Friday, April 23, 2010
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42 comments:
We talk about "slots" in the acting categories and best picture category. So I want to raise a question. Is there now a "black" (or other ethnicity than white) slot in the acting categories? There has been at least one black performer nominated every year since 2001. Does it mean that maybe we'll have another one this year? and who will it be?
^^ not trying to stir the pot or be inappropriate. honest question
Wild Grass is such a rare and beautiful film. I watched Birght Star for the second time last night and now, I love it more... Just one of the best films of 2009, maybe the best.
As a black man, Anonymous, let me just say that I don't find your comment offensive at all and you do bring up an interesting point. I completely failed to notice this and the theory certainly holds water based on the pattern you mentioned.
I can see it happening this year as well. The only problem is naming any high-profile movies starring African-Americans (or other ethnicities) out this year. And the Forest Whitaker-She Who Must Not Be Named pairing DOES NOT count (or, at least, I hope so).
A slightly related tangent: Does it bother anyone else that Halle Berry is the only woman of color (Black, Hispanic, you name it) to win Best Actress. Considering both Penélope Cruz and Gabourey Sidibe have been nominated in the past decade, I find this absolutely depressing.
Just revisited Philip Kaufman's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (1988). Great screenplay and direction. And two breakout performances by Lena Olin and Juliette Binoche helped boost their star power and elevate this film to an '80s classic. I'm looking forward to Kaufman's next directorial project, a film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with wife Martha Gellhorn.
how about how disappointing Alice in Wonderland was? just got back from seeing it and... it just left me feeling empty! :o(
Nina Arianda cast in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris! She was incredible in Venus in Fur at Classic Stage Company - so glad she's breaking into movies. Knowing Woody it could be any size role - here's hoping for a sizable one.
A "minority slot" for this year's Oscars? What a tough question, especially since Hollywood is allergic to non-white people. There's a wishful thinking part of me that sort of hopes Anthony Mackie will get a "We're Sorry" nomination for something like Night Catches Us or The Admjustment Bureau.
But to be more realistic, Samuel L. Jackson in Mother and Child, maybe Ken Watanabe in Inception, *shudder* Forest Whitaker in My Own Love Song, Antonio Banderas and Freida Pinto in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (though neither of them are exactly great thespians) are possibilities.
Most likely, it'll be for a performance that none of us saw coming.
@Anonymous...there isn't a "black" slot in the acting categories, but there are a hell of a lot of white slots.
I think it might be whichever person of color has the biggest buzz will be nominated. After a pretty mediocre Supporting Category that could've had a boost if Mackie was nominated, he's the most likely. It would the "Sorry, We Owe You!" nod.
Freida Pinto would have to be pretty damn good and/or in Best Picture a la Gabourey Sidibe to be nominated.
@badmotherfucker
Is Penelope Cruz considered a woman of color? I don't think Spaniards are.
Funny you should ask. I don't know why but with Damages serie finale, I found myself looking at Glenn Close's IMDb page.
And I was thrilled to find out Rodrigo García (Mother and Child) is directing her in Albert Hobbs (with a screenplay written by her, in collaboration with John Banville and Istvan Szabo).
Could it be... Glenn Close, Best Actress Winner 2012?
The rest of the cast is quite interesting, Michael Gambom, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Amanda Seyfried, Orlando Bloom and Janet McTeer.
Just my wishful thought of the day.
Season finale, not series finale. Sorry for the mistake.
Just bought Never Let Me Go
Don't know why really..
I guess it surprised me they had it in my local book shop, and in english!
Read great reviews here, so I'm hoping it lives up to them..
Sorry, NoNo. That's a pretty foggy subject area for me. I've always considered Spaniards to be Latin (aka white) but not Latino in the strictest sense of the word -- the same way Italians are Latin but not Latino. However, it's debatable within the Hispanic community so I list them as such to avoid offending anyone. Whew! That was a mouthful.
@badmotherfucker - IMO you are absolutely correct.
For me, Spanish people, like the Portuguese, the Italian, the Greek, the Croatians, among others, are Mediterranean countries. That's why we all have darker skin complexion.
Latinos are from Latin America (South America) - Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, etc. I can't even count Brazil among them although I should. And add Mexico, Costa Rica, those countries from Central America, as well. Those are Latinos.
So, although we can say Penélope is a Latina (when we talk about a type of personality) we can't consider her a woman of color.
"A slightly related tangent: Does it bother anyone else that Halle Berry is the only woman of color (Black, Hispanic, you name it) to win Best Actress. Considering both Penélope Cruz and Gabourey Sidibe have been nominated in the past decade, I find this absolutely depressing."
Well, Oscar-worthy roles are rarely written for black actresses, especially in lead roles, so it's even less likely that when a black actress gets an Oscar-y role that she will be the "chosen one", if you will.
I can't say I'm mad about them not winning because not many have really been the deserving one (I think Whoopi should've won for The Color Purple, and I believe Halle really deserved hers [although Nicole could be argued as the true winner]), but it does make me mad when it came time where a black actress really did deserve to win, and instead, they give it to a mediocre performance *cough* Gabby/Sandra *cough*. Like seriously? Such a weak field and you still can't give it to the black actress? I was SO hoping for a Gabby upset at the Oscars. :'( I thought they were ready for their second black actress, and Gabby is so sweet. It would've been great.
Well... I just saw The Blind Side and, wait for it, I didn't hate it nor did I hate Sandra Bullock in it. I think my world is suddenly upside down.
I need a Meryl Streep film marathon stat!
I just watched Fur and The Pianist... the latter is one of my favorites and the former was a pleasant surprise because I wasn't expecting much. I really, really liked it. Kidman and RDJ are just so fantastic and I really appreciated it visually, too.
But The Pianist -- god, I am so glad I wasn't paying attention to the Oscars back then because I probably would have burst a vessel when it lost Best Picture. I'm writing a big term paper on it sooo that's going to be sweet. Because I'm cool that way. I noticed on this viewing that his piano playing is always linked with bombs going off or gunfire of some kind, until that scene at the end. I love picking up on little details like that.
Look on the bright side Morgan, The Pianist won Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director at the Academy Awards.
So according to them, the best written, best acted (since Brody was in almost every scene) and best directed film of 2002 was not the best film of 2002. Gotta love those guys!
"I Am Love".
Passionate, sensuous, lovely, frustrating, electrifying.
God, the cinematography, the bizarre directorial choices, the use of music. The music itself! Everything is just...wow.
TILDA!!!!!!
(Yeah, I am clearly still wrapping my head around this one. I'm not sure if my reaction will be the norm, but I plain ol' loved it.)
I watched the last action hero the other day and although the movie was pretty bad i think the idea behind it was pretty good. I kinda felt myself wanting it to be remade.
I think that the first poster is totally right. I remember that in - I think it was 2001 - (the year Halle Berry and Denzel Washington) it was written in the media that the Oscars were racist, and that they only gave the two lead awards to both Berry and Washington to try and prove these comments that were actually right, wrong... and I am convinced that consequently they will never again dare to go without a single acting nod for a black person in any year. (Sorry, Mo'Nique - your win was probably about the performance - but in general the Oscar is so much politics!) In fact, I doubt they dare to go with less than two or three. But when I researched for my own early 2011 predictions - just for the fun of it, not more - I really had a hard time finding any likely black contenders. I finally went with Kerry Washington as best supporting actress for "Mother and Child" in my final 20.
I am amazed that in a world of shaved & plucked male stars jake g kept his hairy legs chest n hopefully hairy ass,mmmmmmm,like me!!!
well done jakey!!!
Watched the German Film Awards last night and Sibel Kekilli won her second Lola for Best Actress (for "Die Fremde", the first, of course, was for "Head-On"). In her acceptance speech, she basically begged people to cast her ("I'm an actress. I want to work!"). I really hope they'll listen...
@Nate -- i loved I AM LOVE too, so our tastes continue to align. The underlying message isn't that pretty but the rest of the movie is breathtaking.
@Robert Hamer, Morgan -- maybe i should watch The Pianist again. I was always kind of weirded out that so many people wanted it to win everything and yet every other time a Holocaust movie is nominated people groan about 'oh my god they can't stop giving awards to holocaust movies' I thought it was a classy well made movie but i didn't see it as "the" best of anything that year really (though Brody was superb)
@Angel -- i'm convinced that more and more people will come to this "Bright" conclusion. thank you for saying so.
@Jorge -- I could see that happening but then... in some ways it's best not to think about. I try not to hope for oscar comebacks for all the 80s giants they shafted (the 80s = crazy disrespect to great actresses)because there are too many of them and trying to give them all make up oscars will only mean the 10s end up with a new pool of shafted actresses who have to wait and wait and wait
@Anna - ooh, thanks for the info. I just saw Fatih Akin's new movie and his other "Head On" star was in it and I kept waiting for her to show up but no such luck.
@CrazyCris
I hated Alice too, in fact, my entire family did.
what did you think of Mia Wasikowska? she got good reviews, but I thought she was so wooden and bland, yet I dont know if was her fault or that horrible direction. such bad film
Once a month, my friends pay me money to see a movie I know I'll hate. They think it's funny for me to curse them out about it.
I just saw Letters to God, which I knew I was going to hate because it's insanely preachy, and I hate preachy movies due to me being an atheist.
Unless they're, like, The Exorcist.
But anyway, not only did I hate this movie, but they left out the fact that the real kid had his cancer fund money stolen by some lady. Oh, and the mailman character wasn't real either.
Read Ebert's review of North to get my opinion of this sack of bullshit.
it's easy to look back & say who should have won....ie whoopi should have won in color purple. actually geraldine page should have won & did win. she had like 7 nominations before & gave the best perf of the year. it's like when people say peter o'toole should have won for lawrence of arabia. well, that would have meant gregory peck would not have won for "to kill a mockingbird." one thing i can say - kathleen turner should have won for "peggy sue" - and i do not have a problem with marlee matlin not winning.
I saw The Blind Side for the first time two weeks ago and I have to say...Sandra was just as compelling as the other nominees in her category, and that includes Meryl Streep. She was a worthy winner.
So, with that said, who do think will be the most nominated actors of this new decade?
My picks: Academy newbies Anne Hathaway, Carey Mulligan, and Ryan Gosling, and academy vets Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Sean Penn, and Meryl Streep.
jimmy -- agreed on the general sentiment there. Another thing that bugs me is that everyone is always saying "so and so should've been nominated" about just about anyone in any given year. But in reality, only 5 people can be nominated and if they replaced any of the 5 that were more people would be bitching about the ones they replaced.
it has to be WITHIN CONTEXT to mean anything.
but yeah. The Matlin > Turner thing makes me CRAZY. It's so not right.
Ryan T, I saw The Blind Side for the first time as well, and I found Sandra to be just as compelling as her fellow nominees. She was a worthy winner.
With that said, who do you think will be the most nominated actors of the new decade?
My picks: Academy newbies Anne Hathaway, Ryan Gosling, and Carey Mulligan, and academy vets Kate, Cate, Sean Penn, and Meryl.
Whoops...accidentally posted that twice...oh well, all the more!
I watched Children of a Lesser God recently...I don't get Marlee's win either. William Hurt was dreamy though.
This is a cinematic emergency. If anyone can name what movie this is from, my friends will be eternally grateful and indebted to you. I believe in you Film Experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeHrQSF_LQE
Just saw Deliverance again lol
http://suspiciouskind.blogspot.com
I really can't wait until Inception comes out. I hope it will be an Oscar caliber movie. I'm also eager to see which actor will stand out. All of the movie's viral marketing is very intriguing...
Just watched The Rose Tattoo, INCREDIBLE performance by Anna Magnani but I disliked Burt Lancaster - too much of a caricature, cringe-worthy. I was wondering, since Magnani won Best Actress for Tattoo back in 1954, if she was the first foreign language actress to win an Oscar.
I also watched Taxidermia because it was one of the movie's used for your 'first and last' quiz game (great game, mostly impossible to win tho). Anyways that movie was fucked up, I didn't eat for two days after watching that (especially meat, soup, or big gelatin cubes of leftovers) stomach curdling. I usually like cerebral-dark-rabbit-hole-trippy-Lynchian flicks but this didn't really fit that category, nor did it do anything redeemable or entertaining for me (maybe the final outcome). If you like it for any reason (weirdos), please tell me what your seeing that I'm not.
Saw Date Night, cute little movie. Steve Carrell can do no wrong right now in my eyes. He has such heart and earnestness, it's almost as if the comedy is secondary. I've decided I really want him to crossover into a great dramatic role and succeed at what Sandler, Carrey, and Ferrell have attempted and failed at in the past.
Kidman & Campion fans, I just finished watching a Portrait Of A Lady documentary that is part of a short film compilation. The dvd is titled "Short: International Release #2". I highly recommend it. Available @ Netflix.
This might not counted as cinema but I absolutely HATED Gabourey Sidibe on SNL. She was good but the writing...
They literally had her portray EVERY black female stereotype they could think of. The big soul singer? check! The caribbean nurse? check! The loud, nosy neighbor? check! The lazy government worker? check! The ghetto girl? check!
They didn't even try to give her something original.
I usually can take a joke and thought I was just being paranoid...and then I saw the final skit. UGH! I'm not watching SNL again for a long, long time.
I'll be revisiting Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural this afternoon. Otherwise, my mind is on satirical science fiction for a very strange paper assignment.
[totally random] I NEED Angelina to star in GRAVITY. I love RDJ, but we really don't need another male-lead in a sci-fi drama.
Saw "The Losers" this past weekend...absolute mediocre slop...bad script + inappropriate editing + terrible score = a waste of 20 bucks.
Though, Chris Evans has me pumped for Captain America, his career is either going the Ryan Reynolds or Seann William Scott route, I'm rooting for the former...and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Idris Elba should be in more movies.
Anyone else excited for Iron Man 2? I am! I am!
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