Yes, it is my favorite morning of the year when I traditionally go into work late, sit on the couch and wait for the live announcement of the nominations for the academy awards. Yes it is silly because no one I know personally is going to be nominated and certainly there are more important things going on in the world than the Oscars and it isn't like I can't immediately get the list off the internet. Yet, for me rituals are treasured and this, while frivolous is one I treasure. I like the innocence of anticipating who will be nominated, seeing the dark horses emerge and nominees be recognized for smaller films.
So with that qualifer here is my take on the group this year. I won't list all the nominees, for that you can go to www.oscars.com or any major newspaper of your choice for that matter. Off the bat here are the three nomination factoids that made me very happy:
1) Three women are nominated for original screenplays. One for adaptation. The giddyness of this comes from the reality that Hollywood over time has not been kind to women. I distinctly remember the irony of the Oscars in the year that the ceremony 'celebrated women' was a particularly weak year for women's roles. A fact punctuated by the fact that Meryl Streep was nominated for The River Wild. I love Meryl Streep as much as the next person, but when you are nominating The River Wild you are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
2) Hal Holbrook's nomination for best supporting actor in Into the Wild - I love, love, love the little nominations that could and while I don't think that Hal Holbrook will beat out Javier Bardem's performance in No Country For Old Men it is so great to see a character actor who has been around for literally over 50 years be recognized.
3) Another great surprise was in the lead actress category. While I am pulling for Ellen Page to win I am thrilled to see Laura Linney nominated. She is one of those actors that is so good people take it for granted. I will be watching the SAGs this Sunday to see who takes this category there, because I think that will be a strong indicator of how the chips are going to fall at the Oscars. I will give my Oscar predictions then as well.
Finally, the big question mark of this all is whether or not there will be a telecast because of the writers strike. Here's hoping!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Love me some Oscars... but I can't sit through another Dayna Devon/Billy Bush fiasco again. Maybe they should just hire Beyonce to sing the entire ceremony in French. With interpretive dance by Debbie Allen. And costume design by Bjork.
I gotta say, looking at the nominees, it wasn't a good year at the movies. It seems like everyone's got an even shot... but not because everyone was so good you just can't possibly pick a winner-- but for me, it's a "yeah, he was OK," "yeah, he was OK too" year.
Plus, there seems to be an awful lot of either returning winners/nominees or familiar famous people. As much as it is nice to see Laura Linney nominated (cuz she's great)... but, here she is again. Daniel Day Lewis, again. Cate Blanchett, again (twice!). Philip Seymour Hoffman, again. Tommy Lee Jones, again. Johnny Depp, again. (Plus we all know Casey Affleck doesn't have a popsicle's chance in hell.) I swear, if there were a sixth nominee in Best Actor and Actress... pattern would show Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. (She was in a movie this year, right?) We get it already, we know you're all brilliant! Show-offs!
Speaking of Meryl... is anyone else traumatized by the previews of her singing and dancing in "Mamma Mia?" Comedy years, Part Deux in full swing. Let's all rent "She Devil" and reminisce.
OH MY GOD -- the trinity of Beyonce Debbie Allen and Bjork will have me laughing 5 days from now. That is classic and I may need to make it my quote of the week on the blog.
Interesting take on the nominees. I hadn't thought of it that way, but there's some teeth to the analysis. I think what the film industry suffered is underwhelming promise. There was no 'sweeping epic' or 'piercing drama' that rose to the top. Few saw There Will Be Blood prior to the nominations and Atonement failed to dazzle. Without the bump of a real awards show in the Golden Globes there is little to route for leading in. I am hoping the SAG awards rectifies some of that tomorrow night.
And Mamma Mia with Meryl Streep is a blog entry unto itself. I am off to watch Death Becomes Her. It's a double feature with Postcards From the Edge!
Post a Comment