The “Massive Embarrassment” of Winning Best Picture
Yeah, you heard that right. Ben was on Jimmy Kimmel Live! just the other day, January 5th, talking about how he felt back in 2013 when he didn’t get a Best Director nomination for Argo. Now, for those of you who might have been living under a rock, Argo went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture that year. The big one. The whole enchilada. But Ben? Oh no, Ben was feeling massive embarrassment.
Here’s the thing, and this is where my eyes kinda roll a bit, if I’m being honest. He told Kimmel, and I’m quoting here, “It was the year, the horrible thing of everyone telling you, ‘You’re gonna get nominated, you’re gonna get nominated for director.'” And then, boom. Nomination morning. Nothing. Zero. Zip for director. And he woke up, and people were like, “You didn’t…” He adds, “By the way, it’s not unlike any other morning that I had not been nominated for Best Director.” Which, you know, is a kinda funny, self-deprecating line. But then he says, “But all of a sudden, it’s a massive embarrassment.”
Look, I get it. Nobody likes to be told they’re awesome and then… nope. It’s like being promised a promotion at work, everyone’s congratulating you in advance, and then HR pulls you aside to say they went with someone else. That stings. It does. But we’re talking about the Oscars here. And a Best Picture win. It’s not exactly like he went home empty-handed, you know?
Hollywood’s Whisper Network is a Brutal Mistress
This whole scenario just screams Hollywood, doesn’t it? The hype machine. The “insiders” who “know” what’s going to happen. They build you up, whisper sweet nothings in your ear about how you’re a shoe-in, how this is your year. And then when it doesn’t happen, it feels like a personal betrayal, not just a missed nomination. It’s like the entire industry collectively decided to prank you. And that, I suppose, is where the “embarrassment” comes from. It’s not just the snub itself, but the public performance of being snubbed after everyone – everyone – told you it was a done deal. That’s a different kind of pain, I guess. A very public kind.
Does “Massive Embarrassment” Even Register When You Win Best Picture?
So, let’s unpack this for a second. Argo takes home Best Picture. That’s huge. That means your film, your vision, your baby, was deemed the absolute best of the year by your peers. It’s the ultimate validation, really. But Ben Affleck, the director of said Best Picture, felt “massively embarrassed” because he didn’t get a personal nod for director.
“It was the year, the horrible thing of everyone telling you, ‘You’re gonna get nominated, you’re gonna get nominated for director.’ And so, of course, I wake up that morning, and sure enough – and, by the way, it’s not [unlike] any other morning that I had not been nominated for Best Director. But all of a sudden, it’s a massive embarrassment.”
I mean, who cares who didn’t get nominated for what when you’re literally holding the biggest trophy in the room? It’s like winning the Super Bowl but being bummed you didn’t get MVP. Yeah, MVP is cool, I guess. But you won the Super Bowl! The team won! You were a huge part of that team! Does it really, truly, deep-down matter that much? Probably not. Not in the grand scheme.
But this is Hollywood. And in Hollywood, it’s always about you. The individual. The star. The director. It’s a town built on ego, on individual achievement, even when the work is collaborative. And so, for Ben, that Best Director snub probably felt like a slight against his individual artistry, even as his film was celebrated for its collective brilliance. It’s a weird paradox, isn’t it?
What This Actually Means
Here’s my honest take on this whole thing. It just shows you that even the most successful people in the world, the ones we often put on pedestals, are still just… people. They have insecurities. They feel the sting of perceived slights. They get caught up in the hype and the expectations. Ben Affleck, for all his fame and fortune and talent, is still human enough to feel “massive embarrassment” over something that, from the outside looking in, seems pretty minor compared to the ultimate triumph.
It’s a reminder that no matter how much you achieve, there’s always going to be that one thing, that one little piece of validation you didn’t get, that can gnaw at you. And for Ben, it was that Best Director nomination. It’s not about the money, it’s not about the fame – it’s about the acknowledgment from your peers in a very specific, very public way. And when you’re told it’s coming, and it doesn’t… well, it messes with your head.
So, yeah, I’m not gonna lose any sleep over Ben Affleck’s decade-old Oscar snub, especially since Argo snagged Best Picture. But it’s an interesting peek behind the curtain, isn’t it? A look at how the Hollywood machine, with all its promises and its pressures, can still make a guy who won the biggest award feel, you know, just a little bit small. It’s a reminder that even when you’re at the top, there’s always something else you think you should have gotten. And that’s just kinda how we’re wired, I guess.
