogether in The Father. Probably his best performance on the celluloid in his long and illustrious career

[@craigmmcgill]

I’m so sad you included Glenn in your list of the worst. I didn’t love the film but I thought she was phenomenal. Anytime she was on the screen, I was hooked. And I think the front runner was so obvious that we really don’t know who was 2nd-5th. It’s actually one of my favorite Glenn performances. And yes, I’m aware that I’m in the minority. I just don’t get the hate.

[@PeterRabbit4Eva]

We miss you, Chadwick. 🙏🏻❤️

[@johnmillholland6550]

Chadwick Boseman forever!!! 🙏

[@gutimontele]

Excellent video Brian! I love these retrospective videos. My favorite nom from this year is Emerald Fennell for Director, I just loved Promising Young Woman. It had such a unique style, look and feeling to it. My least favorite nom is The Trial of the Chicago 7 for Cinematography. The movie itself doesn't have bad cinematography, but they could have picked something better (Swallow, Minari). Also, would love to mention Jasna Đuričić (lead actress in Quo Vadis, Aida?) deserved a Best Actress nom.

[@alexanderminchin6094]

If there’s one thing that the anticlimactic ending of that telecast showed, it’s that neither the Academy nor the producers know who the winners are in advance. In the words of William Goldman, “Nobody knows anything.”….

[@marcosmadeiros9553]

Beautiful tribute to Chadwick Boseman 👍🏼

[@raaid22]

Chadwick final scene was so sad, tragic, and profound. That scene only should have given him the win. I wonder if the layers of that scene was lost on many of the non melaninated members of academy.

[@AA-yc8yr]

Yeah, imagine that, alleging that losing to a superior actor and their performance must, of course, be racist. Proper psychotic.

[@MuhammadAhmad-oj6mf]

For me the most random nomination was Trial of Chicago 7 getting in for Best Cinematography. I don't think I was blown by the cinematography in that movie. It's pretty standard.

[@laurajones1773]

I agree with everything you said. I think Minari should have been nominated instead.

[@christopherwelsh6665]

I'm glad you mentioned The Invisible Man as your movie favorite, including VFX. I couldn't agree more. I absolutely loved director/writer Leigh Whannell's earlier film Upgrade as well. Both films are great.

[@loraglick5745]

Carrie Mulligan was also one of the Bennet sisters in Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice.

[@rebeccag8589]

That's where I first noticed her! Even in a fairly small role, and amongst some very big names, she stood out to me. I've also noticed she's been in several films with Rosamund Pike, another favorite of mine. I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but I enjoy that. Just off the top of my head- Pride and Prejudice, An Education, and Saltburn.

[@gabrielcastaneda9700]

2021 was an indie award season

[@patrarus6097]

Brian, thanks so much. I agree with you for the most part. I do think that Carrie M. should have won Best Actress instead of Frances McD.

[@macc.1132]

I appreciate your take on the best/worst of the Oscar nominations for this year. The Oscar telecast this year was goofy - obviously because COVID made things difficult. The In Memoriam was really bad and I was disappointed that Olivia de Havilland didn't get more recognition, especially considering she was one of Hollywood's last great stars from the Golden era. Additionally, I'm not a fan of too many biopics and their history with recent Oscar recognition. Especially with performances, voters seem to gravitate toward even the most generic/cliche biopics (Being the Ricardos and The Trial of the Chicago 6 are two examples). Don't get me wrong, there are certainly noteworthy biopics. You mention The Social Network, and I thought that film was great example of a noteworthy biopic. Others include Schindler's List and GoodFellas as solid entries. Biopics just seem like the go to film for actors looking to nab an Oscar. So many biopic performances just fade away over time, never sticking around like a great fictional character (Blance DuBois, Vito Corleone, Mary Poppins, Sophie Zawistowski, Little Bill Daggett). There seem to be so many winning biopic performances that get dragged later on, like Bullock in The Blindside, Streep in The Iron Lady, Oldman in Darkest Hour. Rene Zellweger has been so good in quite a few films. Her reward for her film career was for playing Judy Garland in "Judy". Ugh. The film is touching, but that sort of performance is pretty standard for a biopic. Same with Will Smith for "King Richard" (and I'm a tennis fan!) What is your take on the biopics? Do you care one way or another about their prevalence at the Oscars?

[@shaunfitzgerald4891]

Carey mulligan was robbed so badly

[@user-if4ux9io8q]

I’m excited for your Hillbilly Elegy video!

[@hugok3340]

I'm Thinking of Ending Things written by Charlie Kaufman should’ve got into best adapted screenplay, too. it was a master class of writing

[@55555gino]

I still can’t believe Carey didn’t win for PYW. She was incredible and as much as I love Francis, she didn’t deserve ANOTHER Oscar for that movie

[@joewalker378]

Never understood why Olivia Coleman didn't accept the awards for Hopkins as he couldn't be there. She would of gave a great speech just like she did when she won an Oscar and I'm sure she would of made people smile and laugh at what was a miserable time in history.

[@christianzafiroglu6705]

I still go back to Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal for Best Actor as a great nod but a disappointing loss.

[@paulafitzhenry1036]

i loved Sascha int that movie, he nailed the role, also it was possible that the Academy knew that Anthony Hopkins would win Best Actor, and put the Best Actor at the end to avoid a major backlash and a lot of booing.

[@BFA100]

I disagree about Sasha Baron Cohen being one of the worst Oscar nominations for The Trial of the Chicago 7, I thought that his portrayal of Abbie Hoffman was a standout and should not be on the worst Oscar nominations list.

[@dianelitman5956]

I was moved by your tribute to Chadwick Bozeman. Love your videos.

[@MuhammadAhmad-oj6mf]

I disagree with your three picks: • The space scenes in The Midnight Sky look stunning. It definitely deserved the nomination that year. The Invisible Man should have replaced One and Only Ivan. • 2020 Pinocchio is a great movie and it deserved all the technical nominations it got. I prefer that movie to del Toro's version. • I wouldn't say that Glen Close was bad in Hillbilly Elegy. Were there better performances that could have been nominated instead? Yes.

[@RishabhJain-mh4lk]

Mulligan deserved the stage that year 😢

[@RobertBurns71405]

I love that Borat 2 screenplay nomination, really sad to see you call it the worst☹️

[@kellie-nd1yp]

Best Actor was pretty stacked that year. Oldman is even a bit underrated. Riz is my personal go but the others are worthy too. I don’t know what happened with Sorkin. BTR is horrible. Glenn Close get a nomination for HE is practically a crime. I would never want her to have an Oscar for that .

[@NL-tr7ix]

Let’s just not put political correctness into an award that’s supposed to be all about acting alright? What does anti-climax have anything to do with Anthony Hopkins winning the best actor? His acting deserves this award

[@jesseseale2558]

I’m sorry but that year was so terrible. The hype for Promising Young Woman was ridiculous because I seen it that role played multiple times from Charlize Theron, to most recent Andrea Risenbouwhatever. Am I proud for Frances to win? Not entirely because I still believe there was a low key push for her to win from her husband, who has deep connections within the Academy, to award a subdue performance that was basically similar to Three billboards, to extent. For Nomadland and The Father to win big because it was about the storylines related the pandemic that year: Nomadland talk about leaving the normal life and go travel distance wise, in addition to the controversy of Amazon, and The Father showing the about of pressure/hardship of living with a disabled love one isolated from the world. Still til to this day, The Academy Awards really dropped the ball with that ending and the hype to award the late Chadwick Boseman but plot twist award win for Hopkins was insulting to Boseman’s family all for ratings.

[@rafininjatv92]

I really like the trial of the Chicago 7 and i was actually very impressed by Sacha baron cohen in TOTC7, though i wish at least one other person from that movie could have been nominated also, like Mark Rylance, yahya abdul-mateen ii and my personal choice Eddie Redmayne.

[@oaheverything7242]

I think Mark Rylance deserved a nomination for that movie

[@souviendra]

just some constructive feedback, some title cards would have been helpful here to divide between the best and worst lists (or do all the best at once and then all the worst at once). I missed a word and thought you were calling Sound of Metal one of the worst nominees, and you were not, whew

[@dustymuniz]

Sound of Metal was my absolute favorite film of 2020. I remember seeing it in theaters and being completely blown away!

[@THETexxStarr]

The Father was a GREAT movie.

[@jonathanvelazquezph.d.2719]

My favorite that year

[@laurajones1773]

It’s solid. It’s worth seeing because of Anthony Hopkins. It’s way better than Nomadland.

[@doncasto8520]

I'll never understand how Bosman won every precursor and then lost at the Oscars. Bowman was amazing. Perhaps the Academy is the one that got it right and the others were sympathy wins?

[@gauravw6947]

Not every precursor… Boseman lost at the BAFTA too…

[@doncasto8520]

@@gauravw6947 fair enough but it was widely presumed Bosman would win the Oscar. BAFTA is kind of funny and since Hopkins is from the UK that's not surprising he won there. JoAnna Scanlan won best actress in 2021 and wasn't even nominated here, and the supporting actors for Banshees of Inisherin won when Ke Huy Quan won everywhere else. BAFTA isn't always a good predictor.

[@jesseseale2558]

@@doncasto8520 because BAFTA love to award their own most of the time. I don’t find them very helpful nowadays. They tend to be very shady and want to stir up controversy. Look at this past year with EEAAO and BAFTA.

[@0smundSaddler]

Also you're the expert here and I don't QUITE know the rules, but what was the Borat 2 screenplay supposedly adapted from? A novel? A stageplay? Is it supposedly "adapted" from the character Borat? Just a confusing nomination all around.

[@ChrisThomson-y7l]

It’s a sequel so it counts as adapted

[@ScaryMannJK]

Glenn Close is one of only three performers to get nominated for both the Oscar and Razzie for the same performance. The other two are Amy Irving for Yentl and James Coco for Only When I Laugh

[@eliudsosa2829]

You talk more about Pinocchio in that you didn't like the movie, but from there you say that it didn't deserve its two Oscar nominations? The makeup result was fantastic, impressive and titanic, it's not a question of whether you like the movie or not, your analysis disappointed me this time, you were not objective

[@myytchanneldinakoha8498]

Brian is off his game in this video.

[@bfunderb5899]

I completely forgot about cohen. What the hell?

[@emptylikebox]

Sound of Metal should have won Best Original Screenplay. That's all!

[@AnthroHistorian]

Riz Ahmad deserved the best actor award.

[@sarahm3837]

My favorite one is Best Original Screenplay for Judas and the Black Messiah the worst is LaKeith Stanfield not being nominated as lead actor since it's kind of his POV in the movie (but it's fine since the movie got the Oscar that I needed to win)

[@angelcamargo1589]

The Invisible Man was totally snubbed, it belonged in so many categories

[@velvetalex4766]

I already know you’re going to say something horrible about Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy. That’s wrong and closed minded. She did an amazing job.

[@Manuelcolon24]

"I don't think Pinocchio should have been nominated for makeup and hairstyling cause it was a middle of the road movie" what does that have to do? A movie doesn't need to be good or great to be deserving of nominations in categories.

[@laurajones1773]

I thought Kingsley Ben Adir was campaigned in lead. I thought he was way better than Leslie Odom Jr. from that same film who got nominated. Also, the actor that starred as Mohammed Ali was also better than Leslie Odom Jr.

[@FantasticBeasts2024]

Carey Mulligan was ROBBED 😭

[@poihpioakarp8845]

>no Best Supporting Actor for The Trial of the Chiacgo 7 >no Best Original Screenplay for Borat 2 Brian thinks 2020 was a shit year for Sacha Baron Cohen confirmed

[@aaryamannambiar6677]

Sweet ending.

[@abysstruthpoet]

Have you seen abbie Hoffman interviews Sasha wasn't over the top he literally played Abbie Hoffman to a t do a side by side of the permit discussion it's identical down to the manurisms he played abbie Hoffman to a t

[@Sleepingsparklegirl]

I disagree with you on Pinocchio 2020 to me that’s the best version of Pinocchio I have seen.

[@sharddalama9753]

Just wanna say the iron claw have a huge potential for the oscars and Zac Efron could be a tough contender so is Jeremy my votes are for them

[@marcelodias8142]

Hopkins deserved 1000% his Osacr over Boseman-

[@myytchanneldinakoha8498]

Wow. First time hard disagreeing with most of your picks.

[@mattbernabe]

For Best Actor, I was rooting for either Anthony Hopkins or Riz Ahmed. For me, both their performances broke me. They were simply brilliant and masterful. I was happy that Hopkins won. Well deserved. The producers switching Best Actor going last instead of Picture was the dumbest decision they've made in a long time. Hopefully, who ever made the decision was fired. If it ain't, don't fix it. Leave it the way it is. Don't give anyone any special treatments whether they're dead or alive.

[@branagain]

Sound of Metal was the best film that year.

[@AA-yc8yr]

Nah.

[@rpg-easyas-123]

Oof. This is very "film twitter" *that is not a compliment

[@saint18ruben]

Come on the Borat movie is fun and Maria was amazing

[@siriusblack1612]

I have to disagree with you on the Pinocchio makeup nomination, it’s more interesting than any of the work done on Bird Of Prey

[@jairusashleybongabong3031]

What are you talking about Brian ?Glenn Close was the most deserving to win that year because it was a great performance she gave , a total tour de force that could blow anyone in that supporting category. With respect to Youn Yuh jung because she was an adorable old lady, but Glenn close was the real winner that year ❤

[@robertovega8137]

I fricking love Frances McDormand, but Carey Mulligan was absolutely robbed that night!

[@amr_12_]

BEING T H E R I C A R D O S

[@isaacmartinez6904]

For me, the 93rd Academy Awards is terrible only because there is barley any movies that I hadn't watch. I mean for Best Picture I haven't seen at least one. And we have to thank COVID for that.

[@lexkanyima2195]

And they delay of shooting

[@oscarpinillacastro5893]

You lost all credibility when you said you loved that dreck Birds of Prey.

[@tml184]

Worst year for movies.

[@alucinado1021]

France’s winning for Nomadland was just plain boring

[@saint18ruben]

Being the Ricardos is an amazing movie !!!!

[@joecoe4416]

Borat 2 bored you but Nomadland didnt?