Winning an Academy Award, whether it is for Best Picture or an unheralded below-the-line category, should never be taken for granted. Not only is an Oscar the highest honor in the industry, but it also recognizes a limited number of artists and craftspeople.Peter O’Toole,Alfred Hitchcock,Robert Mitchum, andCary Grant, along with being prodigious figures in Hollywood, all share one commonality: they never won a competitive Oscar in their lifetime. Living stars such asGlenn Close,Amy Adams,Tom Cruise, andWillem Dafoeare still chasing that coveted statuette,even after countless nominations. However, no Oscar contender has had quite the bad break that sound mixerGreg P. Russellhas experienced. If going 0 for 17 in nominations wasn’t defeating enough,Russell had one of his nods stripped away from him by the Academy.
During an attack on a U.S. compound in Libya, a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.
Greg P. Russell Holds the Record for Most Oscar Nominations Without a Win
Thecelebration of behind-the-scenes technical craft and artistryis what separates the Academy Awards and its respective telecast from the rest of the major awards bodies. Giving botha costume designerand a movie star likeRobert Downey Jr.— who isexpected to win Best Supporting ActorforOppenheimerat this upcoming ceremony — an equal stage in front of a primetime audience emphasizes the importance of every single person who makes a film come together. The job of a sound mixer is taken for granted by the general audience, but their job is vital to amplifying the spectacle of cinema and the theatrical experience. The Academy Award for Best Sound, which was previously split into two categories (sound mixing and sound editing),primarily rewards films that exist in a world where loud noises are prevalent, such as live music, combat, and vehicular racing. Quality sound design can be demonstrated by deafening films, such asChristopher Nolan’s Best Picture frontrunnerOppenheimer, or by the scarcity of sound in eerie films such asThe Zone of Interest.
The First Film to Sweep the Oscars Is Also One of Hollywood’s Greatest Rom-Coms
The 1934 classic was the first film to win the so-called “Big Five” Academy Awards.
Greg P. Russell certainly has a resume to dignify the importance of a sound mixer and editor. With over 200 credits to his name, Russell has been a Hollywood sound mixer since the 1980s. Throughout his prolific career, he has worked with directors such asMichael Bay, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Tim Burton, Barbra Streisand, Paul Verhoeven, and Sam Raimi, with Bay being his most frequent collaborator. Russell has a thoughtful approach to his profession, which herefers to as both an art and a craft. “One of the most gratifying aspects of being a re-recording film mixer is that thefull experience of a filmmaker’s vision happens here on the dub stage,” he toldCinemontage, the journal for the Motion Pictures Editors Guild. Russell’s contributions to beloved and popular films such asArmageddon,Spider-Man,Apocalypto, andSkyfallhave not gone unnoticed by the Academy, as he has received a whopping 17 nominations. All of his nominations are apt, as these movies are predicated on an immersive technical experience that exploits theadvantages of high-spectacle, big-budget filmmaking.
Why Was Greg P. Russell’s 17th Nomination Rescinded by the Academy?
After being nominated 17 times since the 1990 Academy Awards, where he received his first sound nomination for Ridley Scott’sBlack Rain, Russell’s awards shelf remains empty. As of 2024,he has never won an Academy Award, despite the suggestion that his craft is worthy of admiration based on the vast pool of nominations credited to him. To add insult to injury, Russell’s 17th nomination, which was for sound mixingMichael Bay’s biographical war-thriller,13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, wasrescinded by the Academy upon the discovery of a violation of campaign regulations.The decision was made after the Board of Governors discovered that Russell had called his fellow members of the Sound Branch during the nominations phase of voting to make them aware of his work on the film.This act of campaigning for a vote is a direct violation of the Academy’s regulations, which prohibit telephone lobbying. While Russell’s nomination was removed,13 Hoursretained its nomination for Best Sound Mixing.
If it makes Russell feel any better,13 Hoursdid not go on to win Best Sound Mixing at the 2017 Academy Awards. Anotherbiographical war film from that year,Hacksaw Ridge, was honored with that prize. Coincidentally enough, one of the four credited sound mixers forMel Gibson’s film wasKevin O’Connell, who worked alongside Russell across multiple decades, each sharing nominations for their work onThe Rock,Armageddon,Spider-Man, andTransformers. They viewed themselvesas a creative partnership, and their excitement of learning that they received Oscar nominations never got old. Now split up heading into the 2017 Oscars, Russell and O’Connell combined for 38 nominations, but it was the latter who finally got the monkey off of his back with a win for Best Achievement in Sound Mixing forHacksaw Ridge. Until that night, O’Connell held the record for most nominations without a win. With this win for his 21st nomination,he passed the record of Oscar snubs down to his old sound-mixing partner.
Will Greg P. Russell Ever Win an Academy Award?
Since this turning point at the 2017 Oscars, O’Connell and Russell’s appearances on the Academy nomination list have decreased. After a seven-year hiatus, O’Connell received his 22nd nominationforOppenheimer. Russell, on the other hand,has been shut out of nominations since his13 Hourscontroversy.However, he continues to work steadily through 2024 on both film and television. His work can be heard in major franchise installments such asFast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, theScreamreboot series, andPuss in Boots: The Last Wish. Russell’s most recent credit is for the acclaimed FX series,Shōgun. If Russell’s old collaborator, Kevin O’Connell, proved anything, it is thatwaiting for the Oscar statuette and all the glory it provides, can take upwards of 20 nominations.
The canon of the Academy Awards has its fair share of intriguing trivia. Many records seem unfathomable and forever impossible to break, includingLord of the Rings: Return of the Kingcompleting an 11 for 11 sweep of nominations,Walt Disneywinning 26 Oscarsin his lifetime, andJohn Williamsreceiving 54 nominationsthroughout his active career, which continued with his recently nominated score forIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Greg P. Russell’s feat oflosing 17 nominations without a win ranks among the most outlandish.This ill-fated accomplishment is so extraordinary that Russell being stripped of his most recent nomination is merely a footnote.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghaziis available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
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