To be fair to Benigni, his chair-jumping, gushing, “I want to kiss everybody!” acceptance speech for his 1998 Best Foreign Language Film win was a tough act to follow. But Benigni — whose Holocaust film Life Is Beautiful also nabbed him a Best Actor trophy — didn’t even make much of an attempt. He followed up his Oscar success with under-the-radar turns in 1999’s Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (we didn’t see it either), a 2002 Fellini biopic, the 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes and 2005’s The Tiger and the Snow, a love story set during the Iraq war. His only other offering in the past decade: the 2002 film Pinocchio, which he directed — earning an almost impressive 00% on Rotten Tomatoes. Looks like the “ocean of generosity” he cited in his famous Oscar acceptance speech may have dried up.
Top 10 Post-Oscar Busts
You've won an Academy Award! Now what? For these 10 actors and directors ... nothing. A look at the worst post-Oscar careers in movie history