Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Oscar Nomination Supernova Review
PICTURE:
What We Missed: William Hurt, A History of Violence, got in instead of Clifton Collins Jr., CapoteSUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Immediate reaction: Well, it was basically "this was predictably safe".
We don't see anything questionable or controversial as far as the actual nominees go. But didn't anyone see The 40-Year-Old Virgin? Are comedies not eligible to be nominated for awards? Steve Carell did an amazing job, guys. You could have struck a blow for the underappreciated comedic talent in the world. But no. Again and again, like clockwork, the Academy fails to recognize that comedy is harder than drama to pull off.
We're glad to see Matt Dillon and George Clooney get recognized. These two are solid, under-appreciated actors. We'd say the same thing about Paul Giamatti's nomination, but we think he should have been at least nominated for, if not declared the winner of, the Best Actor prize the last two years, for American Splendor and Sideways. We haven't seen Cinderella Man yet, but our first thought is, this is equal to the hypothetical Robert DeNiro not being nominated for Raging Bull and The Godfather, Part II but winning for A Boy's Life. If Giamatti were to win the award this year, it wouldn't be as vindicating as it would have been if he'd won for either of those other two films.
Clooney is also in the odd position of being nominated for Supporting Actor for one film and Director for another. Without our Oscar database at hand, we can't be sure if this has ever happened before. We don't think it has.
Here's a Supporting Actor who got barely a mention as a possibility for a nomination: Ian McDiarmid. This guy did some chilling work as the Emperor in four Star Wars films, and his latest performance in Episode III was the icing. This was a much more complex role than he got credit for, and we think he got robbed. Was William Hurt better than McDiarmid this year? Can't wait to find out.
So here's how we see things going on Oscar night as of now, with approximately a gazillion movie viewings to go: PICTURE: Brokeback Mountain. Way too much of a favorite for any of these other films to be considered as a winner. DIRECTOR: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain. Same thing here. ACTOR: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. This appears to be a career-making performance, not that people like us haven't noticed him before. ACTRESS: Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line. She's a Hollywood darling. Never in trouble, married with kids, settled in life. She behaves. Everyone loves her, us included. These comments have nothing to do with her performance. So we'll stop now. SUPPORTING ACTOR: Matt Dillon in Crash. What gives Dillon an edge, we think, is that the Academy will not want to let Crash go home empty-handed. Depends on how voters feel about the Original Screenplay Award; if they lean towards Clooney (and Grant Heslov) for Good Night and Good Luck, Dillon might have the advantage here. SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener. She has the Golden Globe for this performance, which doesn't hurt, but we are always wary of the surprises that come from this category. Supporting Actress is always wide open.
Filmmaker Robert Altman will receive an Honorary Oscar this year, and it is well-deserved. And we can't wait for Jon Stewart's monologue.
What We Got: Brokeback Mountain, Crash, Good Night and Good Luck, MunichSUPPORTING ACTOR:
What We Missed: Capote got in instead of Walk The Line
WHAT WE GOT: George Clooney, Syriana; Matt Dillon, Crash; Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man; Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
What We Missed: William Hurt, A History of Violence, got in instead of Clifton Collins Jr., CapoteSUPPORTING ACTRESS:
What We Got: Catherine Keener, Capote; Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener; Michelle Williams, Brokeback MountainACTRESS:
What We Missed: Amy Adams, Junebug; and Frances McDormand, North Country, got in instead of Sandra Bullock and Thandie Newton, Crash
What We Got: Felicity Huffman, Transamerica; Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice; Charlize Theron, North Country; Reese Witherspoon, Walk The LineACTOR:
What We Missed: Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents, got in instead of Ziyi Zhang, Memoirs of a Geisha
What We Got: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote; Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow; Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain;Joaquin Phoenix, Walk The Line; David Strathairn, Good Night and Good LuckDIRECTOR:
What We Missed: Nothing.
What We Got: Paul Haggis, Crash; Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain; Steven Spielberg, MunichSo this year we went 23 for 30 despite having seen only one movie (Crash) that got any nominations in these six categories.
What We Missed: George Clooney, Good Night and Good Luck and Bennett Miller, Capote got in instead of Woody Allen, Match Point and James Mangold, Walk The Line
Immediate reaction: Well, it was basically "this was predictably safe".
We don't see anything questionable or controversial as far as the actual nominees go. But didn't anyone see The 40-Year-Old Virgin? Are comedies not eligible to be nominated for awards? Steve Carell did an amazing job, guys. You could have struck a blow for the underappreciated comedic talent in the world. But no. Again and again, like clockwork, the Academy fails to recognize that comedy is harder than drama to pull off.
We're glad to see Matt Dillon and George Clooney get recognized. These two are solid, under-appreciated actors. We'd say the same thing about Paul Giamatti's nomination, but we think he should have been at least nominated for, if not declared the winner of, the Best Actor prize the last two years, for American Splendor and Sideways. We haven't seen Cinderella Man yet, but our first thought is, this is equal to the hypothetical Robert DeNiro not being nominated for Raging Bull and The Godfather, Part II but winning for A Boy's Life. If Giamatti were to win the award this year, it wouldn't be as vindicating as it would have been if he'd won for either of those other two films.
Clooney is also in the odd position of being nominated for Supporting Actor for one film and Director for another. Without our Oscar database at hand, we can't be sure if this has ever happened before. We don't think it has.
Here's a Supporting Actor who got barely a mention as a possibility for a nomination: Ian McDiarmid. This guy did some chilling work as the Emperor in four Star Wars films, and his latest performance in Episode III was the icing. This was a much more complex role than he got credit for, and we think he got robbed. Was William Hurt better than McDiarmid this year? Can't wait to find out.
So here's how we see things going on Oscar night as of now, with approximately a gazillion movie viewings to go: PICTURE: Brokeback Mountain. Way too much of a favorite for any of these other films to be considered as a winner. DIRECTOR: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain. Same thing here. ACTOR: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. This appears to be a career-making performance, not that people like us haven't noticed him before. ACTRESS: Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line. She's a Hollywood darling. Never in trouble, married with kids, settled in life. She behaves. Everyone loves her, us included. These comments have nothing to do with her performance. So we'll stop now. SUPPORTING ACTOR: Matt Dillon in Crash. What gives Dillon an edge, we think, is that the Academy will not want to let Crash go home empty-handed. Depends on how voters feel about the Original Screenplay Award; if they lean towards Clooney (and Grant Heslov) for Good Night and Good Luck, Dillon might have the advantage here. SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener. She has the Golden Globe for this performance, which doesn't hurt, but we are always wary of the surprises that come from this category. Supporting Actress is always wide open.
Filmmaker Robert Altman will receive an Honorary Oscar this year, and it is well-deserved. And we can't wait for Jon Stewart's monologue.
