Mini-Countdown: Five Films You Won't Believe Were Nominated For An Oscar!

As we all know, the Academy Awards honour film-making and all its facets- direction, production, screenwriting, visual effects, music and so on- so occasionally a film that might be considered less likely to get an Oscar nomination will be nominated in one of these other categories (the sound mixing/sound editing categories of late read like the summer blockbuster lists for those years, for instance). Here then are five unlikely films that have been nominated for at least one Oscar:


1. South Park: Bigger, Longer And Uncut

Proof that occasionally the Academy voters have a sense of humour, this film was nominated for Best Original Song. Sadly not for the frankly jaw-dropping song about fornicating with your mother's brother, but for the rather epic 'Blame Canada'. Sadly, it didn't win (the honour went to 'You'll Be In My Heart' from Tarzan) but it was a special moment to see it even nominated.


2. Norbit (2007)

Never mind the eight Razzie nominations and three Razzie wins (all for Eddie Murphy), this irredeemable racist and sexist mess can officially call itself an Oscar-nominated film (which is surely against all laws of man and nature). Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji picked up the film's only nomination for Best Achievement in Make-Up, but were beaten by Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald for their work on La Vie En Rose.


3. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

I don't know what was more of a surprise; that this film even got an Oscar nomination or the category that it was nominated in. Sacha Baron Cohen and his screenwriting team actually got nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (presumably on the grounds that Borat originated in Da Ali G Show, rather than being a specially created character for the film). It was up against more 'traditional' Oscar fare- Children Of Men, Notes On A Scandal, Little Children and The Departed- with The Departed taking home the main prize.


4. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Who'd have thought that penning a line as eloquent as 'get the f*** out of here' could net you an Oscar nomination? Yet it's true; Beverly Hills Cop was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 57th Academy Awards. But no win; the award actually went to Robert Benton for the screenplay to Places In The Heart instead.


5. Basic Instinct (1992)

This film is probably best known for graphic sex, violence and a certain shot of Sharon Stone than its editing or original score, but these were the areas that Academy voters focused on when the film was awarded two nominations at the 65th Academy Awards. The awards went to Unforgiven (for editing) and Aladdin (for original scory).