was this a calculated attempt to get an Oscar?

They tried but failed miserably. The direction was awkward and the editing was plain bad, Will Smith acting has seen better days (7 pounds for example, a very underrated movie imo) and the screenplay was just mediocre. I get that this was a true story but it could have been told much better imo. Still a very informative movie.

Why do you think Will was so upset he didn't get nominated? He was almost crying about it in that interview like a spoiled man-child. Epic fail as the kids like to say.

No you're right. The movie practically screamed at the audience "this is important! This is important!" It was kind of boring IMO. I would rather watch the PBS frontline documentary

You know, I didn't think so until they made such a fuss after the lack of nomination. Which made it clear that the only point was for him to get one.
I mean he was good but not that good.
And I don't think it was even the sort of movie for that. It's about a guy who researches and publishes a medical paper. Faces minor resistance from a corporation. There's no great story arc, you know? And there's nothing else particularly unique about it. I don't think anyone else in this role would have got an Oscar nomination.

I think it was absolutely an Oscar grab, but it didn't have anything to do with anybody being black or not. I think it was a huge ego trip for Smith. His ego was plastered all over it. He believed he was gonna get the big ego reward of an Oscar and finally get more legitimate recognition from Hollywood. My own opinion is that it is a very good story, but a very average movie. The Front Line doc was far more effective. I think that "Spotlight" was a fantastic example of a similar story that was not bastardized by the Hollywood approach. Every actor in that film checked their egos at the door, imo.