Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller take to the Internet following the announcement of nominations for the 87th Academy Awards.
Academy Award nominations were announced on Thursday morning, and while the Internet was busy arguing over which Oscar snub was the most unforgivable, The LEGO Movie’s Phil Lord was apparently doing something a little more, um, constructive with his time. In response to the failure of The LEGO Movie to secure an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, Lord simply made his own version of the iconic statuette:
It's okay. Made my own! pic.twitter.com/kgyu1GRHGR
— philip lord (@philiplord) January 15, 2015
Co-director Chris Miller, meanwhile, made his feelings apparent about the movie securing a nod for Best Original Song:
Congrats to "Everything is Awesome" though currently the title of the song doesn't seem especially accurate!
— Chris Miller (@chrizmillr) January 15, 2015
For anyone living under a rock, last summer’s feel-good animated comedy from Warner Bros. was widely considered to be a frontrunner in the Oscar race. Animated by Australia’s Animal Logic, The LEGO Movie has earned five Annie Award nominations, including for writing, directing and visual effects, two VES nominations including Outstanding Animation and Outstanding Effects in an Animated Feature, and also received an ACE nod for editing. And, as if to underscore yesterday’s snub from the Academy, on Thursday night the Broadcast Film Critics Association named the film the Best Animated Feature of 2014.
The LEGO Movie was the number four top earner of 2014, just behind Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, YA adaptation The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Following the film’s $69.1 million debut in February, it went on to earn $257.8 million domestically and $211 million overseas for a global haul of $468.8 million worldwide.
As an item in Variety points out, however, it isn’t always about the money. Because the world is devolving into one, big, giant listicle à la Buzzfeed, International film critic Peter Debruge lists 5 Reasons the Academy Overlooked ‘The LEGO Movie’:
- Animation professionals pick the nominations.
- A record number of eligible toons means tougher competition.
- Voters watch all 20 contenders, so the best rises.
- The animation branch loves handmade movies.
- Traditional forms and classical storytelling win out.
Huh. On second thought, those don’t seem like terrible reasons, although it must be pointed out that the entire animation branch doesn’t actually vote on the nominees -- that effort is led by a volunteer voting panel -- and the panel is not required to watch every film submitted. Based on percentages, this year panel members were required to watch a minimum of 14 out of the 20 eligible films.
Which film do you think was snubbed, and why? Let us know in the comments section below!
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
