2008 Best Picture: 3 Films That Didn’t Deserve The Nomination (& 7 Replacements)

The 2008 Academy Awards were the 80th awards ceremony. This ceremony honored films from the previous year in 2007. That year gave fans and critics wonderfully entertaining feature films like, Premonition, Stomp the Yard, Becoming Jane, and The Heartbreak Kid. Of course, none of those films were honored during the award ceremony that year.

The films that were honored and received the biggest nomination of the night for Best Picture were: Michael Clayton, Atonement, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and Juno. Looking at this list today, it’s clear Academy voters had a certain taste in films that year, which may have enabled them to give nominations to a handful of films that probably didn’t deserve it.

10 Should Have Been: Fracture

This dramatic thriller feature film stars Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins. Directed by Gregory Hoblit, the film tells the story of a lawyer, played by Gosling, trying to charge a man, Hopkins, with murdering his wife.

The film is incredibly well written and opened to praise from critics and movie-goers. The film also did very well at the box office, which allowed most to assume it would be honored during award season, but it was just the opposite and the film received zero recognition from the Academy.

9 Should Have Been: Pride

This biographical feature film stars Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, and Kimberly Elise. The film is about a swimming coach in Philadelphia and the grouchy janitor he befriends.

The film received mixed reviews from critics but the performances were highlighted and deemed some of the best of the year, which left most audiences wondering why this film hadn’t gained more traction and recognition from Academy voters.

8 Nominated: No Country For Old Men

No Country for Old Men is a Coen Brothers’ western crime film starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin.

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, but some were disappointed with how this story played out on screen, considering it was based on a popular novel by the same name and strayed enough from its source material to upset a few fans and critics. This also was the reason some believed it should have been given as much praise from the Academy.

7 Should Have Been: Disturbia

This thriller stars Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer and Carrie-Anne Moss and was a film everyone seemed to be talking about upon its release. Shia LaBeouf gives an incredible performance as a teenager under house arrest who believes one of his neighbors is a serial killer.

The film was somewhat inspired by Hitchcock’s Rear Window and many believe it should have done much better during award season than it did.

6 Should Have Been: Across The Universe

This jukebox musical, romance feature film stars Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess and features music by The Beatles. Directed by Julie Taymor, the film was incredibly well-received by movie-goers and for the most part, received very good reviews from some of the toughest film critics.

The film seemed to have everything the Academy loves to vote for, so it was surprising that it only garnered one nomination in 2008, for Best Costume Design.

5 Nominated: There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood is a period piece written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano, is about one man’s quest for wealth during the oil boom in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The film seems to have everything the Academy loves in terms of its filmmakers and stars and was an obvious choice for the Academy that year. The fact that it was so obvious makes fans wonder what could have been chosen if the Academy had thought a little more outside of the box.

4 Should Have Been: American Gangster

This biographical crime film by Ridley Scott stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Washington and Crow had not been on screen together since 1995’s Virtuosity, which made this film highly anticipated by both fans and critics alike.

The film was very well received and had impressive box office numbers however that was not enough to secure much praise from the Academy. This film only received nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress.

3 Should Have Been: Enchanted

Enchanted is the pioneer for live action Disney movies and is still one of the only original live action films the studio has done. The film stars Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey and was directed by Kevin Lima.

Considering this concept was so original at the time, it seemed like this film would be a shoe in during award season, but at the Academy Awards, the only nomination it received was for Best Original Song, though three of the songs from the film were nominated in the category.

2 Nominated: Michael Clayton

Michael Clayton is a legal thriller starring one of the Academy’s favorites George Clooney. Directed by Todd Gilroy, who was making his directorial debut with this feature film, the film tells the story of an attorney whose successful world seems to be crumbling around him.

The film received praise from critics, but got only an average response from movie-goers, which made it a surprising choice for a nomination in the Best Picture category that year.

1 Should Have Been: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

By 2008, both audiences and critics may have been tired of seeing Johnny Depp and Tim Burton unite to make another movie, which is probably why this film got snubbed by the Academy.

However, most fans and critics would agree that this film, out of all of the films the actor-director duo have made together, deserves a lot of praise. The film was nominated for Best Actor, Best Costume Design, and Best Art Direction, but not the coveted Best Picture award.

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