Entertainment

This Big-Name Director Doesn't Care About Oscars

Despite his film Lee Daniels' The Butler being totally snubbed at the Oscars this year (along with a ton of other great entries), Lee Daniels is oh so totally zen. Seriously, he doesn't even care about your silly Oscars anyway. He doesn't even want one. He's totally OK with not being nominated, and you know why? Because they don't matter. This from a new interview with TMZ, in which Lee Daniels explains that he doesn't care about awards:

"I think that the media says that we are to get these awards, the artists never say it," Daniels said. "We don't do it for the awards, we do it for art. We do it for the work." The paparazzi goes on to tell Daniels that when he saw The Butler at the Arclight cinema (presumably in Hollywood), the film got a standing ovation — which is a pretty rare incidence for any major theatre, let alone the Arclight. Daniels seems truly touched, responding, "That's my award."

Whether or not Daniels cares about Oscar nominations, though, it really is astounding that The Butler didn't get any attention in the best film, best director, or best actor/actress categories. Apart from Daniels' fine work, Oprah Winfrey did a wonderful job as Gloria Gaines, and, as The Huffington Post points out, it's insane she didn't get nominated.

You can check out the video of Daniels' chat with TMZ below.