This time of year is traditionally awards season in
Hollywood, when the best films of the past year are recognized. The season
culminates with the most coveted awards, the Academy Awards, which will be
handed out this year at the 90th annual ceremony, to be held March 4
in Hollywood. The nominees were named earlier this week, with the prestigious
Best Picture category being populated by nine outstanding films.
The movie with the most nominations is The
Shape of Water with a whopping thirteen, including Best Actress (Sally
Hawkins), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia
Spencer), and Best Supporting Actor (Richard
Jenkins). Guillermo
del Toro is up for Best Director, an award he won at this year’s Golden
Globes, as well as Best Original Screenplay along with co-writer Vanessa
Taylor. Behind The Shape of Water is Dunkirk
with eight nominations. Most of them are in the so-called “technical”
categories, although Christopher
Nolan did score a Best Director nominations.
One of the most decorated films of awards season so far is Three
Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. It will play a major part on Oscar
night as it has seven nominations, including Best Actress (Frances
McDormand) and two Best Supporting Actors (Woody
Harrelson and Sam
Rockwell). Three Billboards was already named Best Picture (Drama) at the
Golden Globes, where McDormand and Rockwell also took home their awards. With a
SAG Award for Best Performance by a Cast under its belt as well, Three Billboards may have a big showing
at the Academy Awards.
Following Three
Billboards are two films with six nominations each. Gary
Oldman has earned much acclaim for his portrayal of British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill in Darkest
Hour, winning Best Actor at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards.
Incredibly, if he won, it would be his first Academy Award; however, he faces
stiff competition. Daniel
Day-Lewis has won Best Actor three previous times, and is up for it again
this year for his performance (in what he says is his last role) in Phantom
Thread. Among that film’s six nominations are nods for Best Director (Paul
Thomas Anderson) and Best Supporting Actress (Lesley
Manville).
Another film with a number of awards already this season is Lady
Bird, which has five Oscar nominations. It won the Golden Globe for
Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), and Saoirse
Ronan won that same night for Best Actress, which she is up for at the
Academy Awards as well. Among its other nominations are Best Director for Greta
Gerwig—after many felt she was unjustly ignored for a Golden Globe
nomination—and Best Supporting Actress for Laurie
Metcalf.
Get
Out is something of a surprise with its four nominations, if only
because it at least nominally belongs to the horror genre, which rarely sees
any awards season recognition. But the performance by breakout star Daniel
Kaluuya demanded attention, which his Best Actor nomination delivers. The
movie was also nominated for Best Director (in his directorial debut) and Best
Original Screenplay for Jordan
Peele, who is primarily known for his comedy work in television.
Call
Me by Your Name also scored four nominations, including Best Actor for Timothée Chalamet. It is also the only
Best Picture nominee to also be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, as it
was based on the
novel of the same name by André
Aciman. And rounding out the nominees is the historical journalism film The
Post, which, in addition to its Best Picture nod, also garnered a
record 21st acting nomination for Meryl
Streep.
So that’s a quick
look at the upcoming Academy Awards. The ceremony is sure to drive a great deal
of patron interest in the winners and nominees, so use the links above or
SmartBrowse on our website to find these movies and others by these incredible
performers and directors. In the meantime, let us know your picks for the night’s
big winners!
The Academy
Awards, honouring the year’s best movies and performances, were handed out last
Sunday night. As the ceremony wound toward its conclusion and the most
high-profile awards started being given away, you could feel the anticipation
building. Would this finally be the year that Leonardo diCaprio, widely
considered one of the biggest talents in cinema today, finally walked away with
a coveted acting award with this, his fifth nomination?
It was. When Julianne Moore read out his name as the
year’s Best Actor, a wave of jubilation swept through the actor’s fans all
across the country and around the world. He won for his role in The
Revenant, a gritty portrayal of a man left for dead in the wilderness
of the American frontier. The film itself was up for a whopping total of twelve
Academy Awards, winning three—aside from Best Actor, it also won for Best
Cinematography and Best Director for Alejandro G. Iñárritu (who won the same award last year for Birdman).
The film is based on a historical novel
of the same name by Michael Punke, whose position within the U.S.
government prevents him from even talking
about his book.
DiCaprio has
been in the acting game for a long time. He got his start in 1990 at the age of
15 in the short-lived TV series Parenthood, based on the Steve Martin movie
of the year before. He also appeared in an episode of Roseanne,
and had a recurring role on Growing
Pains. He was working his way into film around the same time, getting
his break in 1993’s This
Boy’s Life (which was also the film debut of Tobey
Maguire). Then, later that year, he played the role of Arnie in What’s
Eating Gilbert Grape, earning his first Oscar nomination for Best
Supporting Actor (losing out to Tommy Lee Jones for The
Fugitive).
His star
would only rise from there as he would go on to participate in a number of
high-profile projects. In 1996 he headlined (alongside Claire
Danes) Baz Luhrmann’s modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo
+ Juliet. The following year came perhaps his best-known role, as Jack
Dawson in James Cameron’s Titanic.
The tale of doomed romance between DiCaprio and Kate Winslet propelled Titanic to a new all-time box office
record at the time. From there he went on to work with such famous names as
Woody Allen (Celebrity), Martin
Scorsese (Gangs
of New York), and Steven Spielberg (Catch Me
if You Can).
In 2005,
eleven years after his first nomination, DiCaprio finally scored a second Oscar
nomination, this time for Best Actor, for another Scorsese-helmed feature: The
Aviator, a biopic of the eccentric genius Howard Hughes. This time he
lost to Jamie Foxx for Ray.
He wouldn’t have to wait as long for the next one, as he was nominated again in
2007 for Blood
Diamond—that award went to Forest Whitaker for The
Last King of Scotland. He wasn’t nominated again until 2014, when he
was recognized for The
Wolf of Wall Street, and the award went to Matthew McConaughey for Dallas
Buyers Club.
And all this
is to say nothing of the incredible roles he played that weren’t nominated by
the Academy. Leonardo DiCaprio has had quite a varied and interesting acting
career, and at just 41, it’s safe to say that moviegoers still have quite a lot
to look forward to. SmartBrowse his name on our website for more of his movies,
and while you’re there, don’t miss our collection of all this year’s other Academy
Award winners.
At the
Academy Awards ceremony last Sunday, Matthew McConaughey took home the statue
for Best Actor for his role as AIDS patient Ron Woodroof in Dallas
Buyers Club. The critically acclaimed film was nominated for six awards
on the night and took home three, including Best Supporting Actor for Jared
Leto in addition to McConaughey’s victory.
It was the
first Academy Award in McConaughey’s 20+ years in acting. He got his big break
when he starred as perpetual teenage wannabe David Wooderson in Richard
Linklater’s cult classic Dazed
and Confused. McConaughey has carried Wooderson with him ever since:
the lines “all right, all right, all right” and “just keep livin’” from the
conclusion of his acceptance speech, come straight from the character’s mouth,
and he created the “just keep livin” non-profit foundation to impact the lives
of high school students.
From there
McConaughey appeared in a number of films, such as Angels
in the Outfield and Boys on
the Side, but it was 1996’s A
Time to Kill that made him a star. In that film, based on a John
Grisham bestseller, McConaughey played Mississippi lawyer Jake Brigance,
who is hired to defend a man who killed two others after they were wrongly
acquitted of raping his daughter. That catapulted him into an even bigger 1997,
when he starred in Contact
with Jodie Foster and Amistad
with an ensemble cast including Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins.
This was
followed by a period in which McConaughey was primarily known for starring as
the male lead in romantic comedies. It started with The Wedding Planner, in which he played opposite Jennifer Lopez.
Then he was in How
to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Kate Hudson, Failure
to Launch with Sarah Jessica Parker, Fool’s
Gold with Hudson again, and Ghosts
of Girlfriends Past with Jennifer Garner (who was also in Dallas Buyers Club). Although the
romcoms were his most visible work during this period, he also managed to star
in other fare, like the action film Sahara
and the football drama We
Are Marshall.
After Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, McConaughey
took two years off, beginning to redefine himself with 2011’s The
Lincoln Lawyer, in which he played an attorney who is the polar
opposite of A Time to Kill’s noble
Brigance. Then he played yet another attorney in yet another Linklater film,
the dark comedy Bernie.
Since 2012, he’s been on another level, with movies like Magic
Mike and Mud,
to say nothing of Dallas Buyers Club
and The
Wolf of Wall Street, which itself was nominated for five Oscars. To top
it all off, McConaughey also stars with Woody Harrelson in the hit HBO series True Detective, which airs its Season 1
finale this Sunday night.
Matthew
McConaughey is a talented, fascinating actor with a long and varied career. For
more of his films, SmartBrowse his name on our website.
In 2012, Steve Martin tweeted: “I swear, if I don’t win an
Oscar this year, it will be like every other year.” This from the man who has hosted the Oscars three times. Finally,
after a career that has spanned more than 40 years, the native Texan will
receive an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.
Martin got his start as a writer on The
Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967 at age 22. By the time the
mid-70s rolled around he had written for Pat Paulsen, Glen Campbell, Ken Berry,
and Sonny & Cher. Known for his absurdist comedy routines, Martin still
maintains that his success in stand-up was entirely accidental.
Martin’s big film break came in 1979 when he wrote and
starred in The Jerk, which was directed by Carl Reiner. Martin would go on to make
three more films with Reiner. Joining fellow Saturday Night Live alumni Chevy Chase and Martin Short, The Three Amigos premiered in 1986,
but many may not know that the film was originally slated to be called The Three Caballeros and star Dan Aykroyd
and John Belushi instead.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, my favourite
of all Martin’s films, premiered in 1988 and was a smash success, co-starring
Michael Caine. Even today the film still has an 88% approval rating on Rotten
Tomatoes. My second-favouriteMartin
film, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,
premiered the year before and co-starred comedy legend John Candy.
Film is not the only area where Martin has distinguished
himself. He first picked up a banjo at age 17 and would later receive two
Grammy Awards for bluegrass recordings. Most recently he has been touring with
the Steep
Canyon Rangers and has appeared with them on shows like The Colbert Report, Conan, and The Late Show with
David Letterman. Martin even narrated a PBS documentary called Give Me the Banjo about the history
of the instrument.
All in all, the 68-year-old star is completely deserving of
the Academy Honorary Award. Between the Emmys, Grammys, Mark Twain Award, and
Kennedy Center Honor, the real question is whether he’ll have to move the
sombrero off the shelf to clear a spot for it.
On Saturday night, The Soup and Communityfunnyman Joel McHale hosted the Film Independent Spirit Awards. The following night, charmingly dorky Anne Hathaway and (purposefully?) aloof James Franco hosted the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. The two shows shared many of the same nominees—Black Swan,The Kids Are All Right, 127 Hours, and Winter’s Bone; however, different films seemed to steal each show. One thing is for sure, though: audiences and Hollywood alike love Natalie Portman.
Black Swan Cleans Up at the Spirit Awards
I saw Black Swan when it first hit theatres nationwide, and the haunting film captivated me. Apparently I wasn’t the only one. The ballet thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky won every award it was nominated for at the Spirit Awards, including Best Feature. Five-months-pregnant Natalie Portman, who had already accepted the BAFTA Film Award and the Golden Globe for her role as Black Swan’sNina Sayers, accepted the honour for Best Lead Actress.
Other winners included James Franco for Best Male Lead in 127 Hours, Dale Dickey and John Hawkes for Best Supporting Female and Best Supporting Male in the gothic Ozark piece Winter's Bone, Tennessee drama Get Low for Best First Feature, and Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko for Best Screenplay for The Kids Are All Right.
Controversial Exit Through the Gift Shop (is it a documentary or simply a huge prank?) received the award for Best Documentary, and much to viewers’ disappointment, mysterious street artist Banksy did not show to claim his prize. Instead, the film’s main character Thierry Guetta (AKA Mr. Brainwash) accepted the award on Banksy’s behalf.
Now it’s time for Oscar talk. I hardly critiqued the Spirit Awards because, honestly, the show was solid all around. Maybe it was the Jameson whiskey served on the red carpet, but the Spirit Awards just felt more intimate and honest.¹ The Oscars, on the other hand, were not good, to say the least. I mean, we expect a long runtime, but this year was excruciatingly slow.
James Franco seemed to be channelling Saul Silver from Pineapple Express, and Anne Hathaway, determined to pick up the slack, tried way too hard. Presenters’ dialogue was monotonous—except for Kirk Douglas, who arguably stole the entire show²—or chopped short due to out-of-place tributes to former Best Picture winners. Banter between presenters was generally soulless (except for Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr.), and acceptance speeches were mostly ill-prepared. Case in point: Melissa Leo.
There were a few highlights. Nervous Robert Stromberg, who accepted the award for Best Art Direction for Alice in Wonderland, opened his acceptance speech with "Why didn't I lose those 20 pounds?" Luke Matheny, who accepted the award for Best Live Action Short, God of Love, “similarly lamented his lack of a haircut. He then thanked his mom, who was in charge of craft services, and the lovely sounding girlfriend who scored his film.”³ David Seidler, Best Original Screenplay for The King’s Speech, and Randy Newman, Best Song for Toy Story 3, also gave entertaining speeches.
The reason why the show was truly a bore, though, was the predictability of it all. As forecasted in just about every Oscar picks article, The King’s Speechran away with the show, pulling in Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Actor. Natalie Portman, who, as stated above, has been raking in the awards for her performance in Black Swan, was one of the easiest picks to make in one’s Oscar pool. During her acceptance speech, she sweetly thanked her fiancé, Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millepied, for giving her the most important role of her life: motherhood.
Throughout the evening, favourite after favourite waltzed up to the podium and graciously accepted their awards. Even the Academy’s attempt at “going rogue” was completely expected. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross produced an incredible score for The Social Network, and while the two are Hollywood outsiders, it was entirely expected for the Academy to go with this “unconventional” nominee. With so many questioning the genuineness of Exit Through the Gift Shop, it was no surprise it didn’t win Best Documentary.
The lacklustre show, though, should not be confused with the calibre of the nominees. There were some incredible films this year, and the competition was steep. As Steven Spielberg pointed out, being a Best Picture nominee is quite an accomplishment. Whether a film wins or not, nominees join the ranks of some of history’s greatest cinematic works, and that is why, no matter how bland the show might get, the Oscars are still worth watching: films receive much-deserved honour and mainstream exposure.
The Academy announced the Oscar nominees Tuesday morning. Yes, I know my post is a tiny bit late, but I was soaking up the sun in Mexico (be jealous!) Either way, Tuesday morning Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and 2009 Oscar winner Mo'Nique greeted groggy-eyed Hollywood with the 2011 Oscar nominations.
While The Social Network swept the Golden Globes and critics’ awards, you would think it will most likely come out on top in the Oscars as well. But with The King’s Speech raking in the most noms (12), The Social Network (8 nominations) could now be a best picture underdog. As Moviefone’s Gold Derby points out, “The movie with the most nominations tends to win Best Picture 75 percent of the time.”
Additionally, The King’s Speech pulled off a bombshell Best Picture victory at the Producers Guild awards. “Over the past 20 years, [the] PGA and the Oscars have agreed on Best Picture 13 times.”¹ Not to mention that there has only been “one other instance where the winner of the Golden Globe for Best Picture actually won the Oscar.”² Not looking good for the Facebook flick, but as Slumdog Millionaireand Hurt Lockerboth proved, underdogs can take the cake (or the little Oscar statuette).
While the Best Picture buzz is always interesting and makes for a great debate, especially when you see all the odds, I find the surprise and snub talk by far the most entertaining.
There are the surprises:
Good job, 127 Hours! You’re up for Best Picture!¹
After being shut out at the Golden Globes, True Grit came back strong with 10 nominations.¹
Hats off to Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are All Right), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine), John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone), and Javier Bardem (Biutful) who all received actor nominations, even though Williams' and Ruffalo’s co-stars got big snubs.¹
While mainstreamers may say “um, what?” Twitter blew up with happy shock over Dogtoothfor a Best Foreign Film nomination and I Am Love's Antonella Cannarozzi for Costume Designer.⁷
And the snubs, which most definitely outweigh the surprises:
Why was 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld of True Grit announced as a Best Supporting Actress nominee when she is the film’s main actress?³
Why wasn’t Mila Kunis given a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her dynamic and captivating role in Black Swan?²
How could the Academy ignore Daft Punk’s phenomenal techno score for Tron: Legacy as well as the film’s innovative visual effects?¹
Not even The Town seems able to vindicate Ben Affleck, who has dropped some major theatrical bombs like Daredevil, Jersey Girl, and (shudder) Gigli and also hasn’t really been a presence in the awards scene since Good Will Hunting. However, he made a career comeback with “assured direction, superb casting, and solid acting” in this crime drama. It didn’t seem to be enough, though, for the Academy.⁵
Where the heck are Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter), documentary Waiting for Superman, and animated film Despicable Me?¹,⁶
And, finally, does the Academy just hate Christopher Nolan? I mean, sure, Inceptiongot a Best Picture nom, but “Nolan—a three-time Directors Guild of America nominee for Memento, TheDark Knight, and Inception—has yet to be recognized in the director category by the Academy.”⁴
Now that I’ve run down the big Best Picture face-off and all the shocks and snubs, let’s hear what you think! I’d run through my picks, but they’d be heavily Black Swan and The Social Network-weighted. So, enough about me! Let’s focus on you.
What are your thoughts on the surprises and snubs? Did I miss anything? Who do you think will take home the major prizes? If the Academy was comprised of your patrons, what films and actors would make up the nominations and/or winners?
Contact Us