The Oscar nominations were announced in late January. Naturally, the list omitted several worthy names. However, there was one particular snub that’s irritating pundits from around the country.
The Subaru WRX that was featured in the 2017 movie Baby Driver was notably omitted from the list of Best Supporting Actor nominees. The red, 2006 model, which was featured heavily throughout the film, wasn’t even considered for an award, according to several anonymous sources. Some pundits claim that vehicle was unfairly snubbed because of its luxury car accessories, while others point to the fact that it’s a freaking car.
This is especially egregious when you consider the changes the vehicle underwent in order to perform in the movie. Notably, the Subaru WRX was converted to a real-wheel-drive configuration in order to perform many of the dangerous stunts, an attribute that several actors are consistently lauded for (Christian Bale is usually recognized for his so-called “body transformations”). The car’s performance is especially impressive when you consider the age of the ride (the vehicle has more than 158,000 miles on the odometer) and the fact that it sustained its fair share of damage throughout filming.
“The Subaru’s snub is one of the worst I’ve seen during my brief Hollywood career,” star Ansel Elgort told The Lemon. “That car did, like, so many sick peel-outs and donuts. If that was Brad Pitt up there instead of the Subaru, you can guarantee that he would have been nominated.”
Director Edgar Wright echoed these sentiments.
“We specifically chose the Subaru WRX because of its acting prowess,” he said. “The vehicle had one of the most impressive auditions I’ve ever seen, and the car continued to improve throughout the filming process. To omit the vehicle from the list of Oscar nominees illegitimizes the entire ceremony.”
The Subaru WRX, which refused to comment for this story, has canceled its plan to attend the event. Instead, the vehicle is planning on taking a much-deserved weekend trip to Las Vegas with some of its fellow actor-cars. Specifically, the car is planning on hitting up the casinos with the Lamborghini from The Fate of the Furious, the Aston Martin from Transformers: The Last Knight, and Lightning McQueen from Cars 3.
Of course, this could be a dangerous trip for the Subaru, which has previously dealt with substance abuse issues. Several years ago, the car was found parked outside of a Los Angeles strip club, with mechanics claiming it ingested too much antifreeze. It’s also a well-known secret that the vehicle enjoys injecting itself with olive oil instead of fuel oil, a hobby that has sent numerous cars to their grave.
The Subaru isn’t the first vehicle to be snubbed from these awards shows. The makeshift car featured in the live-action version of The Flintstones was notably omitted, with Oscar voters noting that an inanimate object can’t be eligible for an acting award. Many pundits disagreed with that notion, and they believe the Flintstones vehicle was unfairly criticized for not featuring an actual engine. These individuals also believe the vehicle should have won all of the awards for having to carry around John Goodman.
In the meantime, while the Subaru hasn’t been nominated, you can expect some of the car’s supporters to push for future vehicles to be featured in major award shows.
