10 Most Oscar Bait Movies From The 2015 Awards Season

4. Foxcatcher

What's Oscar Bait About The Idea? Hold on a second, is Foxcatcher Oscar bait? Well, yes. It may carry more prestige and grit than many of its competitors, but with Bennett Miller, whose previous two movies, Capote and Moneyball, were Best Picture nominees, as director, there's no way Sony greenlit this film without their eyes on the prize. Was It Any Good? For a film that started off its awards campaign so well regarded (buzz from Cannes was overwhelmingly positive), Foxcatcher divided audiences. Some praised its cold detachment and excessive, brooding wrestling matches, while others grew bored from the exact same points. It's likely this mixed reaction that stopped it being the tenth Best Picture nominee, despite Miller's Best Director nod. Was There Any Major Campaigning? Just as the film was a dead cert for Best Picture, back after Cannes Steve Carrell had Best Actor (or possibly Supporting) in the bag. The film's momentum mainly ran off that initial push, but had ran out steam around the time of its US release, making it all but a distant memory when awards season itself started. Will It Get Anything For Its Efforts? Carrell was pigeon-holed into a strong Best Actor roster, but probably wouldn't have done much better against J. K. Simmons in Supporting. Maybe his nose can get the film some love for make-up.