Ben Affleck would no doubt have been smarting at being left out of the reckoning for Best Director when the Oscars nominations were announced yesterday, so it was no surprise that the Argo man looked delighted as his name was read out as Best Director at the Critic’s Choice Awards last night (January 10, 2013) – and he even had a little chuckle at his snub too.

Affleck had been the bookies favourite to take the Best Director award at the Oscars themselves in the run-up to the nominations being announced, whilst Argo itself was fancied for a Best Picture nod as well. Though Argo did indeed make the cut as one of nine films to compete for the main prize next month on February 24, his name was missing from the director list, overlooked for the likes of Michael Hanneke, Benh Zeitlin, Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee and David O Russell.

Standing up to accept his award last night, though, Affleck quipped “I would like to thank the Academy,” before retracting and saying “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. This is the one that counts.” Affleck could also bounce back from the disappointment of his Oscar snub this Sunday (January 13) at the Golden Globes, who have also decided to include him in their Best Director category. Have the Oscars made a blunder?