With the “exes” angle seemingly set to run and run in this year’s Oscar media coverage, The Guardian at least took a slightly sideways approach in their weekly podcast by roping in a third ex — “Terminator” star and James Cameron’s fourth wife Linda Hamilton — for her thoughts on the matter. (She has a new movie to promote, so it’s not as tacky as all that.)
Regarding the Oscar race, Hamilton semi-jokingly claims to be cheering the “ex-wives’ club,” but she also offers some interesting personal perspective on the 12-year gestation of “Avatar”:
After “Titanic,” there were quite a few things he was getting ready to do: he was was going to do the “Spider-Man” franchise, he was going to do a really great script about multiple personality disorder, “Avatar” to me was, like, the third favorite. I read it and was, like, “Hmm, yeah, uh” … and that just goes to show you that I should never be directing or making movies. I wasn’t sure that it was going to have an audience … It didn’t necessarily say anything to me, but Jim obviously saw something way beyond what was on the page.
The podcast also has some thoughts from critics Jason Solomons and Xan Brooks on the Oscar nominations, including a brief but thoroughly plausibly explanation as to why “The Secret in Their Eyes” will upset in the foreign-language race. Listen here.
Comments
4 responses to ““I’m rooting for the ex-wives here.””
I’d like to see a big comeback form her.
I’m preparing myself for the “Ex v. Ex” angle to be beaten into the ground. Personally I think the storytelling versus technology angle is much more interesting. Has the Academy swallowed the Kool-Aid to disregard script and story in favor of visual dazzle and eye candy as seems to be the case with today’s moviegoers? I don’t think so, but regardless of the outcome it’s going to say a lot about what the industry thinks about the direction of the medium.
I was already predicting Secret In Their Eyes, but not quite for the age-related reason they stated.
The James Cameron “climax” moment was cringe-worthy. And kinda funny.
Perhaps it’s just me, but I think there’s a lot of Cameron dislike around. I remember back in ’94, when True Lies came out. There were crew members who had t-shirts made with statements such as “You can’t scare me. I’ve worked with James Cameron.” Or something like that.
If Sandra Bullock is supposedly going to win because she’s so well liked, then can’t the converse be also true: Cameron is going to lose because a lot of people don’t like him.
There’s another article about Hamilton speaking about Cameron in the UK’s Daily Mail.