Jennifer Lopez, who portrayed Ramona in last year’s festival favorite Hustlers, was disappointed by her Oscars snub. Directed by Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers tells the story of a group of New York City strippers who turn the tables on their Wall Street clientele following the financial crash of 2008. The film, based on a New York Magazine article by Jessica Pressler titled “The Hustlers at Scores”, took audiences by surprise once it hit theaters. Following its wildly successful debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film became a commercial and critical success. Not only was the story and Scafaria’s direction praised, but the performances were the biggest part that stole the show.
Alongside Lopez, the film also stars Constance Wu, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, and Lili Reinhart amongst a flurry of other familiar faces. Each brought something special to the table, but for Lopez, many hailed her performance as a career-best. Hustlers even went on to mark the best opening of Lopez’s career. With good news continuing to build around her performance, many were hopeful that all of the positive chatter would lead to a well-deserved Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, her name didn’t make it into the Best Supporting Actress category at the end of the day. Now, she’s speaking out about the snub and how it made her feel.
During a discussion with Oprah Winfrey (via Variety), Lopez exclaimed that she was “a little sad” about the nomination because “there was a lot of buildup to it,” adding that “there were so many articles” and “so many good notices” from individuals who all felt confident in her receiving a nomination. Ultimately, when the nomination didn’t end up happening, she explains that it felt like “a little bit of a letdown.” Considering most of her team has been with her for 20-25 years, she also added that she felt she “let everyone down a little bit”, mainly because she thinks they “had a lot of hopes on that.” In the end, she realized that she didn’t need people’s validation, that she acts “because [she] loves it,” and “[she doesn’t] need this award” to tell her she’s enough.
Although Lopez didn’t receive a nomination from The Academy, she did receive several others from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Indie Spirit Awards, just to name a few. One nomination even ended up pulling through, as she won the Best Supporting Actress award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. When it came to the Oscars award ceremony, Laura Dern ended up taking home the Best Supporting Actress win for her turn in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story.
As unfortunate as it was to see Lopez’s performance snubbed for an Oscar, she makes an excellent point. Awards serve as validation for a job well done, but it’s not the main reason actors do what they do. They do it because they love it, and Lopez’s passion for bringing exceptional characters to life is what made us root for her in the first place. Hustlers was just another exciting chapter in Lopez’s acting book, and it’ll be exciting to see what she does next.
Next: Oscars 2020: Some Of The Biggest Acting Snubs From The List Of Nominees
Source: Variety
