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Some Oscar wins had us scratching our heads and others left us fuming! Join us as we count down the most controversial and debatable Academy Award victories in Hollywood history. From shocking Best Actor upsets to baffling Best Picture choices, these wins sparked debates that still rage on today. Which Oscar moment had you yelling at your screen? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00I want to give the audience a song that they can perform, right?
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most debatable Oscar achievements to date.
00:11You have no idea how bad it gets!
00:15Number 10, Anthony Hopkins upsets Chadwick Boseman.
00:19I didn't want to tell you this, but since you must know, I suspect she was, um...
00:25She was what?
00:27She was stealing from me.
00:28In 2020, the world grieved the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman.
00:32The Black Panther actor's talent was unmatched, and his impact on the film was profound.
00:37So, when it came time for that year's Oscar nominations, he earned a Best Actor bid for his final picture,
00:43Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
00:45I done give Mr. Sturdy, man, some of my songs I wrote, and he said he gonna let me record
00:48them when I get my band together.
00:49I just got to finish the last part of this song.
00:51As awards season ramped up, Boseman seemed like a lot.
00:55Even the telecast producers were so confident, they saved the Best Actor for the end of the night.
01:00Thus, jaws dropped when Anthony Hopkins was named as the recipient.
01:03What are you going to have?
01:04Small whiskey.
01:05Well, then I'll have the same.
01:07Two!
01:07Splendid!
01:08Two small whiskies, coming up!
01:11Winning for The Father, the now two-time Oscar winner posted his acceptance speech on Instagram.
01:15In an effort to acknowledge the surprise, he honored his colleague by paying tribute to Boseman in the video.
01:20You stay out of my way about what I do and say, I'm my own person, just let me alone.
01:25Number nine, Will Smith winning Best Actor.
01:27All we need is a club for the training and clinics, the whole deal.
01:33It's everything the girls need to go from prodigy to pro.
01:36It's arguably the most shocking moment in award show history.
01:40During the 2022 Oscar ceremony, nominee Will Smith walked up on stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock after he made
01:46a joke about his wife Jada Pickens-Smith.
01:48In the moment following the assault, the tension was palpable.
01:51Tell Tundee, me and the homies might come by later and run a train on her.
01:59Silence fell across the Dolby Theater and in households all over the world.
02:04Smith's category Best Actor was later on that night, and everyone held their breath when his name was called.
02:10Taking home gold for his role in King Richard, his win after the incident did not sit well with many,
02:15sparking heated debates across the globe.
02:18You don't have no respect for yourself right now.
02:20You will never have none.
02:23At all.
02:26You are a champion, Venus Williams.
02:29And the whole world know it.
02:33You won't walk out there with your head up.
02:35Number eight, Bohemian Rhapsody winning Best Editing.
02:38So then your name is Queen?
02:41As in Her Royal Highness.
02:42And because it's outrageous.
02:44And I can't think of anyone more outrageous than me.
02:46Bohemian Rhapsody won four Academy Awards in 2019.
02:50Rami Malek claiming the Best Actor title for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury has become heavily debated.
02:55Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.
03:02That being said, there was another prize that sparked even more controversy.
03:06John Ottman was awarded Best Editing, which made everyone go, huh?
03:10If you didn't already know, Rhapsody Editing has been critiqued by both film buffs and reviewers to the point that
03:17one scene in particular went viral.
03:18Paul will be looking after you day to day.
03:20Pleasure.
03:21If I can get you on the radio, maybe I can get you on television.
03:25Top of the Pops.
03:26Hopefully.
03:27And then?
03:28And then?
03:29It's only the biggest television program in the country.
03:31No one's ever even heard of you.
03:33Look, I admire your enthusiasm.
03:34If it goes well, if it happens, I've got a promotional tour of Japan in mind.
03:39That being said, it's not totally Ottman's fault.
03:42The replacement of director Bryan Singer while filming threw a wrench into the process, forcing Ottman to make edits with
03:47little time.
03:49Number seven.
03:50Kevin Costner wins Best Director over Martin Scorsese.
03:53He thanks Dances with Wolves for coming.
03:57Who's Dances with Wolves?
04:01It is the name which all the people are calling you now.
04:06It's hard to believe that the legendary Martin Scorsese only has one Oscar.
04:12To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States.
04:21Even before I first wandered into the cab stand for an after-school job, I knew I wanted to be
04:26a part of them.
04:27It's even harder to believe that his one win wasn't for Goodfellas.
04:31Dances with Wolves director and star Kevin Costner was up against Scorsese for Best Director.
04:36Now who's Dill?
04:39Now who's Dill?
04:42No.
04:43She's hurt.
04:46Yeah!
04:48Yeah, yeah, yo!
04:49At this time, the man behind Taxi Driver had yet to win, and the industry knew he was overdue.
04:54Plus, his direction of Goodfellas was publicly and critically acclaimed.
04:58It seemed like he was finally getting his dues.
05:01However, Costner was victorious in the battle, and poor Marty would have to wait another 16 years before finally winning
05:08his first Oscar.
05:09On the surface, of course, everything was supposed to be fine.
05:12We were supposed to be discussing my case.
05:14But I had the feeling Jimmy was trying to sense whether I was going to rat him out to save
05:19my neck.
05:20Number 6.
05:20Cliff Robertson wins Best Actor.
05:22For this upset, we gotta go back to 1969.
05:26It was the 41st Academy Awards.
05:28Peter O'Toole was up for Best Actor for playing Henry II in The Lion in Winter.
05:32Like a plot twist straight out of a Shakespearean drama, O'Toole's fellow nominee, Cliff Robertson, snagged the prize for the
05:38film Charlie.
05:48In it, Robertson plays a man with an intellectual disability who receives an operation that enhances his IQ.
05:54Post-win, his portrayal has been critiqued as generalizing, reductive, and harmful to those with actual disabilities.
06:01Sorry, Cliff, but with great power comes great responsibility.
06:04I beat ya.
06:08I beat ya.
06:11I beat ya.
06:14Number 5.
06:15Shakespeare in Love wins Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan.
06:19This was the messiest Oscar campaign to date.
06:21Disgraced studio head Harvey Weinstein launched a volatile and ruthless campaign in an effort to make sure Shakespeare in Love
06:27won everything in 1999.
06:29Unbiddable, ungovernable, like a riot in the heart and nothing to be done come ruin or rapture.
06:37Love as there has never been in a play.
06:41I will have love.
06:43However, there was one film that Weinstein saw as a threat to Best Picture.
06:47Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan was the frontrunner for the top prize,
06:51and Weinstein launched a smear campaign trashing the film to anyone and everyone.
06:57You're going home.
07:01Our orders are to bring you back.
07:07Bring me back.
07:08During the ceremony, Gwyneth Paltrow won for her role in Love, but the biggest prize was still TBA.
07:14When the film was announced as Best Picture, Audible Shocks shook the theater.
07:18At least Ryan put up a good fight, never stooping to Weinstein's gross and greedy tactics.
07:23I don't know anything about Ryan.
07:25I don't care.
07:27Man means nothing to me.
07:29It's just a name.
07:30Number four, Art Carney beats Al Pacino.
07:32You want, you can move in with me.
07:38I appreciate that, Jacob.
07:40But I think we'd end up hating each other.
07:42He gave the Academy an offer they couldn't refuse, and yet, somehow they did.
07:46Al Pacino's portrayal of Michael Corleone in The Godfather franchise has stood the test of time,
07:51and we still cannot believe he never won an Oscar for it.
07:54After losing it for the first film, he seemed like a surefire winner when he was nominated for the sequel,
07:59The Godfather Part II.
08:00Can I trust you, son?
08:03Of course, Mike.
08:07Later on in the evening, we're all invited to the presidential palace for reception to bring in the new year.
08:13After it's over, they're going to take me home in a military car.
08:18However, Art Carney's performance in Harry and Tonto won over voters, resulting in a head-scratching win for Best Actor.
08:24Of course, Pacino did eventually win for Sin of a Woman.
08:27Ah, responsibility.
08:29I had a lot of 17-year-olds my first platoon.
08:32I took care of them.
08:34All set.
08:35Number three, Driving Miss Daisy wins Best Picture.
08:38I'm trying to drive you to the stove.
08:42Some films really don't age well.
08:44In particular, the 1990 winner of Best Picture is rather questionable.
08:48Unlike the other films nominated in that category, the winner, Driving Miss Daisy, has not held up.
08:53What do you think you're doing?
08:55I'm just dusting the balls, Miss Daisy.
08:57That's the silliest thing I ever saw in my life.
09:00Who cares if lamp bulbs are dusty?
09:02Get down from there.
09:04Yes.
09:05Put that ladder away before somebody trips on it.
09:07Yes.
09:08For a movie about a black driver and a rich elderly white lady, the film really does nothing to fully
09:13explore race in America.
09:15Rather, it relies on tropes and problematic undertones.
09:18Of course, this isn't the first or last time the Academy Award has made this kind of error.
09:24Remember Green Book?
09:25I'm not eating in that storage room.
09:29Okay.
09:30Well, if you prefer, there's a very popular establishment right down the road, the Orange Bird.
09:35They'd be happy to feed you.
09:36Number two, Roman Polanski wins Best Director.
09:39You won't get all of us.
09:41It's too small.
09:42There's 400,000 of us in Washington.
09:43No, 360,000.
09:45So it'll be easy.
09:46In 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences removed controversial filmmaker Roman Polanski's membership.
09:54It was almost 15 years after he won Best Director for the Pianist, which earned him and the Academy a
09:59ton of backlash.
10:11To rewind, Polanski pled guilty of incident acts against a minor in the late 70s, becoming a fugitive of the
10:18United States.
10:19So his win shocked and appalled many.
10:21Although they cannot change the past, the Academy seems to be rewriting a wrong by banning him.
10:26I'm going to play the piano in the Polish Rundfunk.
10:31Tell me your name.
10:33I'm going to open your eyes.
10:36Spielmann.
10:38Spielmann.
10:42Good name for an Pianist.
10:46Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:49Robert Benton wins Best Director over Francis Ford Coppola.
10:53No one saw this major upset coming.
10:55Now, don't you.
10:56Don't make me go in there.
10:58Please, please don't make me go in there.
10:59Don't make me go in there.
11:00If you do, I swear, one day next week, maybe next year, I don't know.
11:05I'll go right out the window.
11:06Marissa Tomei wins Best Supporting Actress.
11:08This win even produced a conspiracy theory.
11:11I'll tell you what I'm nervous about.
11:13I am in the dark here with all this legal crap.
11:15I have no idea what's going on.
11:17All I know is you're screwing up, and I can't help.
11:20The English patient wins Best Picture over Fargo.
11:23Sadly, you just can't win them all, you know?
11:25Why did you follow me yesterday?
11:27I'm sorry, what?
11:29After the market, you followed me to the hotel.
11:32I was concerned.
11:33A woman in that part of Cairo, a European woman, I felt obliged to.
11:37You felt obliged to?
11:38My Octopus Teacher wins Best Documentary.
11:41This wholesome doc wasn't for everyone.
11:44And that was the last time we had physical contact.
11:54Suicide Squad wins Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
11:57We totally forgot Suicide Squad has as many Oscars as Citizen Kane.
12:02Well, I can take it.
12:05I wouldn't want you to break those perfect porcelain cap teeth when the juice hits your brain.
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12:281. Crash Beats Brokeback Mountain
12:30It is one of the most beautiful films of the 21st century.
12:34Brokeback Mountain is a sweeping love story that stays with you long past the credits.
12:38And Crash, well, does not.
12:40I stop when I see a long line of cars stopped in front of me.
12:44Maybe you see over the steering wheel.
12:46You Blake too.
12:47Ma'am.
12:47I call immigration on you.
12:49Look what you do my car with.
12:50The two dramas duked it out for Best Picture in 2006, with the latter claiming the title.
12:55Sure, there have been plenty of great films that lost the prize.
12:58But nothing hurts more than this loss.
13:00What the f*** are you looking at?
13:03Many critics and fans have referred to Crash as the worst Best Picture win of all time.
13:08Oh, Brokeback will never quit you.
13:11I wish I knew how to quit you.
13:15Then why don't you?
13:20Why don't you just let me be, huh?
13:22Which one of these wins do you think is the most debatable?
13:26Be sure to let us know in the comments down below.
13:31Bye.
13:31Bye.
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