Friday, September 02, 2005

Bakers Dozen: Performances I'm Most Anxiously Awaiting (Part 1)

Though Fall hasn't really begun, it's my favorite season and I'm feeling anticipatory (see also the new sidebar: Anticipation) about everything. Everything entertaining that is. Tthe real world? A little scary right now. I'll pass. So, without further ado. Here are the performances I'm most curious about / interested in / anxious to see for the remainder of 2005.

13 Michael Cerveris and Patti Lupone will be stepping into the very plum stage roles of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett in the Broadway return of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Now to be honest, Cerveris and Lupone are not the true draws for me. Sondheim and this productions particular staging device -actors as orchestra (!?) are the main want-to-see factors. Still, I'm curious to see how Cerveris (great voice) and Lupone (i may lose my gay card but i think...um...wildly overrated) fare in this über worshipped show.

12 I realize that you can't trust Tom O'Neill @ GoldDerby with future film & Oscar hype but he's now suggesting that Julianne Moore will be in the running for that coveted golden statue this year with The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio. I hope he's right. I always look forward to Julianne's performances and I'd love to see her clutching that Oscar. We've discussed this already on this blog. But it's worth asking: How great will Julianne really have to be to actually win? Once you get as acclaimed and oft-nominated as Julianne you have to start really subverting expectations to keep the nominations coming because you've raised the bar so many times. Will AMPAS voters really find something new in her third run at a 50s housewife (following her double nomination for Far From Heaven and The Hours) or will they just be willing to give it to her to get it over with as they sometimes do when they've slighted a major star umpteen times.

Trivia Alert:
If Julianne receives her fifth nomination this January she becomes one of the 25 most Oscar honored female actors ever! Only three actresses within that current top 24 are Oscar-less: Glenn Close, Deborah Kerr, and Thelma Ritter.

11 Colin Farrellhas had a rough year. After an indie that sunk (Home at the End of the World) and an epic that fell way short (Alexander)--it seems that the media that once overhyped him now find sport in knocking him down a peg or five. I hold the unpopular opinion that he's actually a decent actor. Neither of his last two performances were unqualified successes but he has an earnestness that I find appealing. He seems to actually want to be a great actor...even if he's not quite there yet. That's more than a lot of phone-it-in stars have. I'm curious to see what Malick does with him in The New World

10 Viggo Mortenson in A History of Violence early buzz which calls him subtle, nuanced, and probably not an Oscar contender (due to --well that pesky subtlety and nuance) makes me believe that I'll love the performance. I thought he rocked as Aragorn so I'm ready for more.

09 Hello. My name is Nathaniel.
["Hi, Nathaniel!"]
I'm addicted to Cillian Murphy.
[applause]
In anything. So give meBreakfast on Pluto. I need it.

08 through 04 next...

2 comments:

Calum Reed said...

Yeah. Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto is probably the performance I'm anticipating the most. Along with Uma Thurman in The Producers, and Diane Keaton in The Family Stone.

John T said...

As for Julianne Moore's being nominated, there are several other actresses who could potentially land nomination number five: Judi Dench, Diane Keaton, Jodie Foster, and Kate Winslet.