Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Oscar Oddity #5: Traffic (2000)


At the 73rd Academy Awards, Traffic was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture. It won Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Benicio del Toro), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing, but it lost Best Picture to Gladiator. This makes it the only Best Picture nominee to go 4/5 and lose the top prize.

Note: However, several films, such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Miracle on 34th Street, and Jaws, have gone 3/4 and lost Best Picture.

10 comments:

  1. Isn't Soderbergh first director to win Best Director Oscar, which he won for Traffic, with twin nominations ?

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    1. It depends. At the 1928/29 ceremony, Frank Lloyd won Best Director for The Divine Lady, but he was also "nominated" for Drag and Weary River. There weren't official nominations that year though, so Soderbergh could be considered the first.

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    2. In '75 Coppola won Best Director for Godfather Part II and also had The Conversation in Best Picture category.

      Maybe Traffic is the only movie that had not won Best Picture despite the prize for Director, Screenplay and Editing...

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    3. Great point. Traffic is the only film to win those 3 categories and lose Best Picture.

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  2. I thought this film was okay, nothing special though :/

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    Replies
    1. Fair enough. I love it, but I don't think it deserved Best Picture.

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  3. Traffic should've won picture. Period.

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    Replies
    1. It would've been a worthy winner, but I still love Gladiator's win. (Sorry man.) ;)

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    2. Hahah, it's all good! We like what we like.

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