By Craig Hubert | After Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” became one of the surprise hits of the summer, it was assumed that the film’s lead (non) actor, nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, would be praised for her remarkable performance in the film. Voters love nominating kids for the big acting prizes, especially when said child has a feel-good narrative attached to their ascent through the murky hills of Hollywood. So it was a surprise this morning to see the New York Times report that the Screen Actors Guild declared the film ineligible for their swanky awards show, claiming that the film “did not meet the terms of the guild’s low-budget feature agreement.” Essentially, they did not sign a paper, so they’re out of luck.
But is it surprising? For awards that purport to honor the best in cinema, they sure do place a lot of arbitrary rules in the way of deserving nominations. The most obvious example would be Johnny Greenwood, whose chilling score for “There Will Be Blood” in 2007 was a unanimous favorite, was ineligible for an Oscar because one of the pieces of the soundtrack had previously been used in other work, a rule in small print that many didn’t know existed (Greenwood’s score for “The Master,” many believe, may hit the same roadblock). The Hollywood Reports claims the Screen Actors Guild ruling hurts the chances of “Beasts” being nominated for an Oscar, as the SAG Awards often “mirror” the Oscars and are seen as the last stop before reaching the big show. It makes you, once again, question the importance placed on these types of pageants. Let’s think of it another way: maybe this is all a good thing. Just thinking of Seth MacFarlane’s jokes about “Beasts” is making us cringe.
Image: Quvenzhane Wallis, Dwight Henry, Benh Zeitlin/Skip Bolen/Getty Images for Fox Searchlight
