The Panther’s Choice Awards: What should’ve been nominated

After placing bets on who would take home the coveted Oscar, The Panther staff reflected on who was snubbed in the first place

2019 was, as widely acknowledged, a fantastic year in cinema. However, while films such as Parasite and 1917 deservedly garnered attention at the 2020 Academy Awards, a host of other deserving candidates from across the spectrum of categories were head-scratchingly omitted. Here, The Panther takes a look at those films, actors and technical elements that slipped through the cracks - for the first-ever Panther’s Choice Awards. 

Best Picture: Uncut Gems

A pulse-pounding, claustrophobic thrill ride and one of the most starkly unique crime dramas in the past decade; it’s mind-boggling how the Academy nominated such films as Ford v Ferrari instead.

Best Director: Greta Gerwig, Little Women

The most glaringly obvious snub from the 2020 Oscars. The fact that Little Women was nominated for Best Picture yet Gerwig, a director at the height of her powers, wasn’t nominated makes no sense - even without taking into consideration that not a single female director was nominated for the category.

Best Actor: Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems

The star of Uncut Gems gives a career-defining performance in a complete turnaround from his comedic turns in the past, providing the audience with a quintessential love-to-hate main character. 

Best Actress: Lupita Nyong’o, Us

How Nyong’o didn’t at least receive a nomination for convincingly playing two different characters - one raised in an a middle-class environment and another who is terrifyingly precise in her robotic movements after being raised in an underground society - is heresy. 

Supporting Actor: Kang-Ho Song, Parasite

Director Bong Joon-Ho deservedly receives much of the credit for the masterpiece that is Parasite, yet the performances of the cast also shouldn’t be overlooked - especially Song, whose character perfectly carries the film’s disdained commentary on social classes. 

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers 

Whether you’re a fan of Lopez or not, she put in incredible time and effort into getting herself physically ready to play Ramona Vega and carries a powerful enough stage presence throughout the stripper-heist film Hustlers to warrant a nomination. 

Best Animated Feature: Frozen 2 

A fun movie! 

Best Original Screenplay: Booksmart 

Also incredibly fun  and extremely contemporary for young women and teens heading to college. 

Best Score: Us 

Composer Michael Abels’ haunting strings - particularly during the climax of Us - play perfectly to the mood for both the film’s horror elements and also its deeply human undertones. 

Sound Editing: Endgame

A well-made blockbuster movie that neatly wrapped up the past decade-plus years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should probably receive more nominations somewhere. 

Thus concludes the Panther’s Choice Awards. Please check back next year after the release of another Adam Sandler movie, which will hold a -3% on Rotten Tomatoes.