Monday, September 10, 2007

Links: Oscar Drum Beating Begins for Linney, Blanchett and Foster

Monday through Friday reader? You'll want to scroll down for a ton o' festival coverage including Venice winners and "Keith" Ledger

Actress-centric

<-- The Reeler not pleased to see Oscar campaigns starting. Even if it's for The Lovely Laura Linney
J.J. sums up Telluride. Cate Blanchett "a sensation"
ModFab "Being Done w/ Jodie Foster"

Other
Film of the Year Slapstick Blog-a-Thon my post will be up tonight if the fates are kind. But are they? I know not
My New Plaid Pants is so not PC w/ "bring on the gay villains"
Solace in Cinema Benicio Del Toro as the Wolfman
Movie Marketing Madness discusses the Disney/Pixar fallout over Ratatouille's "disappointing box-office". Yikes. What kind of world is this when a difficult-to-market film gets raves, is the third most popular non-sequel of its year, is on track to win an Oscar and grosses over $200 million in its theatrical window?

File Under: I Wished I'd Thought of That
Jew Eat Yet has a wonderfully cinematic way to celebrate his each and every birthday

22 comments:

Cinesnatch said...

I don't if this is reflection of an inability to process my own sexuality in a healthy manner, but I continue to be excited about new Jodie Foster movies (regardless of the subject matter) and gay villains.

*shrugs*

adam k. said...

Linney really seems like the type of actress who will rack up the noms but never win one. She's just so... safe. Always dependable, never surprising. And weirdly hard to get excited about in a "WIN" kind of way, despite her immense talent. And I'm a huge Linney fanboy, having shared her alma mater.

Also, isn't it starting to seem totally inevitable that Blanchett will receive two noms? When is the last time that happened? Does that mean it WON'T happen cause she's peaking so early? Discuss.

And I, for one, am planning to see The Brave One. I skipped Panic Room, Flight Plan, and Inside Man, so I figure it's OK if I give my money to this one.

Wow, I really haven't seen many Jodie Foster films at all. But I feel like once you've seen Silence, Contact and Taxi Driver, it's all downhill. I guess I should at least see Nell and The Accused.

adam k. said...

*When I said "when is the last time that happened?" I meant the last time it seemed so inevitable so early. Cause seriously, both seem like such easy gets.

Anonymous said...

Blanchett is losing some steam for The Golden Age, it seems. Both David Poland and Jeff Wells think The Golden Age is a disaster, and that Blanchett doesn't do anything particularly special (and those guys really rate her). Neither of them seem to view her as a deserving Best Actress contender for TGA.

Variety is "meh" on the movie, and fairly reserved in their comments on Blanchett (they say her best moments come earlier in the movie). Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily rave Blanchett and like the film.

But overall, I'm getting the feeling that this is going to be another Veronica Guerin or Charlotte Gray for Cate. One of those overrated, competent Blanchett performances in a critical disappointment of a film, that critics reflexively overpraise (because she's Cate Blanchett), but underwhelm in the long run, and miss out on an Oscar nomination.

I don't think Blanchett is a lock anymore for The Golden Age. Her Boby Dylan movie looks to be her best bet. But thankfully, the prospect of Blanchett getting double nominated is looking slimmer. This woman needs to give the oscar-baiting a rest.

Sam

John T said...

I just watched The Trip to Bountiful, and I think that Laura Linney will be a lot like Geraldine Page. Getting multiple nominations, and then eventually getting so many that they feel the need to give her one for something (though in Page's case, it's for a rather beautiful little film).

Oh, and speaking of Best Actresses, did everyone hear that Oscar winner Jane Wyman passed away?

Anonymous said...

sad about jane wyman....i assume she was way up in her 90's. i guess olivia dehavilland (sp) is oldest living BA at this point.

John T said...

Actually, I believe the oldest living Best Actress (or possibly the oldest current living Oscar-winner) is Luise Rainer, who is 97.

Anonymous said...

Sam,

Cate will be nominated for the "Golden Age". A win I am not sure, but nomination is very likely. From the reviews I read on TGA, this appears to be a movie that will appeal to the mainstream audience but not as much with some of the critics. Furthermore, Universal may do another cut of the movie based on the feedback and reviews received at TIFF so you will never know.

Anonymous said...

Well, Anne Thompson just weighed in on her blog, and she also thinks that while Blanchett is fairly good, a nomination for The Golden Age is far from a sure thing. Thompson thinks Blanchett will likely only get nominated for I'm Not There. Blanchett will get some raves, because she gets raved eevn when she doesn't deserve it, but the early signs are pretty disturbing

This looked like such a slam dunk, can't miss role for Blanchett. But the film itself may end up a critical failure, and it doesn't sound to me as if Blanchett actuallly improves on her performance in the first film. If the film and the performance are redundant, why nominate her? This hardly sounds like Godfather 2, where the film and lead performance were so earth shatteringly brilliant, that it demanded to be nominated again. Already Todd McCarthy, Jeff Wells, David Poland and Anne Thomspson sound as if they wouldn't particularly care if Blanchett got nominated or not for The Golden Age. Bad sign.

It's going to be a competitive year for lead actress. Blanchett already has a strong shot at a supporting nod. I think the buzz for The Golden Age will get worse, and she'll have to settle for a supporting nomination.

I'd like to see the likes of Kidman and Foster back in the race, so it makes things a bit more interesting if Blanchett isn't a sure thing for a nomination. She may yet get nominated, but it's looking less certain now, imho.

Sam

Anonymous said...

b/actress just became a whole lot more interesting.

Anonymous said...

Sam,

Todd and Anne (as well as other critics) have singled out Cate's performance in the Golden Age even though they find the movie average to good. Jeff Wells writes crap IMHO. He was the one who proclaimed last year that The Departed won't stand a chance at the Oscar since it didn't play at Toronto. Anyway, I have a feeling that this movie will be like "Gladiator". Didn't get much love from the Critics but was well accepted by the mainstream audience. It tested really well at a test screening in Sherman Oaks earlier this year.

Anonymous said...

Cate's gonna win another supporting for I'm Not There and get nominated but lose the lead to Julie Christie. You heard it here first!

Yaseen Ali said...

Not much to add to the discussion here, but I totally sympathize with that write-up featured at The Reeler. I feel so winded from last year's Oscar race that I need at least three more months to get excited about this one.

(More updates tonight, promise.)

Cinesnatch said...

I wonder if every one who entered "re-guessed" their initial predictions, what they would look like as a whole.

Glenn Dunks said...

So, if Cate doesn't win who does? Keira Knightley? That'll ruffle some feathers. In fact, I sort of want that to happen just so all the "omg keira with an oscar? i've lost all respect!!!!11" people can chime in and embarass themselves.

NATHANIEL R said...

you beat me to the punch glenn. i'm currently thinking it's gonna be Knightley for the win. fits right into Oscar's love of young princesses as winners

Anonymous said...

Keira won't win. They'd rather give it to Cate, Jodie, Julie or Marion before her. By the way, I know some of you (esp Nathaniel) are not big fans of Cate -- saying that she always takes Oscar baity roles. Well, given her enormous talents, she keeps getting offered these roles and often a time directors had to persuade her to take them. It's not that she purposely wanted these roles to win oscars. After all, she made a cameo appearance on Hot Fuzz without getting any credit. She really is a talented actress deserving the Best Actress Oscar.

Cinesnatch said...

Blanchette has to really hit it out of the park with Elizabeth if she's going to win the Lead Actress Oscar, no? She's already almost a lock on winning another supporting. If there is a disparity in quality between the two performances, does the Academy love her enough to give her a double whammy? If they really loved her all that much, wouldn't she have easily gotten a nod for Veronica Gueren?

Anonymous said...

i have seen atonement here in the uk and can guarantee knightley should be in the lead for atonement it is going to be given multiple nods,keira has a real character arc she is a brittle flighty nasty bitch at the start by the end you are crying for her she is that good,not elizabeth bennet at all,the scene with mcavoy in the drawing room will be her oscar clip and that green dress is iconic already.

adam k. said...

I think the academy is now overcompensating for Blanchett being snubbed all those times early in the decade. She is seen in the industry as another Meryl Streep type who should have many many noms by now, so I think they'll waste no time in making it up to her. I think she's looking at a double nom, but which will she win for? Hard to say.

Could Knightley really win? I have my doubts. For that to happen, Atonement will have to be HUGE.

I'm still thinking Kate's film will release in December and she'll swipe the win from all of them. She should, anyway.

Glenn Dunks said...

"Keira won't win. They'd rather give it to Cate, Jodie, Julie or Marion before her."

Are you an Academy member, then?

Anonymous said...

If Knightley is deserving, it would be fun to see her win. I loved her in Pride & Prejudice, and thought she was more deserving than any of the nominees that year.