10 Most Oscar Bait Movies From The 2015 Awards Season

6. Selma

What's Oscar Bait About The Idea? Selma is a movie based on Martin Luther King; do you need anything else? Although certain events around its release suggest this may not have been as Oscar angling as initial impressions suggests, it's clear from how vocal director Ava DuVernay and star David Oyelowo have been in recent weeks that they're pretty sore about their lack of expected nominations. Was It Any Good? Selma is the absolute definition of a "fine" movie. The script is fine. The pacing is fine. The cinematography is fine. The acting is... well, actually slightly above fine, but you get the point. It's an averagely made movie, but, because of its content, it has been trumpeted up as something more. Was There Any Major Campaigning? Selma was actually non-existent in the Oscar buzz until November, where positive word of mouth from early screenings started making it into a real contender. However, Paramount were slow on the draw in getting screeners out to voters, leading to dearth of nominations. Many took this as a sign of racism within the Academy, although it's more likely that there were simply better films out this year. The real shock is that the studio didn't realise they had a contender on their hands. Will It Get Anything For Its Efforts? It has a strong chance for Best Original Song, although that would be a further burn on The Lego Movie. Still, outside of positive discrimination, there's not really any reason to honour it.