Best Non-Oscar Winners, No. 7



Recently I chronicled my favorite Best Picture Winners since 1970. Now, for the next 7 weeks, I'll be sharing my 10 favorite films that fell short of Best Picture despite being nominees since 1990.

7. The Social Network (2010)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara, and Armie Hammer
Director: David Fincher
About: 2010 was an interesting movie year. It's been a while since the film was released, and looking back "The Social Network" seems even more like the best and most important film of that group. But, since it's on this list, you know it didn't win. Instead, that honor belonged to "The King's Speech," which is a fine film. At the time I preferred "The Social Network," and that sentiment hasn't changed with time. Working on a script from Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, the film chronicled the story behind Facebook. That's something that's only become more interesting, and more culturally relevant, in the years since. And it's a pretty awesome movie. It won for editing, score and Best Adapted Screenplay. So it wasn't shut out. But it missed for Fincher and as Best Picture, and that's the reason it has landed on this list. Ironcially, I think this is a film that came out too early. At the time, I don't think everyone fully understood Social Media and where we were heading. Had the movie debuted a few years later, you have to wonder if things had turned out different. But, instead, it joins a proud list of films that didn't win the top prize and yet still remain vital to our culture.
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language.

Top 10 Non-Winners:
10. Fargo (1996)
9. Whiplash (2014)
8. L.A. Confidential (1997)

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