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According to Empire Magazine, here is the one's who missed out on getting nominated for an Oscar in 2005:
Best Picture
With The Incredibles getting its dues in the Best Animated Feature category, there weren't too many films that could lay a justifiable claim to muscling in on the Best Picture action. Bill Condon's Kinsey, though, is one such picture: well-acted, well-written and directed, with something to say about sexual politics and identity. Its sole major nomination, for Laura Linney, is perhaps insufficient recognition.
See also: The Motorcycle Diaries (ultimately, a foreign-language picture had too much to compete against this year), Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Winslet and Kaufman were nominated, but perhaps this unique marvel was released too early last year – it came out in March – to register with Academy voters), The Phantom Of The Opera (was considered to be an early favourite; the Academy loves musicals, and opulence; so an opulent musical should have been right up their street), and Collateral.
Best Actor
The final line-up is a very strong field indeed. Although Sideways' Paul Giamatti can be forgiven for feeling aggrieved at being left out while his co-stars Virginia Madsen and Thomas Haden Church bagged supporting nods; after all, Giamatti anchored the picture. It's the second time he's been snubbed by the Academy, who didn't reward his turn in American Splendor.
See also: Javier Bardem, whose performance in The Sea Inside is mesmerising. But with Catalina Sandino Moreno getting a nod for Maria Full Of Grace, perhaps the Academy – with memories of Roberto Benigni's win for Life Is Beautiful perhaps still fresh in their mind – decided that one foreign-language nod was enough. But Bardem has been nominated before; his time will come. Jim Carrey – who infused Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind with subtlety, warmth and unmistakeable humanity – may also be wondering what the hell he has to do to get into Oscar's good graces. All we can expect from him this year, though, is a typically manic presenting cameo. Oh, and Liam Neeson and Sean Penn will be cursing their luck. Any other year, and their Kinsey and The Assassination Of Richard Nixon turns may have been acknowledged. Penn, in particular, would have been hoping for a second nomination – and win – in a row, but it just wasn't to be.
Best Actress
In truth, there wasn't a great deal to choose from in the Best Actress field this year, so it could be argued that, with the possible exception of Audrey Tautou for A Very Long Engagement and Laura Linney for P.S., the Academy got it right.
Best Supporting Actress, though, wasn't much different, either, with the only surprise being the omission of Meryl Streep for The Manchurian Candidate, in favour of Sophie Okonedo for Hotel Rwanda.
Best Director
If Martin Scorsese had been overlooked again in this category, you could probably hear the LA-based uproar from here. But Marty's in, so the mantle of 'Director Who Perhaps Should Have Been Nominated' must go this year to Brad Bird, whose wonderful, subtle and hugely enjoyable work on The Incredibles established him – and not John Lasseter – as the no. 1 director currently working in animation. But there is good reason for sour faces in the Gondry, Condon, Salles and Mann households.
Curiously, or perhaps amusingly (depending on your viewpoint), Michael Moore's decision to withdraw Fahrenheit 9/11 from the running for Best Documentary Feature, in order to quality it for Best Picture (and, apparently, to let someone else win this year) seems to have backfired, with the anti-Dubya doc receiving not one nomination.
And if Mel Gibson had been hoping to follow up The Passion Of The Christ's record-breaking box office with another Oscar to keep his Braveheart gong company, he'll be sorely disappointed. Ultimately, though, Academy voters probably preferred to steer clear of anything resembling controversy. Given that this year's host is Chris Rock, that might be a wise choice, as there should be plenty of fiery debate on the night itself.
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