In Contention

Tag: Best Supporting Actor

  • Ledger: is it written?

    When running through the list of contenders of next year’s Academy Awards, most will agree that there are no safer bets than Heath Ledger picking up a Best Supporting Actor nomination for “The Dark Knight.” He’s been locked in for the best part of the year… no argument, no dissent, no negotiations.

    Many people seem to believe that a win is equally inevitable. He’s certainly the one to beat, with a mighty combination of factors in his favour — the sentimental appeal of honouring a sorely-missed star (whom many feel should have won for earlier work), a universally-praised performance well on its way to iconic status, and a clear chance to acknowledge the highest-grossing film of the decade thus far. It helps that the category isn’t exactly teeming with strong contenders this year.

    But is he actually unbeatable? Jeff Wells doesn’t think so:

    Almost every New York journalist I’ve spoken to over the past week or so seems to believe that “Dark Knight”‘s Heath Ledger is more or less a lock to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. He’s favored, of course, but my Ray Walston antennae tells me it’s no done deal. I’m not feeling a blitzkreig momentum, and I’m sensing that “Revolutionary Road”‘s Michael Shannon, who appears in only three scenes but delivers a wham-bam effect like no other supporting performance in any other film this year, may have a shot at stealing it away.

    Wells isn’t the only one exercising caution. In a slightly curious (to me, at least) take on the frontrunners in the acting categories, Awards Daily’s Sasha Stone runs down the category as follows:

    Heath Ledger seems to be the frontrunner but I have my doubts on a posthumous Oscar win, followed by Michael Shannon for “Revolutionary Road,” Ralph Fiennes for “The Reader” or “Duchess,” Robert Downey, Jr. for “Iron Man” (could win), John Malkovich for “Burn After Reading” or “Changeling.”  James Franco or Emile Hirsch or Josh Brolin for “Milk,” can’t decide – this is the year’s most wide open category at the moment.

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  • For your consideration: ‘The Dark Knight’

    For Your Consideration: Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

  • Ebert sidles up to ‘Deep Vote’

    UPDATE: I was in a bit of a rush earlier, but reading it again in more detail, I suspect these are not the thoughts of an AMPAS member, but Ebert’s own predictions in playfully disguised form. Still an interesting read, but several pinches of salt perhaps required.

    EARLIER: Heath Ledger will win the Oscar next February. It’s a done deal. The other four nominees may as well not show up.

    That’s not my opinion there. It’s that (albeit in paraphrased form) of the so-called “Deep Vote,” an Academy insider who recently shared his perspective on the race with Roger Ebert. In an amusing post on his website, Ebert has written up the conversation he had with his mole, and runs through Deep Vote’s other picks — some of which are a little more surprising than the one divulged above.

    I always take such perspectives with a grain of salt — just because someone is a member of the Academy, after all, doesn’t mean they can read the minds of 6,000-odd other voters. But it does provide some interesting insight into which names are in play and generating heat, even if I find it hard to square with certain proclamations.

    For example, I’m sceptical that Jonathan Demme is a “lock” for a Best Director nomination, as is claimed here. It does suggest, however, that there might be more support for him than I expected. I was also interested to see that he has “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in his “maybe” pile for a Best Picture nod, behind the likes of “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Revolutionary Road,” “Doubt” and “The Reader.” And I liked this tidbit, which suggests he’s a bit more sophisticated than the average AMPAS voter:

    ‘Synecdoche, New York’ is easily good enough, but they’re embarrassed you had to explain it to them.”

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  • It’s not just Oprah

    Looking across the early reviews, I think it’s fair to say that “Australia” has cleared the first hurdle. They’re mixed, for sure — hardly new territory for Baz Luhrmann — but there’s a lot of admiration out there, even within the kvetching. There were a number of voices out there anticipating an outright disaster, but so far, it doesn’t sound like one to me.

    The harshest takes so far seem to have been from the Australian press, which isn’t at all surprising. People are more liable to be aggravated by the romanticisation of their own culture than one foreign to them, after all. And “romanticisation” is the operative word here; as with “Moulin Rouge,” one clearly has to buy into Luhrmann’s fanciful stylisation to appreciate the film.

    Screen International obviously did, even if they’re a bit winded by it all:

    Luhrmann has fearlessly gone for the biggest, lushest goal he could imagine — a romantic, old-fashioned epic to stand beside “Gone With the Wind.” Though it fails to reach such Hollywood heyday heights, “Australia”‘s combination of high adventure, awesome landscapes and panting passions is sure to bring out romance starved adult audiences … If the restless richness becomes somewhat indigestible before the film’s considerable length is reached, that’s part of the Luhrmann package. Who else would dare such excess?

    Jackman is the epitome of handsome, untamed individualism: Kidman tempers haughty stridency with a delicate comic playfulness, touching in a scene with young Nullah where she teaches him, with no confidence in her own ability, to sing Over The Rainbow … (Brandon) Walters, aged 12, is perfect as the beautiful, troubled Nullah.

    Technically, this is ravishing, from production and costume designs from Catherine Martin to DoP Mandy Walker’s often-majestic footage. Australia is long on digital effects, mostly to good purpose, though some of the wartime Darwin harbour wide shots are wisely held for the briefest of seconds … The soundtrack is a potpourri of heightened effects and soaring musical themes.

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  • Michael Shannon among NYT’s breakthrough picks

    The New York Times has compiled a list of what they deem the five outstanding breakthrough performances of the season. It makes for interesting reading — sure enough, there are some performers from otherwise high-profile Oscar-bait films, but there are some surprises too.

    I’m pleased to see them singling out François Bégaudeau, the star and real-life subject of “The Class,” who projects remarkable warmth and gravitas on screen for someone who has never acted before. Meanwhile, their most under-the-radar selection is Freddy Rodriguez, apparently the standout of an ensemble pic I must confess I hadn’t heard of, called “Nothing Like the Holidays.” As a fan of Rodriguez’ low-key work in the much-missed “Six Feet Under,” I’m intrigued.

    The Times’ other three picks are all in rather more baity titles: Alison Pill in “Milk,” an actress who has been bubbling under for a while now; French ingenue Alexa Davalos in “Defiance,” whom they liken to a young Liz Taylor; and finally, an actor who has long been in my Best Supporting Actor predictions list, Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road.”

    In Richard Yates’ novel, the character of John Givings is small but absolutely incendiary: a supposed paranoid schizophrenic who refuses to comply with the rigidly defined etiquette of 1950’s suburbia. Shannon has been an exciting, imposing presence in such films as “Bug” and “Shotgun Stories,” and I always thought his brooding intensity would make him ideal casting here. According to the Times, he makes good on the promise:

    (Shannon) provides some of the movie’s most thrilling fireworks … Playing a man who is mentally ill is an opportunity to chew the scenery, but Mr. Shannon does something else, infusing John with such tormented authority that the character becomes classical: he’s the movie’s Cassandra and Greek chorus at once.

    Well, that’s got my attention. In a lean category seriously wanting for contenders — beyond the slamdunk nomination for Heath Ledger — Shannon looks more and more like a surefire nominee. Read the rest here.

  • Does ‘Rachel’ have Oscar legs?

    One advantage of the hectic festival environment is that, while seeing more movies in a month than is medically advisable, it offers a pretty ruthless method of separating the wheat from the chaff. If a film still sticks in your mind after seeing a million others in such a compressed timeframe, it clearly has something special. (For me, those would be the films in my London Top Ten list.)

    On the other hand, there are a couple of films that, even if they seem quite impressive in the moment, ultimately get lost in the crush. And so it was with me and Jonathan Demme’s much-vaunted “Rachel Getting Married.”

    One of the first films I saw in the festival press screenings, I enjoyed it for the funky looseness of Demme’s direction and a couple of interestingly barbed performances — even if I didn’t quite get the ecstatic wave of praise that greeted it in the US. A month later, however, with numerous other films jostling for attention in my brain, I find it difficult to remember much about the film at all… and that goes for the actors too.

    Of course, that’s an entirely subjective test, one that is largely irrelevant to awards prognostication — there are still plenty of ardent devotees declaring it the best film of the year (huh?), and they will no doubt continue to do so. Still, something caught my attention yesterday which suggested I might not be alone. In their always-interesting Oscar Futures chart, those wicked guys at Vulture sense a downturn in momentum for Anne Hathaway in the Best Actress race:

    This category is getting pretty competitive — was she really as good as everybody thought two weeks ago?

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  • Nolan talks Ledger and Oscar

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightI’ve held off on linking to Geoff Boucher’s three-part interview with “The Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan at Hero Complex for two reasons.  First of all, it just seemed wiser to wait until it had run its course in full.  But mainly, I was waiting on the inevitable Oscar query.

    Obviously, as Anne Thompson noted in a recent item, an interview like this is strategically placed to launch what hopes to be a successful Oscar campaign for the film.  Yes, the news peg of the Scream Awards was significant, but this kind of a deep one-on-one with a filmmaker of Nolan’s caliber serves a specific, immediate purpose: get “The Dark Knight” back on the radar in a deep, tangible way before Oscar advertising kicks in by the middle of November.

    In today’s third and final entry, Boucher finally gets to the issue of awards, specifically the potential for Heath Ledger’s instantly iconic portrayal to land a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.  In response, Nolan had this to say:

    I think the thing that has always been important to me in light of Heath’s death is the responsibility I’ve felt to his work. The responsibility of crafting the film in such a way that his performance came across the way he intended. Clearly, that has been the case. That’s one of the reasons I take such pride in the film.

    I felt a great wave of relief, really, as people first started to see the performance and it was clear that they were getting the performance. It’s easy to forget with everything that’s happened what an enormous challenge it was for Heath to take on this iconic role. He rose to that challenge so admirably that any expression of people being excited or moved by his performance is a wonderful thing. Whatever form that takes. People coming to see his performance and getting it. It’s been extremely satisfying for all of us already. Anything that adds to that would be wonderful.

    Do yourself a huge favor and read this series: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.  Whether you’re a Bat geek, a recent convert or simply an admirer of Nolan’s work, there is something for everyone.  A fine interview and, as I’ve noted before, a fine outlet for geekdom in Traditional Media.

  • Philip Seymour Hoffman to go supporting in ‘Doubt’

    Though I find it hilarious that Dave Karger wrote “exclusive” before the headline.  But anyway, it’s official now.

  • INTERVIEW: Eddie Marsan

    Eddie MarsanIt is somehow fitting that I meet Eddie Marsan not in the lounge of some swanky West End hotel or members’ club, but amid the worn wooden chairs and scuffed 1970s wallpaper of his local pub in the villagey West London suburb of Chiswick. For Marsan is not a movie star, but an actor — and that’s the way he likes it.

    “I have friends who are leading men, and they’re only ever allowed to play leading men of a certain type,” he says over a lunchtime drink once we’re settled into a corner booth. “But as a character actor, there’s a wider variety of projects available. On the big Hollywood films, all they care about is having their lead in place, so it’s actually easier for someone like me to slip in. And I’m happy to do so.”

    “Slipping in” is precisely what the 39-year-old London native has been doing to impressive effect over the last couple of years. After a long apprenticeship in British television, he can now boast having worked with such A-list auteurs as Martin Scorsese (2002’s “Gangs of New York”), Terrence Malick (2005’s “The New World”), Michael Mann (2006’s “Miami Vice”) and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu (2003’s “21 Grams”).

    2008, however, has been Marsan’s breakthrough year, with two major credits on opposite ends of the creative scale: an appearance opposite Will Smith in summer blockbuster “Hancock,” and now, a career-best performance in Mike Leigh’s serio-comedy “Happy-Go-Lucky,” which is garnering well-deserved awards buzz for the actor in the supporting race.

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  • 10/21 Oscarweb Round-up

    Charlie Kaufman• Jeffrey Wells passes along further second-hand indication that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is the one to beat this year. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Steven Zeitchick responds to the suddenly wide open acting races. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • Some folks think Robert Downey Jr. can’t score a Best Supporting Actor nomination…emphatically.  I beg to differ, but that race is weird at the moment. [Vulture]

    • Tom O’Neil wonders how what happened to the AMPAS hopes of “W.”  But I’m not so sure it was ever a “hot Oscar player.” [Gold Derby]

    • John Anderson profiles Milos Forman, set to be feted by the DGA. [Variety]

    • The Carpetbagger, David Carr, goes inside the mind of Charlie Kaufman. [New York Times]

  • LONDON: ‘Dean Spanley,’ ‘1234,’ ‘Goodbye Solo’

    Long day today, with some complicated scheduling: after a press screening of Atom Egoyan’s “Adoration” turned out to be full, I was presented with the choice of catching up with either “Miracle at St. Anna” or Kazakhstani Oscar submission “Tulpan.” I opted for the latter — well, it’s got more of a chance of getting an Oscar nomination than Spike Lee’s film, right?

    Anyway, as I have six films to discuss from today, for the sake of economy (and my own sleep requirements) I’ll look at three of them now, and deal with the rest early tomorrow. We’ll start with the English-language contingent.

    I missed tonight’s main attraction, Richard Eyre’s tepidly received “The Other Man.” However, Eyre’s film was preceded by another UK-set Toronto title, “Dean Spanley” (**), a sophomore effort from Kiwi helmer Toa Fraser, whose debut “No. 2” was, oddly, rather more ambitious than this amiable but over-extended skit.

    The ornate animated credit sequence and jaunty score announce upfront that the film demands high whimsy-tolerance levels from the audience. In the interest of full disclosure, mine are pretty low. Still, that doesn’t distract from the fact that the narrative is barely feature-film material. Set in London at the turn of the 20th century, the film focuses on the brittle relationship between mild-mannered gentleman Fisk (Jeremy Northam) and his batty, emotionally distant father (Peter O’Toole). Idly attending a lecture on reincarnation one afternoon, they encounter the enigmatic Dean Spanley (Sam Neill), whose own account of his imagined past life as a dog strikes an unexpected emotional chord with both father and son.

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  • Ledger to go supporting, WB says

    Heath Ledger is “100% supporting,” according to Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger.  It seems Karger did what I was too lazy to do this week: call the studio and get the goods.  I figured we’d just wait until an FYC site popped up, but for now, it seems to be settled.

    The “Dark Knight” star has been batted around as a lead actor contender by pundits, including yours truly, but even with the news that “The Soloist” and (possibly) “The Road” have vacated the 2008 season — leaving two fresh holes in the lead actor gerby — Warner Bros. is going to be campaigning Ledger as a supporting actor.

    Wise move.  And truthful to both the performance and the material.

  • Will Heath Ledger muscle into a crowded lead actor field?

    Heath Ledger in The Dark KnightAdd another one to the list.  It looks like Thelma Adams has joined Pete Howell in predicting Heath Ledger for a lead actor nomination in WB’s “The Dark Knight.”  We first mentioned this idea in back in June, before the film landed in cinemas, and it has slowly snowballed into a possibility for a couple of pundits.

    It really depends on what Warner Bros. decides to do with the performance, however.  But if the studio tries its hand in the lead category, I really don’t think it will matter.  The guy is getting a nomination.

    I hate to “go there” with the first concentrated Bat-talk in a month or so (you know, since some of our more bizarre readers can’t handle talking about comic books in a serious discussion).  But it’s worth talking about at this point.  WB hasn’t declared a strategy, hasn’t launched an awards site, hasn’t shown its cards at all really, other than to announce a January re-release for the film aimed at securing last minue Oscar goodwill.  And, of course, the Academy will decide for themselves which category Ledger belongs in.

    Conventional wisdom dictates that Ledger would have a much less turbulent ride to a nod in the supporting category, with a traditionally weaker field and less opportunity for Academy members to balk at the notion of a comic book portrayal sliding in.  But if you ask me, this is the performance of the year — and not just because I say so, of course.  Ledger’s Joker has inched toward infamy, become a pop culture staple and earned its place alongside the greatest of screen villainy.  You’ll see his guise all over the country in 17 days.  His chances at a lead nomination are as good as they are in supporting, because at the end of the day, whatever the campaign, his is the most talked-about portrayal of 2008.

    I don’t think there are too many people who would questiont that.  The only variable has been where Ledger can win the award, and you’ll get no argument here that the supporting category is an easier path.  But then again, is it?  The supporting actor hopefuls have slowly congealed into five solid contenders, at least two of them sporting the scenery-chewing chops that could dilute Ledger’s work ever-so-slightly in the field.  Maybe it isn’t a walk-away there, any more than it would be in lead.  So why not go for the gusto?

    It’s all very timely at the moment, seeing as Warner Bros. has lost a dog in the race as of this weekend.  Until “Gran Torino” suddenly sneaks up on all of us, “The Dark Knight” is the studio’s awards season hopeful.  But we’re just spit-balling for now.  More than likely we will come across an FYC ad or an awards site and Ledger will be listed in the supporting category as expected.

    But don’t be surprised.  Don’t be surprised.

    Have your say.  Should Heath Ledger be campaigned as a lead or supporting actor for “The Dark Knight?”

  • U.S. critics wild for ‘Happy’

    Wow. I was expecting a warm Stateside reception for Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” but even so, this is exceptional. For those who place stock in such things, the film’s Metacritic score is sitting at 82, but more importantly, some top critics have fallen hard for this one.

    If the film’s awards hopes seemed to be slipping oh-so-slightly following a respectable but somewhat muted festival showing last month, these reviews should give it a second wind. Sally Hawkins, in particular, should gain traction in a crowded Best Actress field with amazing notices like this one from Stephanie Zacharek:

    Poppy’s cheerfulness isn’t a shield against reality … And that’s where both the boldness and the delicacy of Sally Hawkins’ performance come in. This is the finest performance of the year — though it’s only October, I can’t believe I’ll see anything better … Here, Leigh has given her the challenge of a lifetime — the kind of role an actress can play at just one point in her life — and she more than meets it.

    Zacharek is no less ecstatic on the film itself:

    It takes more than ambition, and more than money, to make an intimate masterpiece like Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” a picture so seemingly light that it might be hours (or even days) before you realize how deep and rich it really is … Leigh and his actors work mysterious magic in “Happy-Go-Lucky.” This is a movie about hitting the groove of everyday life and, nearly miraculously, getting music out of it.

    (more…)

  • 10/9 Oscarweb Round-up

    Julianne Moore in Blindness• Dave Karger not only thinks Ralph Fiennes is in the supporting actor race for “The Duchess,” he thinks he is Heath Ledger’s main competition. [Oscar Watch]

    • Eight documentary shorts have been short-listed by AMPAS. [Oscars.org]

    • Jeffrey Wells reports that Lionsgate Films is pissing off Portland area critics by not screening “W.” for them (on the heels of a similar situation with “Appaloosa”). [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Patrick Kevin Day talks to César Charlone about the look of “Blindness.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steven Zeitchick thinks “W.” might be a victim of its own timeliness. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • On the heels of a similar query about Kristin Scott Thomas’s chances, Tom O’Neil wonders if Frank Langella can take the Oscar and the Tony in the same year. [Gold Derby]

    • Analyzing “The Scene” from Steve McQueen’s Hunger,” including a record-breaking 17-and-a-half-minute shot. [The Times]

    • 10 underrated Bill Murray roles (totally agree on most of them). [Spout Blog]

  • Miramax Highlights goes live

    Miramax Films\' Happy-Go-LuckyFirst Paramount Vantage, then Universal, and now Miramax Films.  Studios are leaping into the online FYC phase of campaigns this season.  MiramaxHilights.com is showcasing three modest enterprises for contention: John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt,” Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” (with a new poster I haven’t seen yet) and “Fernando Mereilles’s “Blindness.”

    There isn’t anything available for each film yet.  No screenplays or score downloads.  I assume that will come in time, as will category placements.  The biggest question mark for these films in that arena is whether Philip Seymour Hoffman is pushed as a lead or supporting actor in “Doubt.”  My guess is still the latter.

    Thanks to reader Jacob for the tip.

  • Release date for ‘Nothing But the Truth’

    Yari Film Group has locked in the release date of December 19th for Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth,” hoping to cash in on the awards season on the heels of mainly positive reaction at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  My thoughts are here.

    In my opinion, the film’s best chances at nominations are Kate Beckinsale for lead actress and Vera Farmiga for supporting.  The former will have to duke it out in a tight category while the latter has the luxury of an empty one.  But hopes are also high for Alan Alda’s prospects, who delivers the heart of the film in a quality monologue in the third act.

  • ‘Elegy’ the second film to go out to AMPAS

    Screeners of Isabel Coixet’s “Elegy” are set to go out to Academy members this week, fresh on the heels of Sony Pictures Classics’ “Frozen River,” which went out over the weekend.

    Key pushes for the film are Best Actor (Ben Kingsley),  Penélope Cruz (Best Actress), Dennis Hopper (Best Supporting Actor), Patricia Clarkson (Best Supporting Actress) and Nicholas Myer (Best Adapted Screenplay).  Let the games begin.