Oscar Snubs Part 2: Best Supporting Actress—Samantha Morton

09 Feb 2010, Posted by Charlie McSpadden in Awards, Film, Playground, 0 Comments

A small, independent film often has to choose what bait is best to dangle in front of Academy voters. Time and resources are slim and must be employed as efficiently as possible. Oscar campaigning is a reality—a reprehensible one sometimes, yes—but, as my preferred Oscar blogger Sasha Stone points out fairly often, winning an Oscar is “all about the story”. And there is no story without a campaign.

The Messenger, a quietly powerful but equally lost home-based Iraq war drama, did fairly well this Oscar season, but its strongest aspect went sorely overlooked. Samantha Morton plays Olivia Pitterson, a widowed, single mother who becomes romantically linked to the soldier who broke the news of her husband’s death. Morton can recite poetry with her eyes, emote heartbreak with a mere glance. When Olivia first hears the news of her husband’s death, she is uncannily calm and receptive. In a mostly silent scene in her kitchen, as Ben Foster’s Will does his best to woo her, Olivia heartbreakingly straddles her own emotional wall. Morton expresses the pain of this temptation perfectly, all while maintaing the scene’s palpable eroticism.

Morton, at least, has been nominated before, in 2000 for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown and in 2004 for Jim Sheridan’s magical, unforgettable In America. Perhaps her past success propelled the producers to put Woody Harrelson at the forefront of their campaign for his role as Captain Tony Stone. And they succeeded for Harrelson, and even picked up an Original Screenplay nod to boot.

At least Morton has deserving companions.  A Single Man’s breathtaking and boozy Julianne Moore, as well as the ravishing women of Inglourious Basterds Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger, all went nominee-less.

That’s not to say that the nominees weren’t well deserved. Up in the Air’s Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick played two of the most realistic, nuanced female roles of recently memory; Maggie Gyllenhaal more than held her own against Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart; and Mo’Nique gave the most shell-shocking performance of the year, one destined for Oscar history. (OK, fine Penelope Cruz’s fiery turn in Nine wasn’t all that necessary).

But don’t fret, Morton. No one realized it would be such a year for the supporting ladies.

Oscars to have 10 Best Picture Nominees

26 Jun 2009, Posted by Charlie McSpadden in Film, Playground, 0 Comments

In an unexpected announcement today, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis said that the Academy will nominate ten films for the prestigious Best Picture award instead of the usual five.

In the press release, Ganis mentioned that the Oscars were going back to its roots, as the ceremonies from the years 1931-1943 featured anywhere from 8-12 nominees for Best Picture. For example, Casablanca which won Best Picture in the 16th Annual Academy Awards, was one of nine nominees.

Many accredit the change-up with two major reasons. First, the Oscar ratings have been struggling (though the ratings of last year’s telecast were up) and a fresh change like five more BP noms will dust off the show’s formulaic feel–much better than that agonizing, everybody-wins praise they gave out last year. Second, box office favorites such as last year’s The Dark Knight and WALL-E were snubbed in the best pic race for more “Academy” (read: stuffy) films such as The Reader and Frost/Nixon. More nominees mean a broader scope–who knows, there might even be a comedy (dare I say The Hangov… nah, not just yet) or a legitimate indie in there.

As many critics make top ten lists each year, the change won’t be too visually dramatic for Oscar followers. And, seeing as the Academy used to broaden its scope in its earlier years, the change isn’t merely a marketing tool to get more viewers and garner more buzz but also a way to honor the institution’s heritage. And more best picture nominees might just be the cure-all for the economic recession–it did help to rid America of the Great Depression back in the 30s and 40s…

All in all, it will be refreshing to see more films up for the prize and it will make the race more dramatic and less predictable. It will also (finally) send a jarring wake-up call to all those Oscar blogger “experts” that have fine-tuned their prediction formula over the years.

In Oscar world, America might just be the land of opportunity after all.

Another opinionated Oscars blog

24 Feb 2009, Posted by Braden Hendricks in Backpages, Braden Hendricks, 0 Comments

Oh, the Oscars….

The glamor and glory (and the snubs) of the Oscars ought to be unrivaled in all of entertainment, but its not. For the past few years Hollywood’s biggest night has skidded in the ratings, but why?

With the likes of Will Smith, Halle Berry, Steven Spielberg and many other Tinseltown royals strutting their stuff on stage, it was sure draw in monumental ratings. With the dynamic duos of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, Beyonce and Hugh Jackman singing together in gala inspired ecstasy, surely all the world was tuning in.

Me? Honestly, I spent more time watching Lebron pulverizing the Detroit Pistons than Slumdog trouncing Benjamin Button.

This movie cleaned out the house.

Why, you ask? There just wasn’t any excitement, or suspense. We all knew Wall-E would get Best Animated Film, that Penelope Cruz would win Best Supporting Actress (and look great doing it)

And this is after she just woke up.

That picture isn’t from this year’s Oscars but it doesn’t even matter. Everything looks good on Penelope.

Er, where was I? Oh yeah, what I’m really getting at here folks is that everyone knew the winners even before the show started. There was absolutely no way Heath Ledger wasn’t going to get Best Supporting Actor, While Sean Penn, Kate Winslet and Slumdog Millionaire wrapped up Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Picture, respectively.

Who will ever forget this? RIP Mr. Ledger.

She did this at the Oscars too...

It really came down to either him or Mickey Rourke.

Anyone who betted against these people or movies winning was a fool (with exception of Mickey Rourke). I hate to be mean about it, but the Oscars was more or less a snorefest that even Beyonce and Hugh Jackman couldn’t save.

Who knew Wolverine could sing and dance?

He deserves to have his picture included—I mean, look at it! He really cut himself for the role...

With all these underwhelming revelations occuring, I decided to watch something far more awe-inspiring (and equally photogenic)

Okay, I couldn't resist putting this picture in too.

Wow, that’s a lot of pictures, but whatever. My point is that even though the Oscars were reformatted this year to be longer and less funny (they switched from the usual comedian host to Hugh Jackman), they still haven’t changed the essence of the show. The essence of the show is the suspense of who is going to win. It will take a greater mind than mine to solve this problem, but there has to be some way to spread the Oscars’ appeal beyond those who care within the industry. Otherwise, the ratings slide will only continue.

LIVE BLOG: 81st Annual Academy Awards

22 Feb 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Awards, Film, Playground, 0 Comments

Almost four hours later, we are done. Charlie McSpadden and Andrew Hibbard’s LIVE BLOG has reached its peak. Check back tomorrow for an wrap-up and an analysis of how gay Hugh Jackman was as a host. For now, good night.

11:59 p.m. FINAL THOUGHTS A mostly unsurprising night at the Oscars. They kept it under 3.5 hours which is respectable. There could have been some more clips, but this preview of 2009 (too many John Travolta movies and sequels) is alright. More thoughts forthcoming. Go drink Hollywood. And Mickey Rourke, we want more from you. We want that speech.

11:54 p.m. No surprises here as Slumdog Millionaire wins Best Picture. The montage is clearly the best moment of the night, however, with each BP nomination connected with different moments from film history. Everyone from SM is up on stage and producer Chris Colson gives his speech.

11:49 p.m. A quick moment to say that, though not man people did see The Reader, it was actually a great film. Anyway, back to the incredible best picture montage that is currently going on.

11:48 p.m. Spielberg presents Best Picture. Appropriate.

11:47 p.m. In the only neck and neck race of the night, the Best Actor Oscar goes to Penn instead of Rourke. Great opening line by Penn: “you commie-homo-loving sons of guns.” Sean Penn doesn’t disappoint entirely with his speech. Spiccoli lives on. This is a well deserved award. San Francisco sleeps tightly tonight as Penn delivers a political message. A homo, Obama-lover himself. Mickey Rourke is Sean Penn’s brother. Sick. Otherwise, Slumdog just won Best Picture as Milk got its final concession.
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Oscar Predictions: Winners Leaked!

20 Feb 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Awards, Film, Playground, 0 Comments

So the Oscars have been leaked onto the Internet. And the winners, are hardly surprising. Naturally, the Academy has denied any truth to this list. But if the Oscars are anything like the Golden Globes, then by the Anne Hathaway logic we can assume that

• Sean Penn takes Best Actor
• Anne Hathaway or Meryl Streep take Best Actress
• Someone other than Amy Adams takes Best Supporting Actress
• Kung Fu Panda takes Best Animated Feature Film (Really?)
• Heath Ledger, Danny Boyle and Slumdog still win for Best Supporting Actor, Best Directing and Best Picture, respectively

And because we can’t overhype it enough, don’t forget our LIVE BLOG of the Oscars Sunday at 7 p.m.