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Christopher Nolan is on cloud nine after his biopic,Oppenheimer, garnered significant attention at the 96th Academy Awards. With the highest number of Oscar nominations this year,Oppenheimerhas already won the director his first Golden Globes award this year. While Nolan is the favorite to win the Best Director Oscar, it is notable that some of his earlier works did not receive the deserved recognition from the Academy.
While nine of his films have received nominations at the Oscars, Nolan has yet to win a Best Director or Best Picture award at this prestigious awards ceremony. Among these nine films, at least three had the potential to win him his long-overdue award.
Also Read:“Are you f—king with me?”: Robert Downey Jr. Couldn’t Believe Christopher Nolan’s Bathroom Rules That’s Even Weirder Than His No Chairs Policy
The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolanexperimented with the comic book genre inThe Dark Knighttrilogy and even went on to serve as an inspiration for other films in the genre. Nolan’s second film in the trilogy,The Dark Knight, became the first comic book film to be widely recognized in major awards. The film received eight nominations at the 81st Academy Awards, but Nolan was notably snubbed for the Best Director and Best Picture awards.
The Dark Knightwon two out of its eight nominations, including the posthumous Academy Award forHeath Ledger. Richard King also won the Best Sound Editing Award for the film. The year was marked by some amazing productions, which probably resulted inThe Dark Knightnot getting recognized in the major categories.Slumdog Millionairewon the Best Picture award and the director of the film, Danny Boyle, won the Best Director.
The comic book films were generally ignored by the Academy voters, which made both the film’s inclusion and its snub in the major categories a topic of discussion. In 2023, while welcoming the Academy’s move to includeTop Gun: MaverickandAvatar: The Way of Waterin Best Picture Oscar nominations,Steven SpielbergtoldDeadlinethat the decision came late forThe Dark Knight. The film is now available for streaming on Max.
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The magnitude and complexity ofInceptiondelayed the film for years, however, Christopher Nolan’s reputation withThe Dark Knighthelped him finally bring his vision to screen. It is considered one of the best films of 2010 and earned eight nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards. While the film won four Oscars, including Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects, Nolan did not receive an Oscar for screenplay or direction.
While theInsomniadirector was nominated for the Best Director award at the Golden Globes and BAFTA, he was snubbed from the nominations at the Oscar.The Weekdescribed his snub as the“biggest mystery of [2011]’s Academy Awards”since the film garnered nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The film was defeated in most of its artistic nominations by the two biggest contenders that year,The Social NetworkandThe King’s Speech.
The biggest disappointment for the film was the Golden Globes, where the film didn’t win a single award.Inceptionis now available for rent on AppleTV+.
Also Read:“Nobody wanted the film”: Christopher Nolan Was ‘Appalled’ by Rejection of His 1 Movie That Was Turned Down by Brad Pitt
Dunkirkearned Nolan his first directorial nomination at the Oscars. After receiving criticism for continually omitting theInterstellardirector in the key category, the Academy finally acknowledged Nolan’s directorial prowess in this film.Dunkirkalso earned seven other nominations, including the Best Picture, but it was notably snubbed in the screenplay and acting awards.
It was not just Christopher Nolan fans who felt the lack of recognition at the Oscars for the film. DirectorQuentin Tarantinowas surprised when the academy failed to recognize Nolan’s screenplay or Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography in the film. Speaking toThe Rewatchablespodcast, Tarantino also added that Hans Zimmer’s score not winning the Best Original Score was a snub. Tarantino shared on thepodcast:
“I’m not gonna weigh in on the Academy politics… I was stumped. I think the fact that the score didn’t win was a snub. The fact that he didn’t get nominated for Best Screenplay is a snub. I mean a big snub.”
Also Read:Robert Downey Jr. Reveals Oppenheimer Has Been ‘Tragic’ for Christopher Nolan as Movie Becomes His Closest Shot at the Oscars
Nolan was a frontrunner to win the Best Director that year, but the women-centric films includingLady Bird,Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, andThe Shape of Watertook home most of the awards.Dunkirkis now available for rent on AppleTV+. Nolan is hopeful that he might achieve his dream of winning the prestigious award forOppenheimer,which is now available for rent on AppleTV+.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3019
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
