After his compelling performance in the film Avengers: Endgame, thousands are petitioning for Robert Downey Jr. to receive an Oscar nomination for the 2020 Oscars.
The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, is a ceremony that recognizes those with awards for artistic and technical merits in the film industry. This event is traditionally presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This ceremony is considered to be one of the highest awards in the film industry, and they have been awarding for 91 years.
The Oscars presents awards such as Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and 20 other awards. However, nominations for these awards must follow the strict rules and guidelines of the Academy.
Despite following the rules set in place, there are certain types of films that rarely appear on the list. For example, it is rare for horror, action, thriller, fantasy, or comic-book movies to end up nominated for awards other than technical.
Bill Myatt, the current theater director at PV High School, explained why this is. “Superhero movies are still seen as comic book adventures and not fully formed as artistic. The mainstream Hollywood industry might be a little jealous of popularity and dismiss films with the use of special effects,” he said.
The Oscars are not in favor of superhero movies; instead, they typically prefer films with complete originality. An Oscar strategist revealed one of the possible reasonings behind this statement. “You lose points for previous characters and plot points. The Academy always favors auteurs,” they said.
The list of superhero movie nominations and winnings is very short. Heath Ledger is the only actor that has ever received an Oscar for a role in a superhero movie. The role was the character of the Joker in the movie The Dark Knight.
Even though it is very challenging for a superhero movie to end up nominated for the Oscars, it is not impossible. Marvel has received seven nominations for the film Black Panther in February 2019 and won three of those nominations. This film helped Marvel win its very first Academy awards.
Myatt believes that it is possible for Robert Downey Jr. to receive a nomination for his performance in Avengers: Endgame. “I think he should be nominated for his performance. The Oscars should be looking at the quality story with committed performances and directors that worked together in telling a story of a character,” he said.
