I fell down an interesting rabbit hole that took me to the career of Michael Cimino. Although I’ve never watched any of his films, I was familiar with his infamy after Heaven’s Gate. What I didn’t know about was the wild roller coaster ride that was his award legacy:
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Academy Award | Best Picture | The Deer Hunter | Won |
| Best Director | Won | |||
| 1981 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d’Or | Heaven’s Gate | Nominated |
| 1982 | Golden Raspberry Award | Worst Director | Won | |
| 1986 | César Awards | Best Foreign Film | Year of the Dragon | Nominated |
| 1986 | Golden Raspberry Award | Worst Director | Nominated | |
| Worst Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| 1996 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d’Or | The Sunchaser | Nominated |
That’s one heck of a run. To go from two Oscars to a Palme d’Or, followed by a Razzie in the space of 3 years? And then both a Best Foreign Film nomination and two more Razzie nominations in the same year for the same film? It’s oddly admirable.
In contrast, check out the legendary career of John Cazale.