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Tuesday, January 23, 2007
‘Dreamgirls’ Oscar nightmare
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Soooooo, “Dreamgirls” was supposed to be one of the front-runners for best picture and it didn’t even get nominated (or for best director either). Any theories as to what happened?
Oscars: The Good, The Bad and The Downright Ugly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Often Oscar voters are smart, but they’re also often dumb. Here’s the fallout in the wake of today’s Oscar nominations announcement:
The Downright Ugly: Expected to be among the front-runners, “Dreamgirls” got left out of the major races, including best picture and best director. It’s a major omission for a popular, mainstream film. It’s as if the stodgy, old Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is saying to the paying public, “Hey, don’t watch our awards show.”
The Good: There is a stronger level of diversity among the acting nominations. Eight of the 20 nominated actors and actresses are African-American, Mexican, Spanish, Asian or African-born. It is quite possible that three of the four acting winners this year could be African-American: Forest Whitaker, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. That would be a first.
The Bad: As expected, Oscar voters went “Babel” crazy, nominating this overrated film over and over again.
The Good: The Golden Globes might need Brad Pitt for star power, but not the Oscars. Voters wisely left his puffy “Babel” performance off the final ballot.
The Bad: Wouldn’t you know it? Two words: Steven Spielberg. Last year, he bored us with “Munich” and got a best picture nomination. “Letters From Iwo Jima,” which he produced for director Clint Eastwood, nudged its way into the top spot at the expense of “Dreamgirls.”
The Good: Ryan Gosling (“Half Nelson”) for best actor, Mark Wahlberg (“The Departed”) for best supporting actor, Jackie Earle Haley (“Little Children”) for best supporting actor, Paul Greengrass (“United 93”) for best director, Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) for best supporting actress, “Borat” for best adapted screenplay, “Little Miss Sunshine” for best picture and “Pan’s Labyrinth” not only for best foreign language film but also for best original screenplay, cinematography, makeup, original score and art direction. Most of these nominations had been in doubt.
The Bad: Alfonso Cuaron’s inventive “Children of Men” did get a few nominations, including a much-deserved one for best cinematography (it should win the award hands-down), but it should have fared better than “Babel.”
The Very Good: Helen Mirren (“The Queen”) is expected to run away with the best actress trophy, but she and her competitors - Penelope Cruz (“Volver”), Judi Dench (“Notes on a Scandal”), Meryl Streep (“The Devil Wears Prada”) and Kate Winslet (“Little Children”) - comprise a category with extreme depth. In other years, each could have been a victor.
The Best Races: Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland”) vs. Peter O’Toole (“Venus”) for best actor and the best picture race which could be a tossup between the blah “Babel,” the blah-er “Letters from Iwo Jima,” the funny “Little Miss Sunshine,” the violent “The Departed” (maybe Martin Scorsese will finally win a best director trophy) and the movie from this bunch that most deserves to win, “The Queen.”
The Sure Thing: Jennifer Hudson’s movie might have been left out of the top race, but her “Dreamgirls” performance is a shoe-in for best supporting actress.
What did you think of the Oscar nominations?
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