Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most renowned filmmakers in cinema. Surprisingly, the director also has his name in the list of most iconic Oscar snubs for never winning an Oscar for Best Director in his career. The director, who has been the inspiration for many legends like Steven Spielberg, failed to do great at the Oscars ever.
The Oscars have always conquered the headlines for their historical snubs. The awards often land at the wrong destination, raising a fire among the ardent cinephiles. Films like The Shawshank Redemption have often confused audiences about how they could never win the Academy Award. Alfred Hitchcock was also such an individual who could never win an Oscar despite delivering uncountable hits.
Why did Steven Spielberg’s favorite never win an Oscar?
Steven Spielberg has often talked about his love and respect for Alfred Hitchcock. The thriller connoisseur was one of the primary inspirations for Steven Spielberg. However, strangely, the Master of Suspense could never win any Oscar in his lifetime. Even though his film, Rebecca won an Oscar for Best Film, he could never win any Academy Award for Best Director.
Even Oscars expert Noah Isenberg could not understand why the Psycho director had to end his career with only a Lifetime Achievement Award. As reported by Parade, Isenberg failed to find any valid reason for such a treatment with Hitchcock.
“It’s very puzzling. There’s really no good explanation.”
Alfred Hitchcock also left his acceptance speech short when he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award- “Thank you, very much indeed”. The Oscars have always favored certain types of films. The Alfred Hitchcock films were mostly different from the classic types that are favored by the Academy.
Although the Oscar has started to welcome more genre films now, there is still a lot more to change. Amidst all this, the news of the addition of the Best Casting Director category has delighted the fans that the Oscars are embracing change.
Why did Alfred Hitchcock never meet Steven Spielberg?
Steven Spielberg has also been one of the finest filmmakers of recent times. He has given some of the standout box-office blockbusters as well as critically successful flicks. From Jurassic Park and Jaws to Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg has been a fan favorite for ages. Sadly, the legendary director could never meet one of his childhood heroes- Alfred Hitchcock.
Interestingly, Steven Spielberg has spoken to his fans about how Alfred Hitchcock’s tactics helped him in his massive success, Jaws. In Stephen Schochet’s Tales of Hollywood audiobook, the storyteller has explained how a young Spielberg made the Vertigo director upset by interrupting Hitchcock’s morning routine when he was working on Family Plot.
Earlier also, Steven Spielberg tried to meet his idol. But every time Hitchcock refused to meet with him. According to the Independent, when American actor Bruce Dern tried to arrange a meet-up between both of them, Hitchcock gave a bizarre reason to deny him. Dern wrote in his memoir:
“I said, ‘You’re his idol. He just [wants] to sit at your feet for five minutes and chat with you.’ [Hitchcock stated] ‘Isn’t that the boy who made the fish movie? I could never sit down and talk to him…because I look at him and feel like such a wh*re.’”
Alfred Hitchcock explained to Dern that he was paid a million dollars to voice the Jaws ride at the Universal Studios theme park and that was the reason he could never sit and talk with Steven Spielberg. It is unfortunate how two of the finest filmmakers did not get a chance to meet each other.
