The Oscars Turn Their Backs On Selma Actors On MLK Jr.'s Birthday

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Despite earning rave reviews for its artistic direction and gripping acting performances, The Oscars chose to follow the path blazed by the Golden Globes and completely snub Selma from some well-deserved nominations.

Via TheGrio:

The Oscars missed out on the chance to make history and nominate its first black female director, Ava DuVernay, for her Golden Globe-nominated work on Selma. The film’s star, David Oyelowo, also was completely overlooked for his gripping portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Selma received a nomination for best picture; the film’s only other nomination was for best song, for Common and John Legend’s recent Golden Globe winner Glory.

All of the four major acting categories; Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, and Actress in a Supporting Role; feature only white actors. Nominees for best director are also all white with the exception of Mexican-born filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Perhaps the Academy thinks Black America is still singing Roll Jordan Roll over Lupita Nyong’o and 12 Years A Slave’s win last year. Look for the award show to use a lot of black actors and actresses during the broadcast as presenters and performers to distract from the lack of diverse nominees.

Supporting actor Common told Hip-Hop Wired that he feels that Selma will go on to become a vital teaching tool for schools come future Black History Months.

They will just have to do it without the prestigious Oscar nominated credentials.

Meanwhile, check out some of the nominations from the Academy’s top categories in the gallery below.

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Photo: Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com

Best Picture

“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”
“The Imitation Game”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“American Sniper”
“Whiplash”

Photo: Warner Bros.

Actor in a Leading Role

Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”

Photo: WENN

Actress in a Leading Role

Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days One Night”

Photo: Tschiponnique Skupin/Future Image/WENN.com

Best Director

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”
Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”

Actor in a Supporting Role

J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
Robert Duvall, “The Judge”

Photo: Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com

Actress in a Supporting Role

Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”
Laura Dern, “Wild”

Music – Original Song

“Glory” by Common and John Legend, “Selma”
“Lost Stars” by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood, “Begin Again”
“Everything Is Awesome” by Shawn Patterson, “The LEGO Movie”
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” by Glen Campbell, “Glenn Campbell: I’ll Be Me”
“Grateful,” “Beyond the lights”

Photo: Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com

Music – Original Score

Hans Zimmer, “Interstellar”
Alexandre Desplat, “The Imitation Game”
Johann Johannsson, “The Theory of Everything”
Alexandre Desplat, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Gary Yershon, “Mr Turner”

Photo: Brian To/WENN.com

Animated Feature Film

“Big Hero 6”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The Boxtrolls”
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya”
“Song of the Sea”

Photo: WENN

Writing – Original Screenplay

Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, “Birdman”
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Dan Gilroy, “Nightcrawler”
E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, “Foxcatcher”

Photo: Lia Toby/WENN