One of the big surprises of Tuesday’s Oscar nominations was the strong showing by “BlacKkKlansman”, including nods for Best Picture and Best Director for Spike Lee.
RELATED: ‘Roma’ And ‘The Favourite’ Lead 2019 Academy Award Nominations
It’s a long way from nearly three decades ago, when Lee’s breakthrough feature film “Do the Right Thing” was nominated for two awards, but failed to get Best Picture or Best Director nods.
Some people at the time took note of the glaring snub though, including actress Kim Basinger.
The New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan reminded people on Twitter of the infamous moment, during Basinger’s introduction for Best Picture nominee “The Dead Poet’s Society” at the 1990 Oscars, when the “Batman” star called out the Academy for failing to give “Do the Right Thing” its due.
“We’ve got five great films here, and they’re great for one reason: They tell the truth,” Basinger said. “But there is one film missing from this list that deserves to be on it because, ironically, it might tell the biggest truth of all. And that’s ‘Do The Right Thing.’”
RELATED: GLAAD Celebrates The Most LGBTQ-Inclusive Oscars Ever
Basinger received a big round of applause for her comment. The eventual Best Picture-winner that year was “Driving Miss Daisy”.
In 2007, the AFI included “Do the Right Thing” on its list of the 100 best American films of all time, coming it at 96.
