Oscar Index: Ladyfight!
The Nominees:
1. [tie] Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
1. [tie] Melissa Leo, The Fighter
3. Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
4. Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
5. Amy Adams, The Fighter
Notes: What's gotten into the ladies this week? Especially their supporters -- we already discussed the sudden turmoil around Best Actress, but things still haven't quite calmed down here since last week's Glamour Shot Heard 'Round the World. Melissa Leo continued defending her choice to campaign on her own behalf (Paramount reportedly declined to market one Fighter actress over another, thus necessitating Leo's rogue tactics), telling Marie Claire that she's just glad to have been part of the conversation:
In the true story, when we're 90, we'll giggle and write about the negativity. As we have witnessed before, it's only the generator of the discussion. If there's no negativity, there's no discussion. It generated a conversation and I have no fear of it because I have nothing to hide. I don't think I did a bad. I'm deeply sorry if I offended. That's ignorance on my part. I operate from instinct, and my instinct guided me in the choice to do this. You saw the photo shoot. It's not everything I ever dreamt of for me, either. It is what it is. And it seems to be a part of what I do for a living, so there you have it, unashamed. [...] I know my place. I know my role. I know my people. And when I say I don't know much about this Oscar thing, I mean it. I'm not even a girl that got dressed up and went to the prom, or even dated a lot.
In the same interview Leo mentioned having met Steinfeld, her closest competition, "in an airport. She was doing her pimping, er, I mean promoting in some town, with her mother. I can't remember where she was heading, nor I." Lovely.
Meanwhile, self-described friend of Leo Scott Feinberg went deep on her causes for concern and/or confidence -- like really deep, citing "the BAFTA-AMPAS Disconnect," the "BFCA/HFPA/SAG-AMPAS Connection," and the 140 previous performances affected by each combined. Ultimately the BAFTA-AMPAS thing may be a bigger deal than Feinberg makes it out to be, if only because of the 100+ Oscar winners he lists who weren't nominated for a BAFTA award, a good chunk of them starred in films that were ineligible for BAFTA consideration; The Blind Side, for example, opened in the UK almost a month and a half after the ceremony was even held, and Warners chose not to privately qualify it for voters ahead of the December 2009 screening deadline. The Fighter, however, was qualified late last year -- nearly two full months before its Feb. 2 opening in the UK. That seemed to work for co-star Christian Bale (who nevertheless lost to Geoffrey Rush), but Leo didn't even get nominated.
That could mean trouble for her, especially considering how Carter's BAFTA upswing and Steinfeld's high marketshare of awards-culture goodwill will collide in the Supporting Actress category on Feb. 27. Ultimately, though, the attention generated through Leo's ad and the year's overall tendency toward legacy over technique (not to mention the continued support of virtually every awards prognosticator except Roger Ebert) point to another new race.
TEAM JACKI UPDATE: Why bother with tacky-ass campaign photos when you can just earnestly state your Oscar interest and qualifications to an influential awards-beat writer? Right, Jacki Weaver?
I said this in an acceptance speech before, but when I was younger I had my fair share of awards. And I was very blasé. I used to think, awards aren't important, it's the work that matters. But nowadays, I've done a complete turnaround. I love awards. I embrace them wholeheartedly. It's a basic human need to be told you've done a good job, whatever your job is. And when you're told that by a lot of people all at once, it's even better.
Amen. It's not too late Academy! One you go Jacki, you never go back... i. Ooof. Anyway, can't wait!
The Nominees:
1. Christian Bale, The Fighter
2. Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
3. Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
4. John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
5. Jeremy Renner, The Town
Notes: Yes, Rush won the BAFTA. No, Christian Bale should not be worried. That is all.
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Comments
In defense of The King's Speech:
1. Have you ever tried to watch "Around the World in 80 Days?" You will sleep.
2. "Classic-by-numbers?" Sorry - the script is brilliant.
3. You know what the thing is about "The Social Network? Here's the thing: it's the story of the people who invented Facebook. I know Facebook is important and all, and Sorkin is one of my favorite writers and he did a great job, but let's face it: nothing really interesting happened to these guys while they were inventing Facebook.
I liked King's Speech fine! But ultimately this feature isn't about what I like; it's about taking the irregular pulse of Oscar culture. As such, the TKS/TSN descriptions in that passage referred to the reductive terms we always see slapped on each film in their ongoing Oscar dogfight.