Ice Cube Has The Perfect Response To Straight Outta Compton's Oscar Snub

When yesterday’s Academy Award nominations were announced, one film that was noticeable by its near absence was this summer’s hit Straight Outta Compton. The story of the early days of rap group N.W.A only received a single nomination, that for Best Original Screenplay. While the film’s producer, and N.W.A. member, Ice Cube says he thought the film would receive more recognition, he’s not surprised that it did not.

Ice Cube, who is currently doing the press rounds for his newest film Ride Along 2 spoke about the situation during an appearance on the Wendy show with Wendy Williams. While you can tell that he is a little frustrated with the overall lack of nominations, it’s also clear that the film’s success truly does make him happy.

I’m not pissed. I’m not surprised. It’s the Oscars, they do what they do. The people loved the movie, the people supported the movie. It was No. 1 at the box office, over $200 million worldwide. I can’t be mad, you know.

While Straight Outta Compton was a financial success to be sure, it was also strongly reviewed by many critics, which makes the lack of award recognition seem strange. The film hasn’t gone entirely without earning a few awards. It was one of the Movies of the Year according to AFI, and it made numerous top 10 lists. But when it came to the major awards that more people pay attention to, it got left out.

To be fair, the Oscars are actually an improvement over last week’s Golden Globes, where Straight Outta Compton didn’t receive a single nomination. Ice Cube had a similar reaction when those nominations were announced, calling everything from there on out "gravy." An Oscar nomination is pretty decent gravy. A win would be even better. Check out Ice Cube’s comments below, at just before the two-minute mark.

The odds of a win for Straight Outta Compton can be a little hard to guess at this point. The competition is made up of other well-regarded and unique films, including Bridge of Spies, Ex Machina, Inside Out, and Spotlight. There's no clear frontrunner, although the fact that this is the only nomination for the biopic may work to the film's favor, in this case.

Do you think Straight Outta Compton will win their single Oscar? Should it have been nominated for more? Let us know your thoughts below.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.