Awards season campaigns are notoriously competitive and fickle, a calculated combination of chatter at industry parties, charming audiences on late-night talk shows, and not being also publicly thirsty to take home the gold (sorry, Bradley Cooper). And apparently one Icarian hero flew too close to the sun this year: Messi, the Border Collie who burst into France's exquisite courtroom drama. Anatomy of a fall, who supposedly No will attend this year's Oscars after movie studio representatives reportedly complained that he was hogging the attention of other nominees.
Like any big star in an Oscar-nominated film, Messi, who plays the resident mascot, Snoop, in the legal thriller directed by Justine Triet, which follows the trial of a writer (played by Sandra Hüller) desperate to prove her innocence in her husband's case. Death: Messi has made the necessary rounds in the weeks leading up to this Sunday's Academy Awards, culminating with the seven-year-old pup completely stealing the show at the Oscar nominees luncheon last month.
By The Hollywood Reporterfamous fans of the canine star included Billie Eilish, Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling, who seemed as excited to meet the movie dog at lunch as he was to meet legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, based on in a sweet video taken at the event.
But Messi will not walk the red carpet at this Sunday's Oscar ceremony, as THR reported that several companies with nominated films had complained to the Academy about the puppy's presence at the lunch, since he was not technically a nominee. The outlet also wrote that those detractors also complained that Messi's sheer star power gave him Anatomy of a fall an unfair advantage during the Oscar voting period.
Of course, all of that sounds, well, absolutely ridiculous, an absurdity that movie fans are commenting on social media:
- “Imagine being this threatened by a nice guy.” – @jenelleriley
- “The plot of Oceans 9 is the ladies of film Twitter getting Messi into the Oscars and exposing the studios that conspired against him” – @kenzvanunu
- ““Let Messi attend the Oscars, sit in the front row and present the Best Film” – @mrbrianrowe
- “Season 3 of Feud with Oscar publicists vs Messi the dog please” – @peterknegt
- “If you complained about this, Messi should go to the Oscars instead of you. Messi is perfect. Thank you so much.” – @Mjoseph492
Yes Uggie, the adorable Russell Terrier who starred alongside Jean Dujardin The artistcan join the rest of the cast on stage when they won their Best Picture in 2012, we don't see why Messi—a vital part of why Anatomy of a fall stands out among the other Best Picture nominees of 2024 — she can't rub shoulders with other megastars like Margot Robbie, Cillian Murphy and Da'Vine Joy Randolph at this year's Academy Awards ceremony.
Unfortunately, on Sunday we will have to watch the Oscars without Messi, where Anatomy of a fall It is nominated for five trophies, including best film, best director for Triet and best actress for Hüller. You'll be able to watch Messi's incredible doggy performance when the film is available to stream with a Hulu subscription starting Friday, March 22.
