Bill Benson once again is refusing to watch the Academy Awards, protesting “the greatest snub in the history of the Oscars,” when Die Hard not only didn’t win Best Picture, but wasn’t even nominated.
“I don’t care if it was like 30 years ago,” said Benson, 48, who remembers watching the film just after high school and thinking it was a lock to win Best Picture. “The shock is still real for me.”
Instead of the John McTiernan classic, Rain Man took home the top honors in 1989. The other nominated films were The Accidental Tourist, Dangerous Liaisons, Mississippi Burning and Working Girl.
“You’re telling me Die Hard isn’t at least more deserving of a nomination than The Accidental Tourist?” complained Benson. “You’re gonna sit there and tell me that? Nothing even happened in that movie! Like, literally nothing. The Academy is a joke. Hell, you could do the top 5 Best Picture options from all-time, and Die Hard should be on the list, right next to The Terminator, which also got the shaft.”
While Die Hard was not nominated for Best Picture, it did get consideration in the sound, editing and effects categories.
“Oh yeah, the technical awards,” said Benson. “That’s where they always bury the classics like Star Wars and Predator.”