Who’s due for an Oscar?

They call it “The Academy” even though nothing is taught there, and, judging from the voting, little is learned there. In fact, there’s no there there. But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences does have a season, and it’s fast approaching, and we thought we’d help launch that season by examining which of the current stars — actors, actresses, directors and writers — the Academy has overlooked. Who’s Henry Fonda in 1980 or Al Pacino in 1991? Who’s due — or overdue — for an Oscar?

First let’s do a little math. There are roughly 6,000 voting members in the Academy, and they are divided into the following branches:

Actors: 1,274
Producers: 466
Executives: 434
Sound: 419
Writers: 398
Art Directors: 380
Directors: 377
Public Relations: 373
Members at Large: 371
Short Film/Animation: 322
Visual Effects: 250
Music: 240
Film Editors: 229
Cinematographers: 189
Documentary: 134
TOTAL: 5,856

Branches nominate their own (directors nominate best director, etc.), but in the final round all members vote in all categories.

Now one hopes aesthetics plays a role in the voting, and one suspects politics and advertising and buzz do, too, but the fact remains that if you are an actor nominated in another branch — writing or directing, say — you can count on a greater pool of peers to vote for you. This may help explain why in the past 25 years actors like Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson have all won best director awards, and why in the last 15 years actors like Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have all won best screenplay awards. Actors root for actors, even when they’re writers or directors.

The directors: Don’t be talented

Diane Bondareff / AP Martin Scorsese: So talented, so neglected

Martin Scorsese (0-5) is the director most screwed-over by the Academy’s acting imbalance. In 1980 “Raging Bull” lost to first-time director Robert Redford’s “Ordinary People.” In 1990 “Goodfellas” lost to first-time director Kevin Costner’s “Dances with Wolves.” Last year “The Aviator” lost to Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby,” but convincing arguments can be made for that one.

Of course Oscar has bypassed so many great directors it’s almost a point of pride not to win. Don’t win and you join legends like Alfred Hitchcock (0-5), Stanley Kubrick (0-4), Ingmar Bergman (0-3), Josef von Sternberg (0-2) and Orson Welles (0-1). For all the classic pictures Howard Hawks directed — “Scarface,” “Bringing Up Baby,” “His Girl Friday,” “Sergeant York,” “The Big Sleep,” “Red River,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Rio Bravo” — he was nominated only once, for “Sergeant York,” and came home empty-handed. In 1975, two years before he died, the Academy gave him an honorary award. Their way of saying “Oops.”

What other modern directors are due? Robert Altman, like Scorsese, is 0-5. Peter Weir (0-4) has never won and he’s still making good movies. David Lynch is 0-3, Mike Leigh 0-2, while both Joel Cohen and Alexander Payne are 0-1. David O. Russell has yet to be nominated.

But there’s little debate in my mind who’s most embarrassingly overdue. Watching “No Direction Home” on PBS this fall, it occurred to me that maybe when Martin Scorsese finally gets his Oscar it’ll be for something like best documentary. Most likely, he’ll simply be “honored.” Oops.

The screenwriters: Don’t be funny

Bob Marshak / AP Maverick John Sayles is 0-2 with Oscar.

It may seem pointless to talk about which screenwriter is due for an award since there is no best screenwriter award; there is only best screenplay. Another way Hollywood welcomes writers. You are just some guy to pick up its award. Be thankful we even let you in.

It also feels pointless because screenplays often go through so many drafts, in so many hands, that it’s hard to know — unless you’re inside the industry — who wrote what. “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” won best adapted screenplay for its three writers: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. So who wrote your favorite line? (Probably Tolkien.) Who adapted your favorite scene? Was anything improvised by the actors? No wonder they call it best screenplay.

But, given these qualms, let’s try to muddle through.

If Warren Beatty helps prove the way the acting branch hogs directing awards, he helps disprove it vis a vis screenwriting. In the last 30 years, 361 different writers have been nominated for original or adapted screenplay awards, and most are one-time nominees. Beatty’s a four-time nominee, zero-time winner. That’s the most noms without a trophy. No help from the homies.

This is probably less a reflection on Beatty than on a genre he excels in, light comedy, which, like Rodney Dangerfield, gets no respect. Look at some of the other empty-handed nominees for best screenplay: Neil Simon (0-4), Nora Ephron (0-3), Lawrence Kasdan (0-3), Barry Levinson (0-3), Gary Ross (0-3) and Larry Gelbart (0-2). All funny people writing funny scripts. Their nominated screenplays include “The Goodbye Girl,” “Diner,” “Tootsie,” “The Big Chill,” “Big,” “When Harry Met Sally...” and “Dave.” “Tootsie” losing out to “Gandhi” is especially bad.

As for most due? I might go with Gelbart if he wrote more feature films but instead I’ll be like everyone else and ignore comedy for drama. John Sayles has been nominated twice for screenplay (“Passion Fish” and “Lone Star”) without a trophy. He’s an outsider and a maverick, and Hollywood has never treated these guys well. I’d love to see him win for a great screenplay — if he can deliver one again.

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