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Oscars
June 24, 2009
Ten -- 10!! -- best picture nominations
Writing with the terseness of bad news we wish we never heard, Variety reports this:
There will be 10 best picture nominees starting with the 82nd Oscar ceremony, skedded for March 7, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. The announcement was made Wednesday morning at AMPAS headquarters in BevHills by Acad prez Sid Ganis. Oscar noms will be unveiled Feb. 2.
Of course, the tradition is five best picture nominees, but we think even that tidy figure is, in many years, too high. Ten nominees comically dilutes the value of a nomination by advancing a group-hug inclusiveness. Many of us at year’s end grapple with filling out our Top 10 lists, so expect some pretty iffy noms in the newly expanded pool. We smell the rank stink of marketing minds.
Thinking about this, what do you think are early contenders for best picture noms next year, especially with 10 titles allowed? Off the top of my itty-bitty head, I’m thinking “Up” (which I have yet to see), “The Hurt Locker” (the best film I’ve seen in ‘09), possibly “Star Trek” and surely “The Hangover” (we jest).
And the Oscar for Best Dumb Decision goes to …
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February 22, 2009
Oscar's best fashion moment, inarguably
An actual Norse Loki necklace:
Mickey Rourke’s Loki the dog necklace, worn at tonight’s Oscars:
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January 22, 2009
Austin's Oscar connection
One of the movies nominated this morning for the best documentary Oscar is “Trouble the Water,” a raw portrait of survival during Hurricane Katrina that was shot by Austin cinematographer and filmmaker PJ Raval. The movie took top honors at the Sundance Film Festival last year and is also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
So mighty congrats to our home boy.
More about PJ and the movie HERE.
Mr. Raval
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Director
Big surprises in the director nominees: No Clint Eastwood, no Nolan for “The Dark Knight.” Wow.
Here are the nominees:
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”
Fincher, Van Sant and Boyle should be the leading contenders here. All are deserving, and a win by any one of these would be hunky-dory in my book.
I can’t say the same for Howard and Daldry. Both are good directors, but neither movie is an overall success in my book. “Frost/Nixon” has fine performances, but I can’t see any Oscar-worthy nomination for direction. And “The Reader” is not a fine movie. So I don’t get that one at all. Obviously, the Academy disagrees.
Charlie Kaufman should have been in this group for “Synecdoche.” Mike Leigh should also have been included for “Happy-Go-Lucky.”
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Supporting actress
And the nominess for supporting actress are:
Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”
All of these women are deserving, and the Academy made good choices in this category.
Adams and Davis will probably split the voters who support “Doubt.” So both face an uphill battle in winning.
Henson was the heart of “Curious Case,” and I wouldn’t mind seeing her win the prize. Shortly before filming the movie, she lost her father. And her husband died earlier, so she knows about loss and brought a lot of emotion to the role. She gets the sympathy vote.
Cruz, however, is such a professional that a victory by her wouldn’t be unwarranted. In Cannes this year, she was a trooper for “Vicky Cristina,” staying out late to promote the film and getting up extremely early to chat about it with critics. And with only a few hours’ sleep, she still looked drop-dead gorgeous, sitting down in a perky white Chanel. Her conduct was in stark contrast with that of Scarlett Johansson, her co-star, who didn’t even show up for Cannes because the studio wouldn’t pay for her demands for accommodations for a huge entourage.
Then there’s Marisa Tomei for “The Wrestler.” She has won before, for “My Cousin Vinny,” and many critics thought she wasn’t deserving. But she proves them wrong with her performance in “The Wrestler.” She plays a stripper on her last legs, and the role requires a lot of nudity — a brave movie for a 40-year-old. She’s a gutsy gal, and a victory by her wouldn’t be surprising either.
This one is a good race.
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Supporting actor
This category is probably the most fun of all:
Here are the nominees: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”
It’s probably a sure bet that Ledger will win this category for his performance as the Joker. But the others are deserving.
Two surprises: Downey and Shannon. I was rooting for both, but didn’t think they’d make it. “Tropic Thunder” isn’t an Oscar-type movie, so I thought it would be a long shot for Downey to be nominated. But he really was hilarious. Then again, comic performances rarely get an Oscar nod.
And Shannon was stunning in “Revolutionary Road.” He had only a few minutes on screen, but he blew away DiCaprio and Winslet.
I’m happy to see Hoffman get a nomination for “Doubt,” especially since “Synecdoche,” his other big role of the year, was snubbed by the Academy.
And Brolin is one of the most underrated actors ever. He’s also one of the easiest to interview. And that’s a big plus in my book.
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Best actress
This nominees for best actress qualify as one of the biggest horrors in Oscar history.
The nominees: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”
Why so horrible? Well, where on earth is Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Lucky”? She embodied the role in one of the finest performances of the year, by man or woman. The movie would have been lost without her. It’s crazy to leave her out of the bunch. All I can think of is that the Oscar folks are so insular that they can’t bring themselves to nominate an unfamiliar Brit here. Good grief.
As for those who did get nominated: Kate Winslet in “The Reader”? Ugh, ugh, ugh. She won a supporting actress Golden Globe for this role, and now gets a best actress nomination in the Oscars? Plus, the movie was questionable.
Then there’s Angelina Jolie in “Changeling.” The role was absolute Oscar bait, and Jolie is popular. But the movie itself was lacking, and Jolie’s performance sometimes veered on being overwrought.
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep should be the leading contenders here, and I’m rooting for Hathaway. She was great in “Rachel Getting Married,” and Streep has so many awards that she could retire in peace. But then again, Streep is always deserving. She’s probably the best overall movie actress alive today.
Then there was the big surprise, Melissa Leo for “Frozen River.” It’s nice to see the Academy honor this little movie, and it’s also nice to see Leo get recognition. Ever since the 1980s, she has been toiling away in small movies and small roles, starting with the ABC soap “All My Children.” She’s pulled down stints in lots of regular TV shows as a guest actress, and she has paid her dues. So this nomination mitigates the horror.
It’s surprising, however, that Cate Blanchett didn’t get nominated for “Curious Case.” She’s an Oscar favorite, and she’s the top rival to Streep when it comes to overall acting chops.
And I’m glad that Winslet was snubbed for “Revolutionary Road.” She’s a fine actress, so I have nothing against her. But I do have something against the movie. It’s a poor imitation of “Mad Men.”
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Best actor nominees
For best actor, the Oscar nominees are:
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler.”
This category was a pleasant surprise, mainly because Richard Jenkins was wonderful in “The Visitor,” but the little movie got very little attention in the days leading up to the nominations.
Jenkins plays a lonely man who comes back to his New York apartment after a lengthy absence, only to find a young couple living there. He decides to let them stay, and a bond emerges than gives Jenkins new life. The performance was understated and beautiful.
He has no chance to win, of course. The two big contenders should be Sean Penn in “Milk” and Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler.” Both were excellent and are deserving nominees.
Frank Langella also was eerily reminiscent of the creepiness of Richard Nixon. So he has a shot.
But a win by Brad Pitt in a “Curious Case” would be almost as big of a surprise as a victory by Jenkins. Pitt was fine, of course. But the role wasn’t nearly showy enough for Oscar tastes.
My pick: either Penn or Rourke. I’m secretly rooting for the incredibly messed-up Rourke, mainly because he gives messed-up people hope.
As for the snubs, many will be surprised that Clint Eastwood didn’t get a nom for “Gran Torino.” The Oscar folks love Clint. But we’ve seen his cranky old-man routine before, so it wasn’t a big stretch.
Others will bemoan the absence of Leonardo DiCaprio for “Revolutionary Road.” I’m not one of those people. Again, ugh.
And, of course, I’m irritated by the absence of Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Synecdoche, New York.” I know many people didn’t like the movie, but it would be nice if the Oscar folks could at least appreciate the performance. Sigh.
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Best pic nominees
The dubious honors known as Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and I’ll be blogging about the main categories to get the conversation going. As usual, the Academy tended to honor a questionable group of movies.
First up: the biggie: best picture:
The nominees: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”
I have no problem with “Milk,” “Curious Case” and “Slumdog.” All three are fine movies. Even “Frost/Nixon” is okay with me. But “The Reader”? Ugh.
Much better choices were available, including “Synecdoche, New York,” “The Dark Knight,” even “Gran Torino,” which was getting good buzz in Hollywood trade publications in advance of the nominations.
The Academy often snubs experimental movies, so the absence of “Synecdoche” shouldn’t be a big surprise. But it still irks.
Many critics also will be surprised to see the snub of “The Dark Night.” After all, it was one of the biggest moneymakers of 2008, and the Academy loves success. But it was a summer release, and the Academy tends to forget about such movies.
Then there was the Hollywood provincialism. The notion that “The Class,” which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, isn’t one of the top movies is ridiculous. So is the oversight of the British production “Happy-Go-Lucky.” And the oversight of Sally Hawkins’ performance in that fine film is horrible. But more about that later.
On to best actor…
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