Who's the Diane Warren of Every Category?

by Cláudio Alves

Another year, another Diane Warren campaign to finally get herself that Oscar. She's already got an Honorary Award, but the competitive prize eludes her. This year, the songwriter's best bets are Flamin' Hot and 80 for Brady, though Warren also penned an original tune for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. After she got a in for the virtually unreleased Tell It Like a Woman, anything's possible.

This got me thinking about the other people the Academy nominated constantly without ever giving them the win. Who's the Diane Warren in the categories beyond Best Original Song? Trying to answer that question, I dove deep into Oscar history, counting who's the most honored person who never won their respective race for gold. I focused on feature films and living artists, those who still have a chance to win or increase their record. Like Warren, some names are back in contention this season. From Picture to Documentary, here they are...

BEST PICTURE

KATHLEEN KENNEDY
8 nominations 

• 1982) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• 1985) The Color Purple
• 1999) The Sixth Sense
• 2003) Seabiscuit
• 2005) Munich
• 2008) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2011) War Horse
• 2012) Lincoln

Since Lincoln, most of Kathleen Kennedy's time has been taken up with Star Wars projects. Indeed, her last Spielberg collaboration was The BFG. No wonder she hasn't returned to the race since 2012 and is unlikely to do so in the immediate future. Looking at her upcoming projects is to despair at the state of cinema today, nostalgia above all else.

BEST DIRECTOR

PETER WEIR
4 nominations + 2 other nods in Picture and Original Screenplay

• 1985) Witness
• 1989) Dead Poets' Society
• 1998) The Truman Show
• 2003) Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World

Though Weir has not directed a film since 2010's The Way Back, there's still hope he'll come back with a final project. Last year, he won an Honorary Academy Award. So, like Diane Warren, he's technically an Oscar winner.

THE ACTING AWARDS

GLENN CLOSE
8 nominations

• 1982) Best Supporting Actress, The World According to Garp
• 1983) Best Supporting Actress, The Big Chill
• 1984) Best Supporting Actress, The Natural
• 1987) Best Actress, Fatal Attraction
• 1988) Best Actress, Dangerous Liaisons
• 2011) Best Actress, Albert Nobbs
• 2018) Best Actress, The Wife
• 2020) Best Supporting Actress, Hillbilly Elegy

Here's where the situation gets difficult to delineate. Glenn Close is the most nominated performer without an Oscar, but she's not the most nominated person for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress without that specific award. Doing that same cumulative count, the most nominated male actors are in a four-way tie, each with a quartet of nominations. They're Willem Dafoe, Ed Harris, Bradley Cooper, and Warren Beatty. The Maestro star will surely get his fifth nod this year, and the same could be said of Dafoe, leaving the other two behind. Beatty has a Best Director Oscar, however.

BEST ACTRESS

JUDI DENCH
5 nominations + 3 Best Supporting Actress nods, 1 win 

• 1997) Mrs. Brown
• 2001) Iris
• 2005) Mrs. Henderson Presents
• 2006) Notes on a Scandal
• 2013) Philomena 

Since I'm only counting artists that are still alive and can possibly win their category, Dench is here alone, Kerr absent. Of course, the thespian already has a trophy for Shakespeare in Love, and she may yet up her record in the lead race. Though declining eyesight has kept her from working as much as before, this English national treasure is still an Oscar darling whenever she shows up.

BEST ACTOR

WARREN BEATTY
4 nominations + 4 Best Picture, 3 Original Screenplay, 1 Adapted Screenplay nods + 2 Best Director nods, 1 win

• 1967) Bonnie & Clyde
• 1978) Heaven Can Wait
• 1981) Reds
• 1991) Bugsy

MICHAEL CAINE
4 nominations + 2 Best Supporting Actor nods, wins

• 1966) Alfie
• 1972) Sleuth
• 1983) Educating Rita
• 2002) The Quiet American

As mentioned previously, Beatty has a Best Director Academy Award from Reds. Though his last major project, Rules Don't Apply, was a critical and commercial flop, it's not hard to imagine some glorious swan song earning him a final go at the Best Actor Oscar. Michael Caine is said to be retiring, but he starred in The Great Escaper just this year. He may still deliver one more leading man turn. That said, like Beatty, he's also an Oscar winner, having earned two Best Supporting Actor statuettes for Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

AMY ADAMS
5 nominations + 1 Best Actress nod 

• 2005) Junebug
• 2008) Doubt
• 2010) The Fighter
• 2012) The Master
• 2018) Vice

Per IMDB, Amy Adams has four upcoming projects. One's a miniseries, and two are lead roles – Marielle Heller's Nightbitch and Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' The Invite. She'll presumably play supporting in Adam McKay's serial killer movie Average Height, Average Build. Let's hope this marks a professional upswing since, lately, Amy Adams' filmography has been nothing if not a string of disappointments.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

ROBERT DUVALL
4 nominations + 3 Best Actor nods, 1 win 

• 1972) The Godfather
• 1979) Apocalypse Now
• 1998) A Civil Action
• 2014) The Judge
  
  

JEFF BRIDGES
4 nominations + 3 Best Actor nods, 1 win

• 1971) The Last Picture Show
• 1974) Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
• 2000) The Contender
• 2016) Hell or High Water

AL PACINO
4 nominations + 5 Best Actor nods, 1 win

• 1972) The Godfather
• 1990) Dick Tracy
• 1992) Glengarry Glen Ross
• 2019) The Irishman

Four living actors have been nominated in the Supporting category and never won. However, they're all Oscar victors in lead. As far as the likeliest to return to the race, Pacino seems to be the one, having a slew of projects on the line. Duvall has Ed Harris' The Ploughmen, and Bridges is battling cancer. Hopefully, he'll recover and return to the screen.

THE WRITING AWARDS 

MIKE LEIGH
5 nominations + 2 Best Director nods

• 1996) Best Original Screenplay, Secrets & Lies
• 1999) Best Original Screenplay, Topsy-Turvy
• 2004) Best Original Screenplay, Vera Drake
• 2008) Best Original Screenplay, Happy-Go-Lucky
• 2010) Best Original Screenplay, Another Year

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
5 nominations + 3 Best Picture & 3 Best Director nods

• 1997) Best Original Screenplay, Boogie Nights
• 1999) Best Original Screenplay, Magnolia
• 2007) Best Adapted Screenplay, There Will Be Blood
• 2014) Best Adapted Screenplay, Inherent Vice
• 2021) Best Original Screenplay, Licorice Pizza

Once again, this is a difficult one. Cumulatively, Leigh and PTA are the most nominated writers without a single win. However, Leigh's also the most nominated person in Original Screenplay sans victory. Amazingly, Best Adapted Screenplay has no real Diane Warren equivalent. No one alive has achieved more than two nominations in the category without winning. And the number of people at two nods is too big to feel significant.

BEST EDITING

WILLIAM STEINKAMP
3 nominations

• 1982) Tootsie
• 1985) Out of Africa
• 1989) The Fabulous Baker Boys

 
FRANK J. URIOSTE
3 nominations 

• 1987) RoboCop
• 1988) Die Hard
• 1992) Basic Instinct

RICHARD FRANCIS-BRUCE
3 nominations

• 1994) The Shawshank Redemption
• 1995) Se7en
• 1997) Air Force One

STEVEN ROSENBLUM
3 nominations

• 1989) Glory
• 1995) Braveheart
• 2006) Blood Diamond

JAY CASSIDY
3 nominations

• 2007) Into the Wild
• 2012) Silver Linings Playbook
• 2013) American Hustle

HANK CORWIN
3 nominations 

• 2015) The Big Short
• 2018) Vice
• 2021) Don't Look Up 

So, there are a lot of editors in the 3-nomination range. Steinkamp's latest projects haven't been especially auspicious, so he's not a likely returnee to the Oscar race. Urioste is retired, but leaving him out felt wrong since he could still make a comeback. Francis-Bruce's next film is Caroline Zelder's Summer Gold, his first film since the end of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy. Rosenblum has been on a "This Had Oscar Buzz" trajectory lately, cutting such titles as Birth of a Nation and Woman Walks Ahead. His upcoming gig is Nick Vallelonga's Heigl-Travolta romcom That's Amore. This year, Jay Cassidy assembled the old-school courtroom theatrics of The Burial, but that movie seems to have been all but forgotten as we head into the heart of the season. As for Hank Corwin, he just edited Gareth Edwards' The Creator, a title that'll probably feature in the Visual Effects race.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

CALEB DESCHANEL
6 nominations 

• 1983) The Right Stuff
• 1984) The Natural
• 1996) Fly Away Home
• 2000) The Patriot
• 2004) The Passion of the Christ
• 2018) Never Look Away

BRUNO DELBONNEL
6 nominations 

• 2001) Amélie
• 2004) A Very Long Engagement
• 2009) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• 2013) Inside Llewyn Davis
• 2017) Darkest Hour
• 2021) The Tragedy of Macbeth 

After a calamitous tenure as Academy President, Deschanel hasn't done much. Currently, the DP is in production of Wildwood, Travis Knight's next stop-motion feature. Delbonnel, on the other hand, is busy with TV work. Both feel like eventual winners if they can land the right project.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

SARAH GREENWOOD & KATIE SPENCER
6 nominations

• 2005) Pride & Prejudice
• 2007) Atonement
• 2009) Sherlock Holmes
• 2012) Anna Karenina
• 2017) Beauty and the Beast
• 2017) Darkest Hour

NATHAN CROWLEY
6 nominations 

• 2006) The Prestige
• 2008) The Dark Knight
• 2014) Interstellar
• 2017) Dunkirk
• 2018) First Man
• 2020) Tenet 

All three of these artists are likely nominees this season. Greenwood and Spencer are the dream team behind Barbie's pink world, while Nathan Crowley left Christopher Nolan to work on Wonka. It'd be cruel bad luck if Oppenheimer, the first of the director's films he didn't design since 2002, took the prize instead.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

JACQUELINE WEST
4 nominations 

• 2000) Quills
• 2008) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2015) The Revenant
• 2021) Dune

MARY ZOPHRES
4 nominations

• 2010) True Grit
• 2016) La La Land
• 2018) The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• 2022) Babylon 

West is a potential nominee this year with Killers of the Flower Moon, and she'll surely return next season with the Dune sequel. However, Zophres's next nomination seems more elusive, as her only upcoming project is Greg Berlanti's Project Artemis, which is now in post-production.

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

ALDO SIGNORETTI
4 nominations

• 2001) Moulin Rouge!
• 2006) Apocalypto
• 2009) Il Divo
• 2022) Elvis

Signoretti reached this record just last year and could up it with Ferrari, his 100th screen credit. He's the man responsible for transforming Adam Driver into Enzo Ferrari, after all. Furthermore, the Italian artist is scheduled to work on an upcoming Van Gogh biopic. With his penchant for awards-friendly features, he's bound to be a factor in future races. However, even if nominated, this year's Oscar will probably be out of reach.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

DANIEL SUDICK
13 nominations 

• 2003) Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
• 2005) War of the Worlds
• 2008) Iron Man
• 2010) Iron Man 2
• 2012) The Avengers
• 2013) Iron Man Three
• 2014) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• 2017) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• 2018) Avengers: Infinity War
• 2019) Avengers: Endgame
• 2021) Free Guy
• 2021) Spider-Man: No Way Home
• 2022) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 

This Marvel man is eligible again this season with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and will later return with Blade, whenever that finally gets released. Still, considering the MCU's persistent inability to win this category, he might never take home Hollywood's most coveted trophy.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

THOMAS NEWMAN
14 nominations + 1 Best Original Song nod 

• 1994) Little Women
• 1994) The Shawshank Redemption
• 1995) Unstrung Heroes
• 1999) American Beauty
• 2002) Road to Perdition
• 2003) Finding Nemo
• 2004) Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
• 2006) The Good German
• 2008) WALL-E
• 2012) Skyfall
• 2013) Saving Mr. Banks
• 2015) Bridge of Spies
• 2016) Passengers
• 2019) 1917

Part of the illustrious and Oscar-beloved Newman family, the composer could be in contention again with Elemental. Say what you want about that flick, but the score is beautiful beyond belief, a standout achievement amid a muddled messy movie.

BEST SOUND

GREG P. RUSSELL
16 nominations

• 1989) Black Rain
• 1996) The Rock
• 1997) Con Air
• 1998) Armageddon
• 1998) The Mask of Zorro
• 2000) The Patriot
• 2001) Pearl Harbour
• 2002) Spider-Man
• 2004) Spider-Man 2
• 2005) Memoirs of a Geisha
• 2006) Apocalypto
• 2007) Transformers
• 2009) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• 2010) Salt
• 2011) Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• 2012) Skyfall

Russell is always working so he'll likely be back. Unless, of course, the Academy rejects him after having already disqualified him from contention. In 2016, he was nominated for the 17th time for 13 Hours, but the nomination was rescinded for violating Academy campaign regulation. AMPAS hasn't welcomed him back into the race since then.

If one where to only count Sound Editing nominations, as I initially did, then Wylie Stateman is the biggest loser here. However, since the Sound categories have been merged back together, Russell holds the record. Indeed, he's the most nominated individual without a single win.

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

ISRAEL
10 nominations 

• 1964) Sallah
• 1971) The Policeman
• 1972) I Love You Rosa
• 1973) The House on Chelouche Street
• 1977) Operation Thunderbolt
• 1984) Beyond the Walls
• 2007) Beaufort
• 2008) Waltz with Bashir
• 2009) Ajami
• 2011) Footnote

Despite general frustration with the rule, the Academy never awards any individual in the Best International Film race. The country is the nominee, though the director accepts the trophy on Oscar night if the picture happens to win. That means I had to count on countries, and the most nominated one is Israel. As you may already know, the most submitted country to never even score a nomination is Portugal, but that's a matter for another time, another write-up.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

CHRIS SANDERS
3 nominations 

• 2002) Lilo & Stitch
• 2010) How to Train Your Dragon
• 2013) The Croods

RON CLEMENTS
3 nominations 

• 2002) Treasure Planet
• 2009) The Princess and the Frog
• 2016) Moana 

DEAN DEBLOIS
3 nominations

• 2010) How to Train Your Dragon
• 2014) How to Train Your Dragon 2
• 2019) How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

TRAVIS KNIGHT
3 nominations 

• 2014) The Boxtrolls
• 2016) Kubo and the Two Strings
• 2019) Missing Link

TOMM MOORE
3 nominations

• 2009) The Secret of Kells
• 2014) Song of the Sea
• 2020) Wolfwalkers

Ron Clements is one of those people who'd have been an Oscar winner already if the Best Animated Feature category had been implemented sooner. With The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules under his belt, he should have a couple of statuettes already. DeBlois is currently developing live-action projects, so he's not likely to return so soon, while Chris Sanders is coming back to animation after a brief stint as a live-action director. Travis Knight has Wildwood on the horizon, and Tomm Moore will surely be nominated again for some Cartoon Saloon delight.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

SIGNE BYRGE SØRENSEN
3 nominations + 1 Best Animated Feature nod

• 2013) The Act of Killing
• 2015) The Look of Silence
• 2021) Flee 

WIM WENDERS
3 nominations

• 1999) Buena Vista Social Club
• 2011) Pina
• 2014) The Salt of the Earth

As a prolific documentary producer, Sørensen will probably be nominated again someday. That said, her next big project is Joshua Oppenheimer's musical about the end of humanity, starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon. On the other hand, Wim Wenders keeps alternating between fiction and non-fiction, releasing two such titles this year. On the narrative front, there's the Cannes Best Actor winner Perfect Days. And then, there's Anselm, another 3-D extravaganza intent on exploring the work of Anselm Kiefer and the sound of time.

Which of these Oscarless artists do you think will get the award first? More importantly, who are you rooting for?

Comments

[Joe G.]

Of all of the names here, I think Jacqueline West has the best shot at making it in this year. Barbie will be tough to beat, but she’s been doing a lot of great interviews in the costumes in Killers, and I do think she was a bit more prominent because of the strike.

Who are the living Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor nominees with no Oscar’s? I get that Dench and the men have the most nominations, but it feels odd since they still have Oscars. Would it be Marsha Mason and Glenn Close among the ladies? Not sure who among the men…

[Mr Ripley79]

I'll stick to the acting categories.

Glenn Close is far more likely to get the honorary unless she gets a very good role that can't be denied,sad I know but lots of people went to the grave without one.

Bridges cancer he says is in remission thankfullybut he is beloved and I see him winning a 2nd rather than Al who is always in OTT mode even in The Irishman.

Ed Harris I though may have been back this year for Long Day's Journey Into Night but that's moved to 2024,should have taken it in 1998 all respect to Coburn.

Dench as Belfast showed can dial a number and get nominated,she loves to work but nearing 90 it's getting unlikely same with Caine who has he says retired

Poor Amy Adams she seems to have hit the quality control wall a bit like Winslet post 2010,it happens to lots of people until you wow them again and they rediscover the love they once had.

Beatty and Duvall I think are done with Oscar.

[Cláudio Alves]

Joe G. -- In Best Actress, Glenn Close and Marsha Mason have four nominations and no win whatsoever. In Best Actor, with three noms and no victory, there's Bradley Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Viggo Mortensen. Finally, for Best Supporting Actor, at three nods no win, you have Willem Dafoe, Ed Harris, and Mark Ruffalo.

[ScottC]

I'd probably vote for Jacqueline West this year. Whether it's this year or not she seems sure to win at some point. Although that said I'm surprised to see neither Thomas Newman nor Caleb Deschanel have won so I guess you never know. And I'll definitely be rooting for both win-less documentary producers.

[Kelly Garrett]

Claudio, forget Judi Dench. YOU are an international treasure!

[thevoid99]

I think it's insulting to compare many of these people to someone as horrific as Diane Warren.

[Cláudio Alves]

thevoid99 -- This is just about Oscar numbers, not artistic or personal merit. Sorry if you felt it came off as insulting to some of these filmmakers. That certainly wasn't my intention.

[N8]

"Ouch" for sound mixer GREG P. RUSSELL.

Not only does he hold the unenviable record of being the most Oscar-nominated individual alive without a win (17 noms), but he can't even land a spot on *this* list, somehow losing to Wylie Stateman.

Poor Greg can't get a win anywhere! ;)

[Cláudio Alves]

N8 -- Now this was an insulting mistake on my part, and I am very sorry for it. Somehow, I only counted Sound Editing nominations and missed all of Russell's Mixing nods. I'm changing it immediately.

Thank you so much for the correction, and I apologize profusely for the initial misinformation.

[N8]

Cláudio -- It's all good! One mistake does not unmake a thoroughly enjoyable article. Love the deep dives in Oscar stat-hounding.