The Runner-Ups: Mary Elizabeth Winstead in "Smashed" (2012)

Scene from Smashed

Every Oscar season, there are a handful of actors who get tagged with the "snubbed" moniker. While it is always unfortunate to see our favorites not honored with at very least a nomination, there's another trend that goes largely unnoticed: those who never even got that far. The Runner-Ups is a column meant to honor the greats in cinema who put in phenomenal work without getting the credit that they deserved from The Academy. Join me every other Saturday as I honor those who never received any love. This list will hopefully come to cover both the acting community, and the many crew members who put the production together.

Is "Exodus: Gods and Kings" the Surprise Best Picture Nominee?

Christian Bale

There is a particular question that should be raised when discussing director Ridley Scott: what happened? For starters, the director is one of the few distinguished faces to innovate technology over the course of his long career. He is important in that way. However, he also used to direct amazing movies that were Best Picture worthy. In one such case, he won Best Picture with Gladiator, which saw a perfect blend of visual effects and swords and sandals epics. Since, he hasn't been too noteworthy in this case and with the back-to-back maligned films of Prometheus and The Counselor, there looks to be some dismay in him ever returning to the Best Picture race. That is, until Exodus: Gods and Kings comes out this December. With its big effects and lead by Oscar winner Christian Bale (Best Supporting Actor - The Fighter), it does seem like he is striving for that title.

Can Winstead Use "Smashed" for an Acting Nomination?

Left to right: Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul

One of the toughest categories that I have had to gauge this year involves the female acting fields. While we're starting to see a handful solidify, it has been shakier than the male counterpoint, which almost seemed to be concrete since Joaquin Phoenix impressed us with The Master. With the fields starting to tighten, there is a long shot that Mary Elizabeth Winstead can earn her first nomination for James Ponsoldt's Smashed, a tale of overcoming alcoholism. Is the film capable of competing with the big names, or is the no name production holding it back?