The Big Picture The Oscars Snubs Draft. Plus: ‘Sirāt’!
33 snips
Feb 16, 2026 
Katey Rich, sharp entertainment reporter at The Ankler, and Chris Ryan, longtime film commentator, spar over the biggest Oscars snubs in a playful draft. They debate Best Picture wrongs, acting and directing misses, and domino rewrites of Oscar history. Later they dig into Óliver Laxe’s Sirāt, its ritual energy, desert rave setting, and why the film aims to provoke intense emotional release.
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Oscars Reflect Politics And Changing Taste
- The group repeatedly notes Oscars reflect industry politics and changing tastes, not pure merit.
- Expanded Academy membership and social media altered what gets recognized over time.
Dragon Tattoo For 2011 Fix
- Sean picked The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for 2011 to replace a weak Best Picture slate that year.
- He argued Fincher's film better captured enduring cultural and cinematic strengths than many nominees.
Rewriting Acting History As A Chain
- Sean rerouted a sequence of acting wins by shifting earlier Oscars: Ellen Burstyn, Faye Dunaway and Sissy Spacek.
- His pick aimed to rebalance later awards and create a different cascade of winners across decades.
