Industry Expert Points Out 1 Tiny Flaw in ‘Oppenheimer’ That Could Cost the Film an Oscar For Ignoring Major Historical Detail

The biopic “Oppenheimer” was meant to take the award season by storm ever since its release. With a powerhouse cast and a director known for meticulous attention to detail, the film seemed destined for critical acclaim.

However, a recent observation by industry expert Amy Nicholson has thrown a wrench into “Oppenheimer’s” awards trajectory. Known for catching historical goofs and picking movies apart, she spotted a small detail that feels illegal for a Christopher Nolan movie. This could either just be a harmless oversight or maybe a potentially award-sinking misstep.

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Oppenheimer Features a 50-Star USA Flag, Years Before It Was First Hoisted

Oppenheimer is one of the most well-received movies of all time, being praised by fans and critics alike. Since its release, fans have been waiting for the movie to sweep the floor at The Academy Awards, popularly known as The Oscars. The event will take place on March 10, 2024, and Christopher Nolan’s movie is on its way to dominating the ceremony, with 13 nominations to its name.

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These nominations also include the award for “Best Production Design”. While fans think Oppenheimer had one of the best productions in recent times, an industry expert does not find the movie worthy of the award. In a recent episode of Unspooled by Earwolf, the podcast co-founder and Rotten Tomatoes critic Amy Nicholson pointed out a tiny yet major flaw in the movie.

“I want to talk one more thing about Oppenheimer, which is I picked it to lose a category. I picked it to lose production design for one specific reason. Because in that scene, when, he’s giving a speech about how they drop the bomb in front of that gymnasium and people were freaking out and waving flags. The flags they use in that scene are the 50 star flags, which did not exist yet.” – Amu Nicholson on Unspooled Podcast

The award for Best Production Design at the Oscars recognizes art direction in film. It’s worth noting that maintaining historical accuracy in a period movie is, of course, a production job.

Oppenheimer was praised for settling very well in the 1940s, but the wrong-period US Flags make it slightly historically inaccurate. For context, the USA Flag had 48 stars during the events of the movie. Another star was added in 1959 with the addition of Alaska to the United States. Just a year later, the 50th star was added in 1960 after Hawaii’s inclusion. The flag of the United States has remained the same since then, with each star representing one of the fifty states.

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Despite being based in the 1940s, 50-Star US Flags were spotted in a scene in Oppenheimer. The difference between 48 and 50 is not big enough to notice in a scene that does not even focus on the flag. However, nothing can stop the eagle-eyed fans from spotting some blink-and-miss-it details.

How Many Oscars is Oppenheimer Nominated For?

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has been nominated for 13 awards at The Oscars. This is the most for any movie at this year’s event. Its nominations are as below:

1. Best Picture: Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan
2. Best Director: Christopher Nolan
3. Best Actor: Cillian Murphy
4. Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr.
5. Best Supporting Actress: Emily Blunt
6. Best Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Nolan
7. Best Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema
8. Best Costume Design: Ellen Mirojnick
9. Best Film Editing: Jennifer Lame
10. Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Luisa Abel
11. Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson
12. Best Production Design: Ruth De Jong and Claire Kaufman
13. Best Sound: Willie D. Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell

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No film has ever won more than 11 Oscars, a record shared by Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003).