Jeff Goldblum has been on cinema screens since the ‘70s. Has he ever won an Oscar?
Jeff Goldblum has never won an Academy Award (alternatively called an Oscar award). However, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, for Little Surprises, which he directed in 1996. This is his only nomination to date.
Keep reading to learn more about the 1996 film that could have clinched the actor and director of an Academy Award.
Little Surprises
Jeff Goldblum has taught at least one acting class a week at Playhouse West acting school—he’s done so since 1985.
In 1994, Jeff Goldblum funded, wrote, and directed the short film Little Surprises. It stars students from his acting class as well as Rod Steiger. The film had the honor of an Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short, the year it was released, in 1996.
Director of the Playhouse West, Robert Carnegie, told The Guardian, “He devoted so much time to [Little Surprises], over a year.”
He continued, “He is extraordinarily dedicated and does all this out of the goodness of his heart. The students adore him.”
The film is about a gathering of friends and parents before the night of a wedding. Things start to go wrong as the short progresses, in a blend of comedy and drama.
Spoiler alert! An old flame confesses his love for the bride-to-be and a heated confrontation ensues.
The short runs for 36 minutes and has a smooth jazz score to suit the overall theme of the movie.
Watch the opening of the Academy Awards in 1996 and be on the lookout for Jeff Goldblum with his then-girlfriend Laura Dern below.
Who did Jeff Goldblum lose out to?
The 1996 Oscar for Best Live Action Short was awarded to Lieberman in Love. The short was directed by Christine Lahti.
The plot of the film involves a character named Joe Lieberman who becomes attracted to another guest in a Hawaii resort, who turns out to be a s*x worker.
Joe then falls in love with another woman, who’s married, although the relationship between Joe and Shaleen continues.
The idea for the film came from a short story of the same name, written by W. P. Kinsella. The Oscar nomination and win came as a shock to the author who had no clue that the film had even been made, and who was watching at home.
He was not listed in the credits of the film or even acknowledged in Christine Lahti’s acceptance speech.
In order to apologize to the author, a full-page advertisement in Variety magazine was taken out. Awkward!
Watch Christine Lahti accept her award below.