One of Ben Affleck’s finest movies is forever attached to disappointment. The Academy Award-winning screenwriter directed Argo, which won Best Picture at the 85th Academy Awards. The Good Will Hunting co-writer, however, wasn’t on the ballot for Best Director that year.
That came as a shock to many, including Ben. He claims that everyone told him that he’d be among the Best Director nominees. He called his snub a “massive embarrassment.” Ben took home the top director prize at the Critics’ Choice Awards weeks before being omitted in that category by the Academy.
An Oscars snub left Ben feeling some kind of way
Even with the success of Argo, looking back on that movie still leaves Ben with a little regret. Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday, he reflected back on that moment. “It’s the horrible thing of everyone’s telling you all the time, ‘You’re going to get nominated,” said Ben.
Ben says when he was lined up on the red carpet for his interviews that year, almost everyone was talking about his Oscar snub. He says the thought of being nominated was more chatter from others than his own.
The subject of nominations came up after Ben congratulated Jimmy Kimmel on his Critics Choice Award for Best Talk Show. The comedian noted how Ben had won one of those awards before leading Ben to suggest his win was more out of sympathy. Ben and Jennifer Lopez officially divorced last year. While he has allegedly been ignoring her, in October of last year he and ex-wife Jennifer Garner were reportedly friends with benefits.
Ben not only directed but also starred in Argo, a political thriller based on a true story surrounding the Iran hostage crisis in the late 70s and early 80s. The film had a budget of just over $40 million and grossed over $200 million at the box office.
While he didn’t get the Oscar nod for Best Director, Ben did take home the Golden Globe in that category in 2013. Ang Lee won the Academy Award for Best Director that year for Life of Pi.
TELL US – SHOULD BEN AFFLECK HAVE EARNED AN OSCAR NOMINATION FOR ARGO?
