Here’s What You Missed at the Oscars: A Recap
Imagine being called on stage to receive the honor of your life – an Oscar – but instead of thanking everyone you know, you decide to take a stand.
To date, only three people have rejected an Oscar out of more than 2,000 winners.
So let’s start with them.
Dudley Nichols – 1935 Oscar for Best Screenplay
The first person to turn down an Oscar was screenwriter Dudley Nichols, who won best screenplay for the 1935 film, “The Informer.” Set during the Irish War of Independence and adapted from Liam O’Flaherty’s novel of the same name, John Ford won Best Director and Nichols won Best Screenplay.
Nichols refused to accept the Oscar and cited an ongoing writer’s strike in Hollywood as the reason.
George C. Scott – 1971 Oscar for Best Actor
Scott called the Oscars “a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons”, and sent a telegram to the Academy telling them he would decline the award.
Scott, who was known for his utter disgust with the whole ceremony.
Marlon Brando – 1973 Academy Award for Best Actor
In 1973, perhaps one of the most famous moments in Oscar history happened. Marlon Brando, another big favorite to win the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in ‘The Godfather’, has been announced as the winner.
But Brando didn’t show up for the Oscars — as an added gesture, he sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his place.
Then there are the very rare instances where the Academy has revoked an appointment.
Hondo (1953)
In 1954, John Wayne’s western Hondo was nominated for Best Story. The film was later disqualified when it was discovered that the script was based on a short story called “The Gift of Cochise”. What a story.
Atlantic Snorkel (2010)
Atlantic Snorkel is a 25-minute Norwegian short film about a 70-year-old man who has only six days to live and spends that time coming to terms with his estranged family.
It was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film in 2012, but the nomination was later revoked because the film appeared on TV before it hit theaters. And at the Oscars, cinema comes first.
13 hours (2016)
In 2017, 13 hours garnered a single Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, with four members of the sound team (Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Mac Ruth and Greg P. Russell) singled out for their work.
But just a day before the ceremony, the Academy announced it was rescinding Russell’s nomination following “telephone lobbying”.
On the recommendation of the Sound Branch Executive Committee, the Academy’s Board of Governors voted to rescind the sound mixing appointment of Greg P. Russell of 1 PM: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi for violating campaign regulations of the Academy. The decision was prompted by the discovery that Russell had called his fellow members of the sound branch during the nomination phase to inform them of his work on the film, in direct violation of a campaign regulation which prohibits telephone lobbying.
Oscar Statement