Podcaster Kevin Smith spoke out the Academy for not nominating Marvel‘s Spider-Man: No Way Home in the Best Picture category. He asked the Oscars curators to instead make a populist choice.
Speaking about it on his podcast FatMan Beyond, Smith said, “I would just like to congratulate the good folks who made Spider-Man: No Way Home for the very deserved Best Picture nomination that I’m sure it got, I didn’t read the nods.”
Upon being informed that the third part in the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy had not made the cut, Smith said, “What the fuck? They got ten slots, they can’t give one to the biggest fucking movie of like the last three years?”. He added, “Man, and they’re like, ‘Why won’t anyone watch this show?’ Like fucking make a populist choice, fuck, man. You got how many slots? Throw in Spider-Man for God’s sakes. Let him swing in there. Fucking poor kid’s always getting crapped on and sh-t, show Peter Parker some fucking love. I’m not even being facetious, with as many movies as they have nominated for Best Picture…”
However, he later released an apology video, on Sunday. In it, he said, “I am puzzled, as to why my comments have become such a magnet for a lots of folks. They want to throw the book at me and I don’t quite get it, man.”
No Way Home released worldwide, in mid-December, and became the biggest film of 2021 having garnered over $1.7 billion, and counting. It has also been nominated for visual effects at the Oscars alongside Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The Jon Watts-directorial stars ctors Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon reprising their roles as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, Michelle Jones aka MJ, and Ned Leeds, respectively. Benedict Cumberbatch, who essays Doctor Strange in the MCU, is part of the cast as well.
The story follows Peter Parker alias Spider-Man as he fights multiple villains from earlier Spider-Man films, who return after Doctor Strange unleashes the multiverse to help Parker.
Despite Disney and Sony putting their best foot forward during promotions, none of their superhero films earned nominations in the Best Picture category.
Last week, host Jimmy Kimmel reflected similar sentiments as Smith on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live and called Spider-Man’s omission “unforgivable.”
Recommended
“Why do Best Picture nominees have to be serious? When did that become a prerequisite for getting nominated for an Academy Award?” Kimmel said. “How did [Spider-Man: No Way Home] not get one of the 10 nominations for best picture? Forget the fact that the movie made $750 million [in the US] and is still going. This was a great movie. It wasn’t in the top 10 best movies of the year? There were three Spider-Men in it. You’re telling me Don’t Look Up was better than Spider-Man? It most certainly was not.”
The Oscar nominations were announced on February 8.
Contenders in the Best Picture category, include, The Power of the Dog, Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, and West Side Story.
The winners will be announced on March 27.