Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman did not win a single award at the 2020 Oscars which held Sunday night. It was yet another disappointing outing for the team behind the Netflix’s $160 million three-hour-long mob drama. The film starring Robert De Niro and nominees Al Pacino and Joe Pesci also failed to clinch any Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards earlier. It was nominated for 10 Oscars and the buzz before the event regarded it as the favourite to sweep the awards.
Netflix had led all other studios in Oscar nominations going into the ceremony hence the industry considers this failure to win to be Oscar voters’ latest rejection of the streaming service, which has tried and failed for years to score a Best Picture win.
For instance, it sunk at least $150 million into the film, and millions more into a publicity campaign that included not just the usual billboards, but also flying journalists across the country to a lavish premiere that included a re-creation of a 1950s neighbourhood and even hand-rolled cigars.
The film, which got Scorsese nominated for Best Director, tells the story of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) and his one-time defender, Frank Sheeran (Robert DeNiro).
It was only the third film to pair Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro on-screen, and both Pacino and Joe Pesci were nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Other multiple Oscar nominees that got the dreaded shut out included three-time nominees Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and The Two Popes and two-time nominees Harriet, Honeyland and Pain and Glory.
Top contenders that had a relatively disappointing night include six-time nominees Jojo Rabbit, Marriage Story and Little Women taking home only one award each.
See the full list of winners here.
