Thursday, February 23, 2006

Who Benefits Most?

Though I don't know any many movie actors personally, I feel it's safe to assume that the "Oscar Curse", that old Hollywood myth that you can be doomed to obscurity or career freefall directly after a win (think Louise Fletcher, Marisa Tomei, Cuba Gooding Jr, Mira Sorvino, etc --yes like scoliosis it can hit men but generally screws with the ladies) is a handy piece of aloe vera when actors get burned on Oscar night.

Wins aside for now. Who will get the biggest career boost from this awards season?

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20 comments:

Middle-P said...

ENTIRELY agree that if R.W. doesn't handle her win carefully, she will be hit with Mira Sorvino syndrome. And sad to say, I don't think she will handle the win carefully...

Javier Aldabalde said...

What curse??

She has got "The Fountain" coming up this year, for God's sake, which we all know will be the single greatest artistic achievement in the history of mankind (and maybe of apes, too) and you're talking about a potential curse?

Nonsense, Nat. Nonsense I say.

adam k. said...

Random, but how funny is it that both likely actress winners have RW for initials? Bet that's never happened before.

Still, I think Weisz is vulnerable. I think a Williams or Adams upset is SO possible.

Glenn Dunks said...

It's definitely a three horse race at the moment, but Rachel is just ahead of Michelle, who is just ahead of Amy i would say right now.

Man, who else wants Mira Sorvino back?!

Anonymous said...

Hey, it could be worse for Rachel Weisz.

She could end up having Julianne Moore's post-Oscar career. LOL!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, that should read "Julianne Moore's post-FFH/The Hours Oscar nomination career".

NATHANIEL R said...

middle-p, exactly.
caleb -i don't actually have that much invested in Williams winning. True it's who I'd select from those five but Weisz was also very good so it's not really an issue. It's a great category...
javierag -weisz hopes you're right. as do I (regarding the fountain)
adam -so do I. Weisz makes the most sense but it seems far from locked for whatever reason (to me)
anonymous -ouch. i'm allowed to diss Juli's career but others are not. See how that works? ;)

Anonymous said...

Biggest boost? This year we got a lot of nominees that already are stars.
I'd say Matt Dillon. The man was doing Herbie movies less than a yr ago. He has to parlay this nom into better roles.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Nathanial that it's pretty annoying when a lead winds up in the supporting catagory. Weisz is great, but really a lead. And her getting the award will really be largely about giving Gardner SOMETHING, rather than her this specific award becasue she should have it. Hopefully Fiennes will get a boost into an upcoming nomination, once they realize how great he was and how he was snubbed here. He's every bit as great as William Hurt, Daniel Day Lewis, and he should have an Oscar by now.

Anonymous said...

They will Give Rachel Weisz the Oscar because of her great performance, a performance that won both the globe and the SAG award. As for her career, Rachel has been making great films for some time now. " Runaway Jury, The Shape Of Things" So this so-called Oscar curse is really sour grapes from a few fans who don't want her to win. The one you should worry about is Michelle Williams who lets get real, got nominated because of her film, not her performance.

NATHANIEL R said...

it's so weird to me that people can see me nominate someone for a prize and then accuse me of sour grapes for suggesting they may be cursed if they win ???

i really liked Weisz' performance in TCG. But I guess since it's the only performance of hers I've ever found remotely special she seems like an obvious candidate for the curse.

I mean was Mira Sorvino ever as good as she was in Mighty Aphrodite before or after?

Anonymous said...

Rachel Weisz is a very versatile and talented actress, one of the best we have around. I don't think she will get the curse.

adam k. said...

Well, Mira was kind of great in Romy and Michelle's high school reunion. (just not in an oscary way)

Well, none of the other winners look likely to get the curse (Clooney or Reese? please. Hoffman? doubtful.) so Weisz I think has a good chance of taking it, sadly.

Glenn Dunks said...

I agree that Weisz hasn't really done much of worth other than Gardener. The Mummy Returns? lol

NATHANIEL R said...

adam -i concede. She was super in Romy & Michelle. funny funny funny

Anonymous said...

I have never seen a bunch of ignorant and stupid people in my life. You have so many people crying and bitching about Weisz winning is funny. Weisz is not going to get the curse at all and if you don' know about Weisz's other work other than the Mummy, you guys are beyond stupid.

Anonymous said...

The one i should be worrying about is Michell Williams.

Anonymous said...

What can you do... there are stupid people everywhere. Rachel Weisz will be fine, she's a great actress. Michelle Williams on the other hand is not.

Anonymous said...

How can you compare Rachel Weisz to Mira Sorvino? First off Mira Sorvino didn't have much of a career prior to Mighty Aphrodite which could explain her lack of career after winning the Oscar. Atleast Rachel has a couple of hit movies under her belt.

Anonymous said...

As to the original question of who benefits most from this awards season, I should think Terrence Howard is a no-brainer. He is already reaping the benefits - as I understand it, he has landed at least four parts in upcoming productions as a result of his well-deserved acclaim this year. Here's hoping he makes good choices.