The list of Oscar nominees was just released, and the biggest movie of last year just barely made the cut. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home earned itself a single category: Best Visual Effects. This is obviously not the recognition fans wanted to see the project get—everyone had sights set on Best Picture. Even Sony and Marvel Studios were trying their best to get seen in the eyes of the Academy.
The push for the movie’s Oscar chances was bigger than normal for No Way Home; sadly, it seems to have been a fruitless effort. Sure, the love that fans have for it won’t be affected, but it’s always a bummer when a beloved project gets snubbed at a big awards show.
It wasn’t all losses for the cast, however. Benedict Cumberbatch got the nom for Best Actor for his work in Power of Dog, and Andrew Garfield for Tick, Tick… Boom!. Garfield, of course, was one of two returning Spider-Men in the recent MCU film. He’s been on record talking about how much he loved the opportunity to return to the role and how great the movie is in general.
So what does he think about the movie not making the cut?
No Way To The Nomination
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tick, Tick… Boom! actor Andrew Garfield was on hand to discuss his new Oscar nomination for Best Lead Actor in the film. He was also asked how he felt regarding his other big project of the year, Spider-Man: No Way Home, getting snubbed for Best Picture.
Garfield gave a very diplomatic answer, saying that while “[he’s] not able to comment on that particularly,” he is still extremely ”grateful to be a part” of the project:
“I’m not able to comment on that particularly. I really love that movie and I really love Amy [Pascal] and Jon Watts and Kevin [Feige] and, obviously Tom [Holland], and Zendaya and Jacob [Batalon] and Tobey [Maguire] and all the cast. That movie has been a kind of juggernaut of proportions that I don’t think any of us really expected. I can only speak for myself and I just feel grateful to be a part of something that is keeping cinemas alive right now, keeping cinemas full, and helping in that regard and making sure that the live experience or the communal experience of going to the movies remains intact. It’s very, very cool to see audiences still deeply longing for the thing that I know that we’re all deeply longing for. I think Spider-Man is obviously one of those movies right now and that’s so cool and I’m so, so grateful to be a part of that.”
Spider-Man Vs. The Academy
The nomination for Best Visual Effects tends to be where the Academy drops most of the blockbuster and superhero-type films. They rarely make it past those fences, but they can land in places like Best Costume Design or Make-Up from time to time.
MCU fans, much like those at Marvel Studios, have long been aware of the (almost certain) bias against superhero projects from The Academy. The studios’ campaign for No Way Home this past year was an attempt past that—clearly it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
It’s ironic because many might argue that the film deserves the Best Picture nod more than Best Visual Effects. For all the good VFX moments in the movie, there are an equal number of highly questionable ones as well.
While Thanos may have been the big bad of the Infinity Saga, and Kang the Conqueror right around the corner, maybe the MCU should take aim at the biggest enemy of them all: the Academy.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is playing in theaters worldwide.
