You guys leave Ann-Margret alone!!!

I freaking LOVED Jennifer Tilly in Bullets Over Broadway and I would have voted for her if not for her co star's Dianne Wiest's legandary fantastic performance.

And while the 1994 Lead Actress was one of the weakest in years...I think the supporting actress category that year was made up of very worthy nominees.

Don't you have better things to write?
Why don't you write about other more important things. Writing a list like that is pure waste of time!

Very interesting question, Tariq! I remember each of these contests well, and here are my thoughts:

Best Actress 1990: I think that Julia Roberts was more of a "filler" nominee than Streep. Roberts was young and in a fairly fluffy film, whereas Streep really emoted in a movie that hit close to home for many voters. Even though Roberts was Cinder-f*ckin-rella, I think she ended up in the 5th slot.

Best Actress 1992: One of the many extremely weak years for this category, but I think that Pfeiffer ranked 3rd or 4th this year. I found all of these women's films to be very slow and hard to watch, but Pfeiffer's performance stands out as she combined naivite and social activism in a very underrated way. Passion Fish was a much less heartwarming story and McDonnell was a lesser star playing a nastier role, so I think she finished lower. I'm not sure where to place Deneuve, who was a surprise nominee in a foreign film but may have received lifetime achievement votes, but I still think Pfeiffer outranked her too.

Best Supporting Actress 2002: I totally agree about Queen Latifah taking up space here. Toni Collette in About a Boy, Patricia Clarkson in Far From Heaven, and Pfeiffer in White Oleander all outacted her and her best great duet "Class" wasn't even in the final cut of Chicago. I think she's terrific, but definitely the odd woman out that year.

Best Actress 2003: I'm not so sure Morton outranked Keisha Castle-Hughes for votes. Morton had that great crying scene in the hospital and was a former nominee when she didn't say a word, so Academy members knew her range, while Castle-Hughes was brand new and an out of nowhere nominee.

Best Actor 1997: Compared to Duvall, Fonda, and Nicholson, Hoffman was definitely running behind the pack, but I'm not so sure he fell behind newbie Damon for votes.

Best Actor 2003: I agree here too. Depp, Murray, and Penn had all won major awards leading up to the Oscars and Kingsley gave an amazing performance. Law paled by comparison.

Best Supporting Actor 1991: Lerner was a complete surprise nominee and just as quickly went back to obscurity. Jones, Kingsley, and Keitel had been known quantities for at least a decade priro to these awards. Lerner definitely finished 5th, no matter how nostalgic voters may have been for Louis B. Mayer.

Best Supporting Actress 1994: Without Robin Wright among the nominees, the whole category seems like fillers to me, but Thurman had traction and Harris and Mirren were known actresses who gave good performances, so I guess Tilly probably finished 5th.

Best Supporting Actor 1996: I suspect Armin Mueller-Stahl finished 5th this year, as many voters must have been familiar with the Ghosts of Mississippi story and followed the career of James Woods to admire what it took to bring Byron De La Beckwith to life. Woods had already received a Globe nod, so he was on the radar, while Shine was always Geoffrey Rush's show with everyone else pretty much in the background.

Best Actress 1999: I totally agree here. As much as I liked Streep's performance and the film in general, it's definitely the performance most out of place with the rest and, considering her nomination came at the expense of Reese Witherspoon for Election, it seemed to much like an outomatic checkoff for Streep than annointment of a contender for that year.

I'm really surprised to see Meryl Streep's name in your list not only once but twice. Meryl Streep is arguably THE best and most versatile actress in American cinema. She's a genuine "actress" and not only a "movie star". She very rarely delivers an ordinary or so-so performance; to the contrary, her performances are always intelligent and emotionally charged, yet controlled. Her range as an actress is boundless. She demonstrates a rare level of subtlety and an unmatched variety of nuances. All her movies haven’t been masterpieces or box-office hits but she, as an actress, has always delivered the goods. I think she truly deserves all the nominations she got and I'm surprised that she hasn't won an Oscar in 25 years. I personally think that comparing Reese Witherspoon to Meryl Streep is like comparing a Happy Meal at McDonald’s to a gastronomic adventure at Jean-Georges’. In short, there are few actresses who can match Streep’s professionalism, versatility and artistry.

I just wanted to point out that Dustin Hoffman is as "veteran" as Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda. The Graduate came out two years before Easy Rider, getting Hoffman on the Oscar radar that much sooner. In fact, Duvall wasn't nominated until The Godfather anyway, making Hoffman technically the nominee with the most Oscar history.

Meryl Streep took many slots from more deserving people. In 1990 she took Mia Farrow's spot for "alice", in 1998 she took Cameron Diaz's spot (NYFCCA winner) for "There's Something About Mary" and in 1999 she took Sigourney's Weaver spot for "A Map of the World" who was much better than her. Academy just loves her too much, but she isn't that good.

I won't get into this whole list, of which I think many deserved their nominations, but I do wish to defend Streep's nomination for Postcards. She was wonderful in it. Funny, touching, sad, ironic and a good singer too! I would've voted for her over the eventual winner, Bates. Now that shocked me in its day.

Sorry -- that's The Professional, not The Professon.

In 1997, I think it's more likely that Hoffman stole Pacino's spot for Donnie Brasco, than DiCaprio. Either way, nnot a filler, just surprising (Hoffman was very fun in the movie).