A lot of movies come out every year, and for the 10,000+ industry members eligible to vote, the number can be overwhelming.
It can also be overwhelming to keep track of previous awards, which many have in mind when casting votes for individuals in categories like Best Actor or Best Actress.
This confusion became evident—and enraging to many who are not able to vote in the Oscars—when Variety published their predictions earlier this week, forecasting who they think might win at the awards this coming Sunday.
Along with speculation about Wicked and Anora, journalist Clayton David reportedly talked with two voting members of the Oscars, who revealed that they had made faulty assumptions when voting.
They informed Davis that, for best actor, they had not voted for Ralph Fiennes’ role in Conclave, a film depicting a deeply charged political atmosphere as Cardinals gather to select the next Pope.
They based their choice at least partly on their belief that Fiennes won an Oscar in 1993 for his role in Schindler’s List.
"Surprisingly, two separate voters who didn’t vote for Fiennes said they did not vote for him because 'he won before.' "
"They both believed he won an Oscar for 'Schindler’s List' (1993), which he didn’t, as he lost to Tommy Lee Jones for 'The Fugitive.'”
To pour salt in the wound of misunderstanding, they then voted for Adrien Brody, who already has an Oscar.
Notably, he was one of the youngest actors to ever win one, in 2002, for his film The Pianist.
"'Oh sh*t!' one chuckled after being corrected. Coincidentally, they voted for Brody, who actually won an Oscar for 'The Pianist' (2002). As you can tell, sometimes these things tend not to make much sense."
People were outraged, but also kind of amused at the irony.
Really, it was hard for commenters to wrap their heads around.
People were fed up with the odd political calculus that goes into what should be a simple vote.
The Academy Awards are on Sunday, March 2nd this year.
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