Oscars 2018: 8 Most Game-Changing Nominations

3. The James Franco Snub

The Disaster Artist James Franco
A24

One of the biggest snubs of the 2018 Oscars nominations was James Franco being overlooked for Best Actor. His won Best Actor for his role in The Disaster Artist at both the Golden Globes and the Critics' Choice Awards, and was nominated at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The Academy can be quite averse to comedy, which might partially explain why Franco was overlooked (in favour of either Denzel Washington or Daniel Day-Lewis, based on other awards), but with so many of the biggies backing him, and The Disaster Artist popular with the WGA too, he looked like he'd be able to overcome their comedy allergy.

Immediately after his Globes win, and a few days before the ballot closed for Oscar submissions, Franco was accused of sexual misconduct. Franco denied the allegations, and there's no concrete way of knowing how much they hurt his chances, but the dates certainly suggest it played its part. And that's indicative of a wider move in Hollywood that's been taking place, as witnessed in cases like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, and it looks like the Academy, which has been expanding its member pool away from crusty old white dudes, is following along with that.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.