Love Actually director Richard Curtis says Will Ferrell should've been nominated for an Oscar for Elf

Whenever the Oscars roll around, there’s always debate about who was wrongfully snubbed. Some people make a good case, like Samuel L. Jackson, who recently said he should’ve taken home the Academy Award for his role as Jules in Pulp Fiction. Then there are cases like Kevin Smith, who sparked a whole internet debate over whether Spider-Man: No Way Home should’ve been nominated for Best Picture because of its massive box office success.

Now comes another unexpected, but certainly amusing comment about who should’ve been nominated in 2004. Richard Curtis, who wrote Bridget Jones’ Diary and wrote and directed Love Actually, told reporters on the Oscar Wilde Awards red carpet that he thinks Will Ferrell should’ve been nominated for an Oscar for Elf.

“I always get very antsy about the fact that Will Ferrell didn’t get nominated for Elf,” said the filmmaker. He added, “But it’s the price you pay, as it were. Comedies tend to make a bit of money, and then you don’t get the prizes.”

This isn’t the first time Curtis has praised the movie. The guy really loves Elf. He’d also told Entertainment Weekly a while back that he doesn’t think Love Actually is as good as Jon Favreau’s hit Christmas movie, and he called it a “masterpiece.” Elf is definitely one of most fun holiday movies to watch, but calling it masterpiece is perhaps a bit of a stretch.

Though Elf would realistically never be nominated for an Oscar, Ferrell does excel at playing the ultimate manchild, and Buddy The Elf is likely to blame for all the manchildren Ferrell has famously played throughout his career. Ferrell’s movies may not be for everyone, but he deserves credit for the excellent delivery of the line “You sit on a throne of lies.”