The 95th Academy Awards ceremony is only hours away, and ahead of the big event, veteran cinematographer and Oscar winner Roger Deakins commented that the film with the best cinematography of this year hasn’t been nominated.
In an interview for Deadline, Deankins said, “The best cinematography hasn’t been nominated.” According to the veteran, the best cinematographic work of the past year is Greig Fraser’s work in Matt Reeves’ directorial The Batman. “The picture should have been a contender in that category,” pointed out Deakins. He also commented that the film lost the cut because of snobbery. “The reason it wasn’t is pure and simple: snobbery. There’s this unfair tendency to avoid the Marvel universe and the other popular universes,” he said.
Deakins also mentioned Claudio Miranda’s work in Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick as another one that could have been included in the nomination.
Deakins himself has secured a nomination at the 95th Oscar for Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light, marking his 16th nomination, though he has won twice before for Blade Runner 2049 and 1917.