There’s no science to winning an Academy Award
Danbury, Conn.: Re “Academy’s blunders” (March 22): The Academy gets plenty wrong every year, but “snub” implies that someone didn’t win because they were ignored. I have never thought that to be the case.
“Citizen Kane” is one of the great films of all time. It lost Best Picture to a beautiful film, “How Green Was My Valley,” produced by 20th Century Fox when studios tended to bloc-vote for their own nominees. Fox had more voters than the studio that produced Kane.
Glenn Close has been a bridesmaid many times. Peter O’Toole lost his first Oscar for “Lawrence of Arabia” and, like Close, went on to lose seven more. Richard Burton never won but had seven nominations. Not sure why the piece singled out Samuel L. Jackson for one nomination and no wins. Harrison Ford has a single nomination (for “Witness”) and zero wins. Edward G. Robinson was never nominated. Chadwick Boseman was considered the frontrunner right up until the envelope was opened a year ago for his titanic performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Anthony Hopkins won it for “The Father.” He was excellent. I wish there were more ties.
The Oscars are good for debate. It’s all subjective. In any category in any year, I could make a strong argument for any of several of the five nominees deserving the win, which is why they say the nomination itself — being singled out by one’s peers from hundreds of eligible films — is the true and lasting honor. I might agree. But I’d rather win. Michael Eddy
Unsung heroine
White Plains, N.Y.: To Voicer Arthur Bressler: Audrey Hepburn may have given a spectacular performance as Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” but perhaps she wasn’t nominated for Best Actress because she never sang any of the songs. The late, great ghost-singer, Marni Nixon, dubbed Hepburn, and also Natalie Wood in “West Side Story.” Although Nixon dubbed Deborah Kerr in “The King and I,” Kerr was nominated for Best Actress but didn’t win. Randi Bernstein Feigenbaum
Displays of rejection
Manalapan, N.J.: What’s with Prince William? Beautiful Kate Middleton never gets her hand held or his arm around her waist. He needs overdue therapy. Pitiful! Marion Gargano
Just ain’t fair
Rockaway: Mayor Adams now appears to be just another politician who bends to the will of the financial elite. As a sports fan (especially basketball) who voted for the mayor, I think his decision to allow unvaccinated athletes to participate in games while not giving the same consideration to all the city workers who lost their jobs because of city mandates (which I supported) is wrong. There should not be a double standard for something as simple as getting a vaccine. What is good for one should be good for all. The mayor’s willingness to accommodate the wealthy is disappointing at best. Anthony Johnson
Needle-tip the scale
Manhattan: For all the uproar over Mayor Adams lifting the vaccine mandate for professional athletes, I have a compromise solution: Leave the mandate in place for the Yankees and lift it for the Mets. I’m just trying to help. Bob Liff
Underhanded pitcher
Forest Hills: Kristie Ackert and the Yankees do not have to worry about Gerrit Cole. Last year, he was blindsided by the suddenness of the crackdown on sticky stuff. He has now had a whole off-season to practice cheating better. Alan Hirschberg
This is war
Barrie, Ontario: Re “Ukraine says Moscow is forcibly taking civilians to Russia” (March 24): If President Biden and his NATO comrades do not engage the Russians militarily, then the kidnapped Ukrainians will likely be killed in death camps or used as hostages to neutralize President Volodymyr Zelensky and his forces. How much suffering and pleading do Western countries have to watch before NATO and any UN allies decide that Russia and Putin have crossed the point of no return? Will America and the West stand by as innocent people in Eastern Europe are liquidated just as they stood by as China continued liquidating ethnic Islamic peoples like the Uighurs? The entente between Russia and China shows we are past a Cold War and into a nightmare scenario posed by two implacable enemies. And yet, Russia is vulnerable. If the West is truly friends with Mr. Zelensky, let’s prove it. Christopher Mansour
Combustible combat
Manhattan: The term “no-fly zone” still bandied about so glibly is a euphemism for potential aerial combat that requires surveilling and shooting down enemy planes or helicopters that enter the designated space. This is the primary reason both the U.S. and NATO have repeatedly vetoed this idea, even on a so-called limited basis. As for protecting civilians, the Russians have been bombarding them on land with artillery, not aircraft, so blocking air traffic would be an ineffective strategy. Since the likely prospect of deaths in the air would not be welcome either at home or abroad, we have managed a difficult balancing act between showing a united resolve against a thuggish aggressor and understandable caution about triggering a wider war. As the last two world wars grimly attest, these conflicts can get out of hand quickly and take on a life of their own in ways not previously imagined. Denise Fortino
Site of horrors
Lake Worth, Fla.: To Voicer Wes Warchol: I grieve for your family who died in Auschwitz during World War II. However, the death camp was not located in Germany. It was in German-occupied Poland. There is no need for the Daily News to publish a correction or an apology. Judi Stern Levine
Social media literacy
Manhattan: Your article about the doughnut-doing Infiniti that hit a bystander (“Driver who injured man recording his street tricks turns himself in to NYPD,” March 24) notes “a large group of onlookers who flocked to the meetup promoted on Instagram.” Why wasn’t the NYPD alerted to this and ready to disperse, if not arrest, the reckless drivers? Cops rely on tips from the community — why not announcements on Instagram? John Guinan
In the clear
Brooklyn: I have the solution to not having to worry about making bail or getting frisked: Obey the law and don’t carry a gun. You won’t ever have to worry about being arrested or wonder where you are getting bail money. It’s easy — most of society is doing it. Doreen Geralyn
Soft on crime
Manhattan: The new district attorney in Manhattan has been so disruptive to the case that the leads investigating the Big Orange Guy abruptly resigned. One of the most highly respected of them has stated that there was enough evidence to charge #45. How do we impeach this DA? Where are all those national and local Democrats (Elizabeth Warren, etc.) who supported and encouraged us to vote for this jackass? Maybe Mr. Mar-a-Lago would be able to avoid a conviction, but if there’s enough evidence to charge him, he should be charged. I want to see all the hundreds of hours of work put into this investigation presented to a grand jury. We will decide this. Is Alvin Bragg worried about getting egg on his face? Go back to the private sector. I’ll vote for a more competent representative of my interests. Steve Verhulst
Muckrakers wanted
West Orange, N.J.: Is there a possibility that there are some investigative journalists out there who are willing and able to find out why Alvin Bragg is chicken and/or corrupt in his hesitancy to prosecute the twice-impeached, insurrectionist, one-term former president? Is there anyone brave enough to make this big bully fully accountable for all his crimes against the American people and its institutions? Miriam Sheff
Wrong way
Manhattan: I hope the return of broken-windows policing includes Midtown and the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods. Delivery bikes, e-bikes and scooters riding on the sidewalk are dangerous and detrimental to the quality of life anywhere but especially rampant in more upscale neighborhoods. John Backe
Security?
Jamaica: How did Brittney Griner get an illegal substance through an airport in the United States on a plane to Russia? What am I missing here? Joseph Stanislaus
