Oscar Index: Fighter, Toy Story 3 Among This Week's Best Picture Bruisers
The Leading 5:
1. Natalie Portman, Black Swan
2. Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
3. Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
4. Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
5. Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Outsiders: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit; Lesley Manville, Another Year; Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right; Hilary Swank, Conviction; Tilda Swinton, I Am Love
Notes: You have got to be kidding me with this Hailee Steinfeld thing. The True Grit star remained the subject of category chatter, with Scott Rudin himself telling Kristopher Tapley that "the Mattie Ross character is really the impetus for change in Rooster Cogburn's character." This is pretty much what I said last week when this whole thing came up (Tapley's not convinced; THR pundit_ Tim Appelo doesn't much care but leans toward Rudin's take), but the very idea that we're still having this conversation when someone like Lesley Manville can't get arrested suggests a bit of prognostocative (?) bet-hedging might be in order.
The Actress category also provided some of the most astute and troubling analysis of the year to date: "Oscar fact: No actress in history has won an Academy Award after looking at Ashton Kutcher's penis through 3-D glasses," wrote Lane Brown. I'll leave her position alone for now, but let's monitor closely in the days leading up to No Strings Attached, OK? Meanwhile Kate Winslet reportedly lobbied on Michelle Williams's behalf during a private screening of Blue Valentine: "I have no personal connection with Michelle. In fact until tonight we met only once but from a distance. I feel as though I have been having a secret love affair with her." Ah. Maybe let's leave her be as well.
The Leading 5:
1. Colin Firth, The King's Speech
2. Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
3. Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter
4. Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
5. James Franco, 127 Hours
Outsiders: Jeff Bridges, True Grit; Javier Bardem, Biutiful; Robert Duvall, Get Low; Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version
Notes: Snore. Robert Duvall's diarrhea face was about as scintillating as this one got last week. Javier Bardem will probably want a cigarette by the time this campaign is through, because you just know that even Penélope Cruz can't screw him the way the Oscar probably will.
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Comments
Danny Boyle has a better shot at a director nod than people think. It'll either be O. Russell, the Coens, or Boyle for that fifth slot.
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Why would Russell even be in the running? He didn't do a spectacular job directing The Fighter. He didn't introduce any interesting shots and many shots were quite sloppy. The whole movie was directed on about the same level as your average NYPD Blue episode, so I don't see why people would ever think of nominating him. I think the Coens, who usually direct interesting-looking movies, didn't really surprise much either. Unlike, say, Boyle or Fincher or Aronofsky or Nolan. If James Cameron can be nominated for a CGI festival like Avatar, then why not nominate Lee Unkrich for Toy Story 3??? The scene where the toys almost meet their maker, and the one where they find a new home were directed better than anything in The Fighter.
Little Miss Steinfeld is going strong! If they do the right thing and put her in the supporting category then she should have no problem taking the win... I hope.
I totally agree. It would be nice to see Unkrich at least nominated for his work. Every year animated films are set aside while less deserving movies get moved to the front of the Oscar line. Disney knows it, critics are realizing it, and the Oscar voters apparently still need to get used to the idea. I'm rooting for Toy Story 3 all the way because, with the exception of The Social Network, I didn't see anything nearly as well crafted in 2010.
Agreed, Lee Unkrich definitely deserves to be nominated for Best Director, Avatar is almost no less of an animated film than Toy Story 3 is (I'm not bashing Avatar, just saying). If Lee Unkrich got nominated, I would pull for him; otherwise I'm pulling for Nolan.
I'd like to see a day when Emma Stone is considered atleast an outside chance at a nomination. She was fantastic in Easy A. My money's still on Jennifer Lawrence, but I just know that Natalie Portman will get it.