Monday, March 08, 2010

And the Winner Is... Mo'Nique (Supporting Actress Greatness)

Y'all know how we love the split screen madness on Oscar night. I wish they filmed it in slo-mo, I love it so much. I actually wished they had the split screen up through the ENTIRE acting presentations so you can spy on the faces and project your own meaning on to the collected famous (possibly nervous, heartbroken, pissy, relieved, happy, confused) faces for whole minutes at a time.

the envelope is opening | "Mo... | "Nique"! (it sinks in)


In such a locked up category everyone is composed. Penélope is totally chill 'Already won this. Yep, just as I predicted' Maggie was smiling like that the whole night, just happy for that Crazy Heart ride. Mo'Nique is totally ready. Closes her eyes for the Royal Blessing. Then heads to the stage. Congratulations Mo'Nique. One of the most deserving Best Supporting Actress winners ever.

While we're on the subject... you didn't ask for it OR expect it. But here you go, the film experience ballot if you could only hold the Oscars once a decade (GOD FORBID!):

Nathaniel's Choice For Best Supporting Actress 2000-2009
  • Holly Hunter, thirteen (nominated, lost)
  • Mo'Nique, Precious (the Oscar winner)
  • Michelle Pfeiffer, White Oleander (snubbed)
  • Miranda Richardson, Spider (snubbed)
  • Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton (the Oscar winner)
I think that's what it would be. SO hard to narrow down that much. Argh. Maybe I'd drop Richardson for somebody? I haven't seen that performance in a long and is it as tripled in its genius as I remember? The winner? Tilda or Mo'Nique. But it's too soon to ask, too soon!!! And here's my favorite of Oscar's winners this past decade.


Yes, Oscar and I are sympatico for three years running in this category, sharing the same gold winner. Never thought that would happen. Three consecutive thrilling years in any category is so rare! This means we're due for another Cold Mountain or A Beautiful Mind travesty come February 2011. But let's not worry about that just yet! Happy thoughts. Mo'Nique!

30 comments:

James T said...

Your top 5 of the decade for supporting. Nice! Sould I wait for something similar in the next post?

Jorge Rodrigues said...

Just a random note...

The Academy once again wasn't very imaginative and gave TOM HANKS the honor of anouncing Best Picture.

I was totally expecting (like I said in a previous post) him or Dustin Hoffman to do it.

Zach said...

Catherine Zeta-Jones? Really? Over Meryl Streep in "Adaptation"? Really?

I disagree.

Michael said...

All my choices managed nominations:

1. Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
2. Amy Adams - Junebug
3. Helen Mirren - Gosford Park
4. Virginia Madsen - Sideways
5. Mo'Nique - Precious

And I'd have to go Amy Adams for the win.

Andrea said...

Jorge - I see no reason to complain. After having the dignity of the Oscars raped by Miley Cyrus, Keanu Reeves, J. Lo, Zac Efron, and Taylor Lautner as presenters, I thanked god to see an actual notable industry veteran/actor over the age of 40 present. Tom Hanks was a lifesaver. At this rate I'm just grateful they didn't have Robert Pattinson present BP.

The show needed some Jack Nicholson or Cate Blanchett... Class was a rare presence last night.

adam k. said...

Weren't like THREE of those women from 2002? Wow. Or was Richardson '03? I don't remember.

I'd have Mo'Nique, Swinton, and most likely Amy Adams (Junebug) in there. LOVED her in that. Probably Michelle Pfeiffer, too. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Meryl Streep were both pretty great in '02. As was Hunter in '03. Madsen, I think, isn't quiiiite "best of decade" material. What about Maria Bello in A History of Violence? Or even Emily Blunt in Prada? If I'm being honest about who I still remember and can QUOTE, Blunt is near the top of that list.

Jorge Rodrigues said...

I wasn't complaining because I like Tom Hanks. I was just saying that there's a lot of actors in the biz who are famous and well-regared for their work, so why do they keep getting the same guys?


But yes, the show was weaker because many, many known stars (Kidman, Blanchett, Nicholson) didn't appear.

Robert Hamer said...

Oh, I don't think any Best Supporting Actress of the Decade list is complete without Virginia Madsen.

MRRIPLEY said...

How about Marcia Gay Harden for Pollock.

MY TOP 5

PFEIFFER- WHITE OLEANDER
MO'NIQUE- PRECIOUS
TOMEI - IN THE BEDROOM
STREEP - ADAPTATION
CRUZ - VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA

TOP 5 FROM THE WINNERS
SWINTON - MICHAEL CLAYTON
HUDSON - DREAMGIRLS
HARDEN - POLLOCK
MO'NIQUE - PRECIOUS
CRUZ - VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA

Corey S said...

My Top 5 would be:

1)Mo'Nique - Precious
2)Adriana Barazza - Babel
3)Penelope Cruz - Vicky Christina Barcelona
4)Marcia Gay Harden - Pollack
5)Toni Collette - The Hours

Nick M. said...

Oh, I would love to see a post like this for all four acting categories (and even director).

BrianZ said...

Just five for a decade!! Impossible...but fantastic idea.

I remember a few years ago, Matt Damon suggested idly that the Oscars should be presented ten years after the film's came out, to give the proper distance.

Deus Ex Machina said...

I love Mo'nique's performance. well deserved! However, I don't know if I like her as a person too much. Her Baba Wawa special was waaay TMI. No shaving your legs?; Open relationship with her husband? Being raped by her brother??? I mean, she needs to do little bit more of good work until I'm actually interested in that side of her life, for the moment, shush and shave your legs!

NATHANIEL R said...

Deus Ex -- haha. i don't think there's any telling Mo'Nique what to do! ;) though i didn't know about the open relationship. That's so weird. My two favorite supporting actress performance of the decade are both (admittedly) nonmonogamous? weird coincidence.

NATHANIEL R said...

The Z -- Meryl didn't win. Those were my 4 favorite winners ;)

Paul Outlaw said...

TOP TEN (in cowardly alphabetical order):

Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Viola Davis, Antwone Fisher
Anne Hathaway, Brokeback Mountain
Helen Mirren, Gosford Park
Mo'Nique, Precious
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Maggie Smith, Gosford Park
Meryl Streep, Adaptation.
Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Unknown said...

Decade ballot:
Virginia Madsen, Sideways
Amy Adams, Junebug
Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada (I think this is supporting)


can we please please please do an entire Oscar ballot for the decade? Its so damn fun

Unknown said...

Decade ballot:
Virginia Madsen, Sideways
Amy Adams, Junebug
Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada (I think this is supporting)


can we please please please do an entire Oscar ballot for the decade? Its so damn fun

Andrew R. said...

Here are my DECADE awards for Oscar winners only:

Greatest Best Picture Winner of Decade: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. (No Country and Hurt Locker come close. Also, Precious tied with Hurt Locker in my book, so if that had won...). And Peter Jackson wins Best Director Winner of Decade.

Greatest Best Actor Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will be Blood.

Greatest Best Actress Winner: There were a lot of semi-undeserving winners this decade here. I'll say Charlize Theron in Monster.

Greatest Best Supporting Actor Winner: Heath Ledger in Dark Knight.

Greatest Best Supporting Actress Winner: Mo'nique in Precious.

This is for winners only. If it came down to nominees and snubbed people too, my head would explode in choosing all categories except for Supporting Actress. Mo'nique would still win.

The Dude said...

I know you already did the whole "top 50" of the decade and all, but I do think it's such a great idea to do something like Film BITCH 00 decade edition! or something like that.

Well, I'd actually put la Jones as Velma Kelly as my favorite this decade. So sazzy, inspired, charming, and a total scene stealer. Not far behind would be Amy Adams in Junebug, Mo'Nique in Precious, Streep in Adaptation and Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener. No order, probably Weisz as second if I had to.

Oh and Nathaniel, I just wanted to say I loved your acting picks this year..well almost. My Best Actor lineup would have been almost identical, except Rockwell moves instead of Renner, and Levitt would be my #2 of the year.
Actress...charming, I haven't seen Kim, with streep instead of her, but same order for win, though gabby is far and away my win. Love the supporting ones, but switch your medal and bronze in supp. actress (and I did like Kendrick a lot more that you it seems) plus that mention of Morton is amaaaaaazing. oh and, I'm pissed that no Molina in your mentions even, and Mckay isn't one of the top three.

CanadianKen said...

Just can't bear to cut my best of the decade (2000-2009) down to less than 10.And chronologically they'd be:
1. LUPE ONTIVEROS "Chuck and Buck"
2. MARY McDONNELL "Donnie Darko"
3. MARISA TOMEI "In the Bedroom"
4. SHOREH AGHDASHLOO
"House of Sand and Fog"
5. SISSY SPACEK
"A Home at the End of the World"
6. TARAJI P.HENSEN "Hustle
& Flow"
7.GONG LI "Memoirs
of a Geisha"
8. MICHELLE WILLIAMS
"Brokeback Mountain"
9. ADRIANA BARRAZA "Babel"
10. MO'NIQUE "Precious"

Anonymous said...

my top 5 of the aughts (not considering 2009 yet):

frances mcdormand - almost famous
mary mcdonnell - donnie darko
holly hunter - thirteen
laura linney - the squid and the whale
samantha morton - synecdoche, new york

I guess I have a soft spot for mothers in the supporting actress category, although natalie portman (garden state) and sarah michelle gellar (yeah, for southland tales) are runners-up...

remy

ferdi said...

Haven't seen Mo'nique performance yet, cause Precious has no distribution in Italy. Very Sad.
For the top 5 supporting actress of the last decade I would add:
- Julianne Moore, The Hours
- Cate Blanchett, I'm not there

John T said...

For me, the Top 5 of the Supporting Actresses of the decade would be:

Claire-Hope Ashitay (Children of Men)
Mo'Nique (Precious)-Silver
Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter 5)-Bronze
Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)
Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago)-Gold

Alts: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Cate Blanchett (The Aviator)

par3182 said...

now can you do a screen capture of stanley tucci rolling his eyes at his own hammy performance in the lovely bones? that's truly supporting actor greatness

Iggy said...

One of my favourite things after the Oscars is looking for pictures of actors/actresses gatherings that wouldn't happen otherwise. I haven't done it this year, but I guess I was meant to, because visiting a Tv guide website, I found the link to this picture:

http://www.diariofemenino.com/actualidad/famosos/galerias/penelope-cruz-oscars-2010/oscars-2010-penelope-cruz-alfombra-roja/

Love it!

Steolicious said...

Cate Blanchett - The Aviator (winner)
Maggie Smith - Gosford Park (nom.)
Julianne Moore - The Hours (nom.)
Brenda Blethyn - Pride & Prejudice (snubbed)
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel (nom.)


10 Runners Up:
Marion Cotillard - Nine,
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton,
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls,
Parker Posey - For Your Consideration,
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement,
Amy Adams - Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day,
Helen Mirren - Gosford Park,
Michelle Pfeiffer - White Oleander,
Laura Linney - Kinsey,
Frances McDormand - North Country

(I did not see PRECIOUS so far)

Dorian said...

Yeah, Mo'Nique's win is the best supporting actress win of the decade. And that standing ovation! They never do that for the supporting winners! See that level of respect! It's really heartwarming to see that happen for her. Lord knows I never would have guessed that from her after seeing "The Parkers" and "Charm School" (and I'm a fan of both). And what makes it great is that it's really about the performance and how monumental it is. She could have paraded herself everywhere and the press would have eaten it all up, but she didn't. Some called her a diva or uppity or naive or ungracious, but it was being grounded in your current work and life and putting the Oscar race in perspective. It's nothing that's worth whoring yourself out for, especially for someone like her who isn't paper thin and lily-white that Hollywood doesn't (and never has) know what to do with anyway. So hold your head high, Oscar-winner Mo'Nique! You did it, baby!!!! Congratulations! I'm getting the DVD today and relive it all over again!!!

notanotherblog said...

Helen Mirren - Gosford Park
Jennifer Jason Leigh - Road to Perdition
Natalie Portman - Closer
Kelly Macdonald - No Country for Old Men
Mary Louise Parker - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Viola Davis - Doubt
Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the...

Bryan said...

For me, I would say:

-Amy Adams "Junebug"
-Holly Hunter "Thirteen"
-Mo'Nique "Precious"
-Julianne Moore "The Hours"
-Natalie Portman "Closer"
-Amy Ryan "Gone Baby Gone"
-Tilda Swinton "Michael Clayton"
-Marisa Tomei "In the Bedroom"
-Michelle Williams "Brokeback Mountain"
-Kate Winslet "Iris"

I'm only choosing from the Oscar nominees... including the snubees would be too hard