Why “Deathly Hallows – Part 2” was snubbed for the Oscars: A fan’s perspective

by · January 25, 2012

If you are wondering why in the world Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 failed to receive a nomination in any of the major categories such as Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, or even more disappointing – Best Supporting Actor for the brilliant work of Alan Rickman, then you are definitely not alone! Millions of Harry Potter fans and movie critics around the world are wondering the same thing.

Could it be that the Academy that decides the nominations are biased because of the series being a British film series? No, because The King’s Speech won many awards last year at the Oscars. What about the Academy not showing respect to a fantasy film? No, Lord of the Rings was an epic fantasy tale that took home the Best Picture and 12 other awards in 2004. So what could it be?

We have a MuggleNet fan’s perspective from Stuart Klein that might explain it:

The real thing that shot Deathly Hallows – Part 2‘s chances, and for that matter Alan Rickman’s, was the way that Warner Brothers went about their ‘For your Consideration’ campaign. The original campaign pushed for two actors for Best Actor (Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint), one for Best Actress (Emma Watson), two for Best Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter and Dame Maggie Smith), and EIGHT for Best Supporting Actor (Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, John Hurt, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, and David Thewlis).

There’s nothing wrong with Warner Brothers thinking that the cast is overwhelmingly talented; however, the Best Supporting Actor list reads like a laundry list. Looking at this one movie, personally I do not see why certain actors are included in this grouping. As a franchise yes, each of these actors have shown growth and development and truly moved the audience. On this one movie, the movie that the academy must consider as it was the only one released during the eligibility period, no. Only a few of them even had a large enough role in Part 2 to be able to stand out.

What further hurts matters is that the stand out actor from the final movie, Alan Rickman, falls so far to the bottom of the list alphabetically. Had Warner Brothers pushed for solely Alan Rickman as Supporting Actors, his chances would probably have been much more significant.

As far as Best Picture goes, Part 2 never really stood a fighting chance. While you may argue that Lord of the Rings was a fandom that won Best Picture, it was also successful at getting every one of its movies nominated for Best Picture. The third installment winning was more of a nod towards the saga as a whole and its brilliance throughout. The later films for Potter have certainly been darker, and shown much more depth on the part of the actors, but on the whole the first few films cannot compare to the final one in film quality. Had Part 2 been nominated, it certainly would not have won. It would have been nominated as a sign of respect that the academy has acknowledged the series for its success overall but come Oscar night it sadly would not take home the award.

Do you agree with Stuart? Let us know in the comments your reasons for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 snubbing by the academy.