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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cal State LA chapter.

The Oscar nominations are out! With it brought a lot of confusion to why some people and films weren’t nominated. Anyone can argue and say they really deserved to be recognized, but that’s the Oscars for you. With that said, here are the films and people who should have been nominated this movie season.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Directing and Best Picture. Yes, this film is nominated a couple times. But doesn’t J.J. Abrams deserve some kind of award for reviving the film franchise?

 

Idris Elba

Best Actor. Idris Elba starred in the Netflix original film Beasts of No Nation. Elba played a West African Warlord who enslaves child soldiers in the film. Elba’s acting is excellent and thrilling; obviously, deserving of a nomination.

Johnny Depp

Best Actor. Johnny Depp starred in Black Mass as gangster Whitey Bulger. His transformation into the character can be said in one word: WOW.

 

Straight Outta Compton

Best Film. Directing. Straight Outta Compton was an audience favorite! The film made over $200 million worldwide. This film, ensemble and director F. Gary Gray truly deserve more recognition from the Academy other than Best Original Screenplay.

Will Smith

Best Actor. In the film Concussion, Will Smith portrays pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who discovers a new disease while taking on the NFL. Many critics and fans loved his performance! But again, no recognition for the great actor.

 

Quentin Tarantino

Directing. Best Adapted Screenplay. Tarantino is always impressing audiences with his directing and writing skills. But this year it seems the Academy overlooked his talents for The Hateful Eight.

Ridley Scott

Directing. The Martian was nominated for several different categories this year but director Ridley Scott was left out. Usually, a Best Picture nomination includes a Best Directing nomination. Good luck for Best Picture, Ridley!

 

Benicio Del Toro

Best Supporting Actor. Del Toro acts along side Emily Blunt in this drug war drama Sicario. Well deserving of a nomination but unfortunately Del Toro is left out. Maybe next time!

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez

Best Actress. Kitana Kiki Rodriguez acts as Sin-Dee, trans working woman in the film, Tangerine. Magnolia Pictures and Producers of the film campaigned for nomination of Rodriguez in the Best Actress category.

Mya Taylor

Best Supporting Actress. Taylor acts as Alexandra, a trans women friends with Sin-Dee, in Tangerine. Magnolia Pictures and Producers also campaigned for Taylor for the nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category. Both Taylor and Rodriguez are transgender actresses playing transgender roles and are absolutely wonderful in the film.

 

Michael B. Jordan

Best Actor. In Creed, Michael B. Jordan portrays Adonis Johnson, son of Apollo Creed (friend and rival to Rocky Balboa). Sylvester Stallone was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor for his part but there was no love for Michael B. Jordan as the leading actor in the film.

 

“See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth

Best Original Song. “See You Again” was nominated at the Golden Globes but is suddenly out of the Oscars. The Paul Walker tribute written by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth was made for Furious 7 film. The song hit one billion views on YouTube and broke Spotify record for the most streams in a single day!

 

 

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Kammile Whitener

Cal State LA '18

Film and Business Enthusiast. Love the best of both worlds. 
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Yzzy Gonzalez

Cal State LA

Yzzy (real name Ysabel, for the record) is obsessed with a myriad of things, including Inception, traveling, Downtown LA, and laser tagging. Majoring in Television, Film and Media and a lover of creative writing, Yzzy is torn between visual storytelling and using a whole bunch of words. Twitter: @yzzygonzalez