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Oscar-winning actors Daniel Day-Lewis, Tilda Swinton, Marion Cotillard and Javier Bardem celebrate backstage.
OSCARS 2008
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  • Bloggers Fume Over Renfro Oscar Memorial Omission

    TMZ Speculates, Actor Not 'Feel-Good Enough' For Academy

    POSTED: 9:17 am EST February 26, 2008
    UPDATED: 1:04 pm EST February 26, 2008

    Blogs are bursting with discussion about why Brad Renfro was left out of the Academy Awards tribute Sunday to Hollywood figures who died in the past year.

    PerezHilton.com posted a mug shot of Renfro featuring the words "Oscar Snub." TMZ.com speculated Renfro was not "feel-good enough" for the Academy and that it's "uncomfortable to applaud when an actor dies from an overdose."

    They pointed out how, instead of including Renfro, several lesser-known figures were featured, including agents and executives.

    The troubled 25-year-old actor died Jan. 15 of an accidental heroin and morphine overdose.

    Actor Heath Ledger, who died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs one week later, appeared in a scene from "Brokeback Mountain" at the conclusion of the three-minute video tribute at Sunday night's Oscar ceremony.

    "Unfortunately we cannot include everyone," said Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in a statement. "Our goal is to honor individuals who worked in the many professions and trades of the motion picture industry, not just actors."

    Renfro starred in such films as "The Client" opposite Susan Sarandon and "Apt Pupil" opposite Ian McKellen.

    Also noticeably absent from the tribute was "Jaws" and "French Connection" Oscar nominee Roy Scheider.

    However, Scheider's omission was because of a matter of timing and not a deliberate snub.

    Scheider died Feb. 10. The Oscars memorial timeline over the past year ran from Jan. 31, 2007 to Feb. 1, 2008.