Don't Cry For Albert Brooks, Says Best Awards E-Mail Ever
It's the little things that get us through one otherwise interminable awards season after another: Oscar-nominee trading cards, #ConsiderUggie, The Daldry... That kind of stuff. But perhaps the most remarkable development of the current awards cycle sprung immediately, kind of miraculously from the previous most remarkable development of the current awards cycle. And it all benefits Drive scene-stealer (and recent SAG Award snubbee) Albert Brooks.
Like a cool, calm yet furious avenger sauntering into a room full of showgirls with a hammer in one hand and a bullet in the other, a rep for Drive casually sent along the following dispatch this morning. I share it in its entirety not only for context's sake, but as a brass-balled example of the best that awards publicity has to offer -- transcending unmistakably bad news by saying, in a nutshell: "Yes, we know Mr. Brooks was snubbed. No, we're not worried. Here's why. You can't stop what's coming. Especially you, Christopher Plummer." Whatever this guy is paid, it's not enough:
Good Afternoon Friends,
We appreciate all of your continued support of DRIVE and coverage of the film, especially following this morning's SAG noms. Thank you for all of your shout-outs to Albert Brooks on Twitter and in your analyses of the SAG nominations in regards to his not being recognized today, but we remain confident that the Supporting Actor race still boils down to a two-man showdown between Albert and Christopher Plummer.
If you will recall, Marcia Gay Harden was not nominated for the SAG in 2000 after her win for Best Supporting Actress at the NYFCC, and went on to win the Oscar for her critically-lauded performance. Albert Brooks has been the critical favorite and consensus pick for Best Supporting Actor so far in 2011 for DRIVE, so let's take today in stride, especially following the onslaught of his multiple critics wins for Best Supporting Actor this week. Brooks has scored wins and nominations everywhere from the New York Film Critics Circle to Las Vegas to San Diego to Boston, yet inexplicably missed out at SAG. We expect that tomorrow the Hollywood Foreign Press will show Albert some love and that eventually the Academy voters will follow the lead of critics across the country and nominate Albert as Best Supporting Actor.
For a little more perspective on the SAG race, please note the list below of the 19 men nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category since the awards' inception in 1994 who have NOT gone on to be nominated for the Oscar:
Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First (95)
Don Cheadle - Devil in a Blue Dress (95)
Hank Azaria - Birdcage (96)
Nathan Lane - Birdcage (96)
Billy Connolly - Mrs. Brown (97)
Ned Kelly - Waking Ned Devine (98)
Chris Cooper - American Beauty (99)
Gary Oldman - Contender (00)
Hayden Christiansen - Life as a House (01)
Alfred Molina - Frida (02)
Dennis Quaid - Far from Heaven (02)
Chris Cooper - Seabiscuit (03)
James Garner - Notebook (04)
Freddie highmore - Finding Neverland (04)
Don Cheadle - Crash (05)
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed (06)
Tommy Lee Jones - No Country for Old Men (07)
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire (08)
Thank you all for your continued support of DRIVE and Albert Brooks!
Swoon. No, really -- thank you.
EARLIER: SAG Award Nominations: Help Soars; Michael Fassbender, Albert Brooks Snubbed
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Comments
Give that publicist a raise. I know who I'm hiring the next time I run for office...
Classy!
Drive is the only film that matters this year. Occupy Academy Awards!
Well, he's a little delusional about a win, but he's dead on on the fact that Brooks will be nominated. The tone of the email has such confidence it even makes me certain he'll get the nod, lol.
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I thought Albert Brooks was hammy and terrible in 'Drive'. How was his character in any way different from the schtick he pulls in dreck like 'The Muse'? I felt like I was watching DeNiro's character from 'Analyze This' interacting with Gosling.
I guess I can kind of understand how Brooks is comparably tolerable next to Ron Pearlman's insane, Nic-Cage-awful line readings, but to go from that all the way to Oscar winner is too big a trip for me.
Pulling a trigger and saying gangster-y things does not a performance make. I've witnessed more credible emoting from The Situation.
That said, I'd be happy if he got nod for something, because he's one of the nicest guys in Hollywood and his work with the Simpsons alone gives him a ton of cred - but please, let's not give him one for this. It'll only encourage him. We all thought encouraging DeNiro with 'Meet the Parents' and the like was perfectly harmless, and now look at him in 'New Year's Eve'.... 😛
Well, maybe I'm in the minority but this seems to me an incredibly ham-fisted thing to do. This could EASILY backfire an cause Academy members to say "really? I don't think so!" and then this publicist will find himself out of a job. Anyone remember just last year when the seemingly odds-on favorite was The Social Network? Then after the onslaught of "for your consideration" ads they ended up with nominations but not winning in the critically important categories. If I was this publicist I would have taken a more restrained and thoughtful approach and kept quiet. Sometimes it's just the right response.
he forgot kenneth branagh as iago in "othello". boo!
p.s. stop "swooning". wow...it's way to easy to impress bloggers!
p.s.s. i meant it's "too" easy. there--now i can stay annoyed at the mistake. cheers.
he wasn't even accurate in his list of sag nominees/oscar snubs. no raise for him!