Welcome to Oscar Talk, a weekly kudocast between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood.
Today there was a bit of news in the Oscar world, in case you were under a rock or buried in an underground chamber with Stanley Tucci or something. Anne and I address the announcement from all angles in this special Tuesday edition of the podcast.
Have a listen below, and as always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.
(Please note: We will not be running a podcast Friday, February 5, so this will serve as this week’s assessment of the race. Tune back in next week as Anne and I come back to the table from the Santa Barbara Film Festival.)
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28 responses to “OSCAR TALK: Ep. 20 — Special Edition! — Reacting to the nominees”
Interesting that Anne thinks “The Hurt Locker” has Best Picture locked up, while Best Director is a horse-race. If anything, I’d say it’s the other way round.
And I’m with Kris — the media will kick up quite a fuss if Bigelow doesn’t win.
I agree with you that Matt Damon is a truly awful nomination. He does nothing award worthy. But I agree with Anne, a very nice guy, everybody loves Matt Damon and he has a career full of solid work so this is like a welcome back to the club kinda nomination.
And thumbs up for saying this on air, Bigelow is hot. It needs to be said more often. Its really shocking that she’s in her 50’s. She looks like this big star in her 30’s. She really has a great body. I wonder how she will miss with the male Academy. She directed a macho action movie to boot. And the Academy should be prepared to be flamed to death if they don’t award Bigelow. I mean lets be honest, more than the fact of directing the best film of the year, if she misses now that she is so close, it WILL become a gender issue. Brokeback is a very good comparison. The media doesn’t really care about who wins but remember how even the media stepped in when Brokeback lost, the same thing will happen. And it would kinda horrify and upset me.
Sandra Bullock’s win will be the most unpopular in the history of the Academy…
Or, given the millions of people who got in line for “The Blind Side,” perhaps “unpopular” isn’t the word you’re looking for.
Here’s my reaction of who SHOULDN’T have gotten in… “One of these things… is not like the others…”
Best Picture: THE BLIND SIDE. Should have been THE MESSENGER.
Best Actor: Morgan Freeman. Should have been Michael Stuhlbarg, Sharlto Copley or Ben Foster.
Best Actress: Helen Mirren. Yeah that’s right. Should have been Tilda Swinton.
Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon. Should have been Stanley Tucci – for Julie and Julia. Yes, I would have loved to see a double for him since everyone knows Waltz is going to win anyway.
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz. Should have been Samantha Morton.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Precious.
Best Original Screenplay: Up. (A 10 minute tearjerking sequence does not a great screenplay make)
Best Animated Film: Coraline. Although I’m pretty happy with this whole bunch.
I will be interested to see the inevitable comparison pieces that film journos and bloggers will write about “Avatar vs. District 9” even though Avatar is the 800 lb gorilla and D9 hasn’t got a chance.
District 9’s nomination is the most exciting: it’s “non-family-friendly” sci-fi (unlike previous nominees Star Wars, ET and now Avatar) and, in my mind, is doing symbolic battle for the ghosts of the gritty and glorious dystopian sci-fi past, like Planet of the Apes, Robocop, Mad Max, and many more.
Mark my words: Bigelow’s looks will be mentioned many a time in the coming weeks. Martin and Baldwin are going to have field day with it too, I imagine.
It was definitely in the air at the DGAs and I agree with Kris: it’s roughly analogous to men voting for the hot young thing in the acting races.
I was getting used to the idea of Sandra Bullock getting the nom and maybe winning the Oscar, but that Blind Side nomination is truly awful. Such a stupid movie that will end up as a Hallmark Channel flick. It’s rubbish.
Guy’s right. If Oscars were chosen the same way as American Idol, the BP race would be between Avatar and The Blind Side.
I find it a bit bothersome that Bigelow’s appearance is being brought up so much. She’s beautiful to be sure, but WTF does that have to do with anything?
It’s about as irritating as the constant attention drawn to Michelle Obama’s wardrobe.
Sure sucks being a girl sometimes.
Or maybe I’m just grumpy because there aren’t many attractive male directors.
Great reactionary podcast, seems everyone is pretty much thinking the same thing in terms of who’s taking BP.
It is interesting that Avatar and The Hurt Locker are going head to head in 7 of 9 categories
Best Picture – Avatar/The Hurt Lucker
Best Director – Avatar/The Hurt Locker
Best Editing – Avatar/The Hurt Locker
Best Cinematography – Avatar/The Hurt Locker
Best Sound Mixing – Avatar/The Hurt Locker
Best Sound Editing – Avatar/The Hurt Locker
Best Score – Avatar/The Hurt Locker
Will be a fun broadcast to watch.
Megan: Anytime someone looks that good at nearly 60 years old, it’s worth mentioning, I think. Not that I’ve harped on it in this space, certainly.
Now I’m blushing.
I didn’t mean to imply that she isn’t deserving: she’s the best of the nominees easily.
Oh look at Kristopher, he’s smitten.
That woman must’ve made some deal with the devil or something.
What I like about her best is her affinity for “guy” movies; as a girl who loves “guy” flicks, she’s my kind of gal.
Tarantino is my favorite of the year, but I’d be elated if she won one for the girls.
@Morgan (#5):
As much as I totally agree that Stanley Tucci should have gotten nominated for both of his roles (in fact, I think he deserved the Julie & Julia nomination more), I’m pretty sure there’s a rule against being nominated twice in the same acting category. You can get one in each (as did Sigourney Weaver in ’88 or Jamie Foxx in 2004), but not two in one category.
If the telecast was smart, they would have Cameron and Bigelow present an award together in a category that neither of their films is nominated. Lord knows they are providing the storyline. I just got back from a book club where almost no one had heard of The Hurt Locker before today ( all want to borrow my DVD after seeing the nominations) but had heard of the ex’s doing battle through today’s morning coverage.
Shame on Summit for not re-releasing it or planning for it. The #1 question about Oscar noms at work today was “Is Hurt Locker playing anywhere? I haven’t even heard of it.”
Oh c’mon, Damon was better than Tucci.
Kris – In the podcast you say that this will be the first time that the Academy uses the preferential system for final voting in the Best Picture category. Actually, it has been used before, from 1934-1945 in the BP category. And, really, it does help explain how many of the divisive masterpieces of the era lost to less worthy, but well-liked films.
The Blind Side in the category of The Green Mile, The Cider House Rules!? What the hell is that about?
Am I right in thinking that the Gyllenhaals are a unique family in Oscar history? Maggie nominated this year, Jake in 2005 and their mother Naomi Foner in 1988 for her excellent screenplay to “Running on Empty”. Shame dad Stephen never made the cut but 3 Oscar nominees in one family must be some kind of record.
My objection to the notion that Bullock more or less is a lock to win is that not only is Bullock’s performance really not even on the same level as the lowest level winners in recent times (Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich, maybe the closest comparison, is like masterclass acting), but Streep’s name keeps showing up year after year after year. At some point she just has to win it again, despite having won before. Her name can’t pop up year after year without a sense of her being due growing within the Academy. Yes, she has won before, but hell, I bet there are Academy members who weren’t even born when she last won the Oscar.
Maybe Bullock is a lock, maybe it is a done deal. Having seen the film though, and knowing that there really isn’t that much weight to the performance it is exceptionally hard to come to terms with the Academy picking her. If she wins I would honestly not chalk it up to anything but a vote for her as a person, and not so much the performance. It’s a charming, likeable performance, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t belong anywhere near Oscar recognition.
RJNeb2:
Not that unique. The Redgraves (Michael, Vanessa, Lynn), the Hustons (Walter, John, Anjelica) and the Coppolas (Francis, Carmine, Sofia, plus Talia Shire and Nicolas Cage) all spring to mind.
Hey Kris, I know it’s your site, and obviously you can do as you please, but putting up a picture from The Blind Side as the Best Picture header just feels like pouring salt on a wound. And then pouring sugar in my gas tank. Just food for thought.
Gosh, all this talk of salt and sugar is making me hungry.
Yeah, I just don’t understand TYV for Make-up.
You might as well put any other movie that came out this year in that spot and it would make as much sense as TYV getting in.
Why is it in? Emily Blunt’s nice, light-pastel rouge?
Paul Bettany’s whiskers, I’m guessing.
Ha.
[…] in her nomination, they are everywhere. I heard them when I was listened to the Oscar Talk podcast when Kris Tapley called her “hot” and Anne Thompson said that she’s not 100% […]
[…] in her nomination, they are everywhere. I heard them when I was listened to the Oscar Talk podcast when Kris Tapley called her “hot” and Anne Thompson said that she’s not 100% […]