The French legal drama thriller, Anatomy of a Fall, is nominated for five major Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director awards. However, the film will be missing one of its popular stars at the Awards ceremony on Sunday. Messi, the French border collie, played Snoop in the film and became America’s favorite after attending the annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon. This appearance also sparked controversy, which some fans feel speaks a lot about the Academy.
According to reports, some companies, with films nominated for Best Picture and other major awards, complained that the dog’s appearance gave an unfair advantage to the film. Messi first drew attention when he won the Palm Dog award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Anatomy Of A Fall‘s Canine Star Reportedly Worries Other Oscar Nominees
Ryan Gosling and Billie Eilish‘s new favorite friend from the Oscar Nominees Luncheon, Messi, will not be attending the Academy Awards ceremony at Dolby Theater on Sunday. The border collie gained many fans after starring in Sandra Hüller’s Anatomy of a Fall. The canine actor first won the fans’ hearts when he appeared at the Cannes Festival, where the film had its premiere in May 2023.
Messi’s trainer Laura Martin revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that the attention they got from America has been beyond anything they anticipated. She revealed that Messi had a big moment with Eilish at the luncheon, who bonded with the dog for almost 10 minutes. Messi also ran into Bradley Cooper in the hallway and they immediately clicked.
However, Messi’s appearance at the luncheon has caused a drama that would give Justine Triet’s legal thriller a run for its money. While the dog is not technically a nominee, several companies with nominated films were not happy with his presence at the event. They raised petty grievances with the Academy that the dog gave an advantage to the film during the voting window.
Anatomy of a Fall is competing for Best Picture, Best Director for Triet, Best Actress for Hüller, Best Original Screenplay for Triet and Arthur Harari, and Best Editing for Laurent Sénéchal. One X user shared that if the companies believed a dog could sway Academy voters, it said a lot about the “integrity of the voting body.” The fan also added that Messi’s influence winning Anatomy of a Fall the Best Picture Award over Oppenheimer would cause a social media meltdown.
Other fans too agreed in the comments, with some raising issues with the Academy’s voting body. Messi’s influence also paved the way for several troll comments. Some also pointed out that Anatomy of a Fall is deserving of the award nonetheless. Fan comments read:
If a dog is enough to sway Academy voters towards a film, that says a lot about the integrity of the voting body, doesn’t it?
That said, Messi securing Anatomy of a Fall’s Best Picture win over Oppenheimer would cause a social media meltdown so insane I kinda want to see it? https://t.co/dWqIwQHRl0
— Brandon Lewis @ SXSW (@blewis1103) March 8, 2024
I mean we are talking about people who vote without watching the movies, that had admitted to not vote for movies where people they don't like appear or that they will only vote for those they like in person so, yeah the whole voting body sounds like a bunch of teens.
— BRG (@dracodormiens16) March 9, 2024
Picture is out of reach but Messi may have won it an original screenplay Oscar
— josh (@joshc) March 9, 2024
And if it works — Christoper Nolan will start drafting a film about a multiverse traveling dog named Cillian
— Kim Fleming (@MsKimFleming) March 8, 2024
if im being honest, I do think Anatomy of a Fall deserves it tho
— T ✨ (@eudeboinhas) March 8, 2024
Given some of the best movie Oscar winners over recent times, perhaps Messi should be doing the voting!
— Zac (@ZHDar) March 9, 2024
Messi as Snoop gave a worthy performance in the film for which he won the Palm Dog award at the Cannes Film Festival. The film won two Golden Globes in the categories, Best Picture – Non-English Language and Best Screenplay. The film also won a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay.
The Oscars Have A Long History With Animals
Some film buffs may remember Uggie, the Parson Russell Terrier, who starred alongside Jean Dujardin in The Artist. The late Uggie was present on the stage when the film grabbed the Best Picture Oscar at the 84th Academy Awards. According to The Daily Telegraph, Uggie underwent long hours of filming during The Artist, and soon retired after the 2012 comedy film, The Campaign.
Jenny, the donkey, from Banshees of Inisherin could not make it to the Oscar ceremony in 2023. Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel shared that Jenny couldn’t be flown in for the brief segment from Ireland and the show instead went for a doppelgänger (via The Hollywood Reporter). Messi will be sorely missed at the event by at least some animal lovers in the celebrity crowd.
The ceremony will take place at The Dolby Theater in Hollywood on March 10, 2024.
