Despite recent wins at the Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globes, Ben Affleck won't take home the Best Director trophy on Oscar night. Or will he?
No, he will not: Affleck isn't even nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards, despite his lauded work on the film "Argo." Not that Affleck's snub stopped THR awards experts Scott Feinberg and Stephen Galloway from speculating that Affleck could win Best Director with help from a write-in vote. The only problem? The Academy Awards haven't allowed write-in candidates since 1930s.
There is a precedent: When Bette Davis failed to land a nomination as best actress for Of Human Bondage (1934), the outcry led to a write-in. (In the final tally, at a time when the Academy made the votes public, she finished third.) The following year, cinematographer Hal Mohr became the first and only person to win an Oscar via write-ins when he was honored for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935).
So! That could be fun -- and, as Feinberg and Galloway note, the mid-race rules change would be a perfect cap to this crazy awards season.
Of course, kidding aside, even if Affleck doesn't set Oscar history himself, "Argo" might. The film was nominated for Best Picture, and it could become only the fourth film in 85 years to win that award without a corresponding nomination in the Best Director category.
For more on the odds of that happening, check out this piece from HuffPost Entertainment. For more on why Affleck was snubbed by the Academy Awards, head to THR.
[via THR]
