The Oscars 2015: This year with added testosterone
So I was reading an article about some famous and not so famous people’s recollections of winning an Oscar. Nick Park who has won a few Oscars for animated short films tells a story about being invited to Elton John’s after-party where he was lead over to meet with Elton but had to wait because Elton was deep in conversation with Prince. It is the sort of sight I never see at any party I go to, ever.
Where there are Oscar nominations, there is controversy (among moviegoers at least) and this year, the controversy is kind of justified: This year’s Oscars is an epic fail in the diversity stakes. If you study the contenders closely there is a distinct pattern - it’s all about men (and, with one notable exception, white men). And no, the record number* of redheads nominated does not count as diversity. The last time all the acting award nominees were all-anglo was 1998. And the boys only theme extends to the directing and screenwriting categories. For further analysis, let’s have a squizz at the nominations for Best Film…(or to give it’s full official title)
Best Motion Picture of the Year
American Sniper: about a bloke who shoots people
Birdman (or the Unexpecteduse of parenthesis Virtue of Ignorance): about a bloke putting on a play whilst having a nervous breakdown
Boyhood: about a little bloke growing up
The Grand Budapest Hotel: about a bloke running a hotel
The Imitation Game: about a bloke inventing the computer
Selma: about an actually very impressive bloke leading a fight against injustice and inequality (so there’s irony in this year’s Oscar noms too)
The Theory of Everything: about a genius bloke struck down with a terrible illness
Whiplash: about a bloke learning to play the drums and his bullying tutor (who is also a bloke)
See what I mean? What happened Oscars? You were coming along nicely! Perhaps it is an anomaly and next year will be a little more reflective of the whole of society, yes?
And does anyone call movies 'motion pictures' anymore?
I’ll now get off my soapbox.
American Sniper is a bit of a controversial inclusion (and part of the story is currently the subject of an ongoing court case) but the overwhelmingly white, male, middle-aged membership of the Academy (yeah, about that soapbox….) seem to have a collective man-crush on Clint Eastwood so what are you gonna do? The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson’s most commercially successful film but the most often used (and accurate) word when describing it is “frothy” and “frothy” doesn’t win you Best Film at the Oscars though. The Imitation Game is a good biopic lifted by some fine performances but also, annoyingly and inexplicably inserts some made up stuff into a true story about a remarkable man, Alan Turing, which I would think doesn’t need embellishment. Another film about a British genius,The Theory of Everything is more accurate but I don’t think I learnt anything about Stephen Hawking through watching it, that I didn’t know before. Selma is a film about Martin Luther King and the battle for voting rights for African Americans.
If it was up to me (and it isn’t which is a shame) I would give Best Film to Birdman, because it is amazing. The Academy voters may yet do the same especially as its storyline - art, celebrity, putting on a show and how it isn’t as easy as it looks - is something they can warm to because it is kind of about them. However, the early hype around Birdman seems to have stalled, and Boyhood, which was made over twelve years to portray twelve years of a boy’s life, has been gaining slowly.
Best Actor
Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
For a while, it looked as though Michael Keaton’s fine performance as Riggan Thomson in Birdman had this sewn up but then out of nowhere, along came Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking. He plays Stephen Hawking over a few decades, showing his physical (but not mental or intellectual) decline from Motor Neurone Disease. It is still between these two first time nominees and I think Eddie Redmayne will get it. Benedict Cumberbatch gets his first Oscar nomination for his performance as Alan Turing but I think he will have to just enjoy the party this year but that‘s okay, something tells me Cumbers has several Oscar nominations in his future. Steve Carell gets his first nomination for being unrecognisable, really creepy and not at all funny as millionaire wrestling coach John DuPont. Bradley Cooper gets his third nomination in as many years for playing Chris Kyle in American Sniper (he also produced it so is nominated as a producer as well). This nomination may have edged out other worthy contenders in what has been a big year for excellent performances by actors, if you consider who missed out: Timothy Spall as Joseph Turner, David Oyelwo as MLK, Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler and just quietly Brendan Gleeson for Calvary. Also, I’m not sure what Ralph Feinnes did to miss out on a nomination for surprising everyone with a hard-to-better comic performance (he’s best known for drama) in The Grand Budapest Hotel (which has nine other nominations so it isn‘t like it‘s been forgotten). Seriously, he was the best thing in it. IMHO, he should get the Oscar. Sorry Eddie, Michael, Bradley, Steve and Benedict.
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild
While it was a big year for actors, it has been slim picking for actresses, which is an ongoing problem for many reasons. Rosamund Pike was suitably glacial as Amy in Gone Girl (and if you get a chance, check out her performance in An Education). In the film Two Days, One Night (Deux Jours, Une Nuit) Marion Cotillard (who deservedly won an Oscar for playing Edith Piaf) plays Sandra, a worker who finds out her colleagues have accepted a pay bonus in exchange for her dismissal and spends a weekend trying to convince them to not be such arseholes reconsider their decision. Felicity Jones is a first time nominee for her performance as Jane Hawking in “The Theory of Everything”. She is suitably stoic and holds her own against Redmayne’s bravura performance but I’m not sure she would have been nominated if it had been a stronger year for women’s roles. Reese Witherspoon goes against type in Wild but this year, and about bloody time, too after being overlooked four other times is Julianne Moore for her performance in “Still Alice”. She plays academic Alice Howland, who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. While it screams Oscar bait (and the same could be said about Eddie Redmayne in the Theory of Everything), well, it’s Julianne Moore… just give her a bloody Oscar already!!
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall - The Judge
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash
In Birdman, Edward Norton gets his third Oscar nomination for his nearly scene stealing turn as the precious, temperamental and worst of all, talented actor, Mike. Robert Duvall, who got the Best Actor gong for Tender Mercies, racks up his seventh nomination for the otherwise poorly received The Judge (he plays the Judge). Ethan Hawke plays the Dad in the Boyhood - interesting fact about Ethan Hawke (and no it isn’t that I nearly walked into him in Dymocks bookstore in Brisbane a few years back): he’s been nominated four times, twice for acting and twice for screenwriting (for Before Sunset and Before Midnight). Mark Ruffalo gets his second Best Supporting Actor nomination for Foxcatcher but as good an actor as he is and as lovely a bloke as he seems to be, along with Ethan Hawke and Robert Duvall, should just enjoy the night. Ever since Whiplash was released people were unanimous in singling out JK Simmons’ performance as Fletcher, the respected and possibly unhinged drum tutor. In fact, his performance is all anyone talks about in relation to this movie. Who is JK Simmons? He’s one of those actors you’ve seen heaps of times in movies and on TV but you never know his name. Nice to see one of those actors get some recognition. Edward Norton is the only one within cooee of causing an upset but he needn’t prepare a speech either.
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Laura Dern - Wild
Keira Knightly - The Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman
Meryl Streep - Into The Woods
Meryl Streep gets her nineteenth nomination for singing very well in “Into the Woods” but not everyone likes musicals (I know, weird right?). Emma Stone gets her first (and probably not last) nomination for Birdman in which she plays Sam, who is dealing with the fallout of having a famous parent. In “The Imitation Game” Kiera Knightly (IMO) does a sterling job as Joan, who is briefly engaged to Alan Turing (I can‘t help but go a bit British and say sterling because she is just so, well, British in this film). I don’t understand why people dislike her. Laura Dern gets her second nomination in Wild as Cheryl Strayd’s much loved mum. But, kind of like JK Simmons, everyone has been talking about Patricia Arquette’s performance as single mum Olivia in Boyhood. I do not have a problem with this.
Best Achievement in Directing
Birdman - Alejandro G Inarritu
Boyhood - Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher - Bennett Miller
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson
The Imitation Game - Morten Tyldum
I’ve tried to watch a few Wes Anderson films and I just don’t get them. I get bored instead. There I said it. But The Grand Budapest Hotel was the exception to this mainly because of Ralph Feinnes’s performance (I don‘t want to go on about it but…). But some other time Wes. Not sure why Morten Tyldum got nominated for The Imitation Game because while it was a good, solid film, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Ava DuVernay should have got his spot really but well but the Best Director remains a boys’ club, even after Kathryn Bigelow’s win a few year’s back. Bennett Miller gets his second nod (the first was for Capote) for Foxcatcher but I think Foxcatcher will go home empty handed.
Anyway, it is between Alejandro G Inarritu for Birdman and Richard Linklater for Boyhood. Both have merit. Birdman was innovative for its fly-on-the-wall feel and for the perception of it all being in one take. Boyhood was filmed over 12 years so Linklater could be rewarded for, if nothing else, remembering where he was up to over twelve years. But I’d like to think of it as belated recognition for “School of Rock”.
I’m not predicting any upsets or surprises this year but it is nice to see that not all categories are foregone conclusions. Best Actor, Director and Film are two horse races. Now it is over to Neil Patrick Harris, who is hosting for the first time this year (I think this may be the first time of many).
*No I haven’t actually crunched the numbers on that but Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Stone and Benedict Cumberbatch – it’s got to be some sort of record.
Where there are Oscar nominations, there is controversy (among moviegoers at least) and this year, the controversy is kind of justified: This year’s Oscars is an epic fail in the diversity stakes. If you study the contenders closely there is a distinct pattern - it’s all about men (and, with one notable exception, white men). And no, the record number* of redheads nominated does not count as diversity. The last time all the acting award nominees were all-anglo was 1998. And the boys only theme extends to the directing and screenwriting categories. For further analysis, let’s have a squizz at the nominations for Best Film…(or to give it’s full official title)
Best Motion Picture of the Year
American Sniper: about a bloke who shoots people
Birdman (or the Unexpected
Boyhood: about a little bloke growing up
The Grand Budapest Hotel: about a bloke running a hotel
The Imitation Game: about a bloke inventing the computer
Selma: about an actually very impressive bloke leading a fight against injustice and inequality (so there’s irony in this year’s Oscar noms too)
The Theory of Everything: about a genius bloke struck down with a terrible illness
Whiplash: about a bloke learning to play the drums and his bullying tutor (who is also a bloke)
See what I mean? What happened Oscars? You were coming along nicely! Perhaps it is an anomaly and next year will be a little more reflective of the whole of society, yes?
And does anyone call movies 'motion pictures' anymore?
I’ll now get off my soapbox.
American Sniper is a bit of a controversial inclusion (and part of the story is currently the subject of an ongoing court case) but the overwhelmingly white, male, middle-aged membership of the Academy (yeah, about that soapbox….) seem to have a collective man-crush on Clint Eastwood so what are you gonna do? The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson’s most commercially successful film but the most often used (and accurate) word when describing it is “frothy” and “frothy” doesn’t win you Best Film at the Oscars though. The Imitation Game is a good biopic lifted by some fine performances but also, annoyingly and inexplicably inserts some made up stuff into a true story about a remarkable man, Alan Turing, which I would think doesn’t need embellishment. Another film about a British genius,The Theory of Everything is more accurate but I don’t think I learnt anything about Stephen Hawking through watching it, that I didn’t know before. Selma is a film about Martin Luther King and the battle for voting rights for African Americans.
Best Actor
Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
For a while, it looked as though Michael Keaton’s fine performance as Riggan Thomson in Birdman had this sewn up but then out of nowhere, along came Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking. He plays Stephen Hawking over a few decades, showing his physical (but not mental or intellectual) decline from Motor Neurone Disease. It is still between these two first time nominees and I think Eddie Redmayne will get it. Benedict Cumberbatch gets his first Oscar nomination for his performance as Alan Turing but I think he will have to just enjoy the party this year but that‘s okay, something tells me Cumbers has several Oscar nominations in his future. Steve Carell gets his first nomination for being unrecognisable, really creepy and not at all funny as millionaire wrestling coach John DuPont. Bradley Cooper gets his third nomination in as many years for playing Chris Kyle in American Sniper (he also produced it so is nominated as a producer as well). This nomination may have edged out other worthy contenders in what has been a big year for excellent performances by actors, if you consider who missed out: Timothy Spall as Joseph Turner, David Oyelwo as MLK, Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler and just quietly Brendan Gleeson for Calvary. Also, I’m not sure what Ralph Feinnes did to miss out on a nomination for surprising everyone with a hard-to-better comic performance (he’s best known for drama) in The Grand Budapest Hotel (which has nine other nominations so it isn‘t like it‘s been forgotten). Seriously, he was the best thing in it. IMHO, he should get the Oscar. Sorry Eddie, Michael, Bradley, Steve and Benedict.
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild
While it was a big year for actors, it has been slim picking for actresses, which is an ongoing problem for many reasons. Rosamund Pike was suitably glacial as Amy in Gone Girl (and if you get a chance, check out her performance in An Education). In the film Two Days, One Night (Deux Jours, Une Nuit) Marion Cotillard (who deservedly won an Oscar for playing Edith Piaf) plays Sandra, a worker who finds out her colleagues have accepted a pay bonus in exchange for her dismissal and spends a weekend trying to convince them to not be such arseholes reconsider their decision. Felicity Jones is a first time nominee for her performance as Jane Hawking in “The Theory of Everything”. She is suitably stoic and holds her own against Redmayne’s bravura performance but I’m not sure she would have been nominated if it had been a stronger year for women’s roles. Reese Witherspoon goes against type in Wild but this year, and about bloody time, too after being overlooked four other times is Julianne Moore for her performance in “Still Alice”. She plays academic Alice Howland, who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. While it screams Oscar bait (and the same could be said about Eddie Redmayne in the Theory of Everything), well, it’s Julianne Moore… just give her a bloody Oscar already!!
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall - The Judge
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash
In Birdman, Edward Norton gets his third Oscar nomination for his nearly scene stealing turn as the precious, temperamental and worst of all, talented actor, Mike. Robert Duvall, who got the Best Actor gong for Tender Mercies, racks up his seventh nomination for the otherwise poorly received The Judge (he plays the Judge). Ethan Hawke plays the Dad in the Boyhood - interesting fact about Ethan Hawke (and no it isn’t that I nearly walked into him in Dymocks bookstore in Brisbane a few years back): he’s been nominated four times, twice for acting and twice for screenwriting (for Before Sunset and Before Midnight). Mark Ruffalo gets his second Best Supporting Actor nomination for Foxcatcher but as good an actor as he is and as lovely a bloke as he seems to be, along with Ethan Hawke and Robert Duvall, should just enjoy the night. Ever since Whiplash was released people were unanimous in singling out JK Simmons’ performance as Fletcher, the respected and possibly unhinged drum tutor. In fact, his performance is all anyone talks about in relation to this movie. Who is JK Simmons? He’s one of those actors you’ve seen heaps of times in movies and on TV but you never know his name. Nice to see one of those actors get some recognition. Edward Norton is the only one within cooee of causing an upset but he needn’t prepare a speech either.
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Laura Dern - Wild
Keira Knightly - The Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman
Meryl Streep - Into The Woods
Meryl Streep gets her nineteenth nomination for singing very well in “Into the Woods” but not everyone likes musicals (I know, weird right?). Emma Stone gets her first (and probably not last) nomination for Birdman in which she plays Sam, who is dealing with the fallout of having a famous parent. In “The Imitation Game” Kiera Knightly (IMO) does a sterling job as Joan, who is briefly engaged to Alan Turing (I can‘t help but go a bit British and say sterling because she is just so, well, British in this film). I don’t understand why people dislike her. Laura Dern gets her second nomination in Wild as Cheryl Strayd’s much loved mum. But, kind of like JK Simmons, everyone has been talking about Patricia Arquette’s performance as single mum Olivia in Boyhood. I do not have a problem with this.
Best Achievement in Directing
Birdman - Alejandro G Inarritu
Boyhood - Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher - Bennett Miller
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson
The Imitation Game - Morten Tyldum
I’ve tried to watch a few Wes Anderson films and I just don’t get them. I get bored instead. There I said it. But The Grand Budapest Hotel was the exception to this mainly because of Ralph Feinnes’s performance (I don‘t want to go on about it but…). But some other time Wes. Not sure why Morten Tyldum got nominated for The Imitation Game because while it was a good, solid film, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Ava DuVernay should have got his spot really but well but the Best Director remains a boys’ club, even after Kathryn Bigelow’s win a few year’s back. Bennett Miller gets his second nod (the first was for Capote) for Foxcatcher but I think Foxcatcher will go home empty handed.
Anyway, it is between Alejandro G Inarritu for Birdman and Richard Linklater for Boyhood. Both have merit. Birdman was innovative for its fly-on-the-wall feel and for the perception of it all being in one take. Boyhood was filmed over 12 years so Linklater could be rewarded for, if nothing else, remembering where he was up to over twelve years. But I’d like to think of it as belated recognition for “School of Rock”.
I’m not predicting any upsets or surprises this year but it is nice to see that not all categories are foregone conclusions. Best Actor, Director and Film are two horse races. Now it is over to Neil Patrick Harris, who is hosting for the first time this year (I think this may be the first time of many).
*No I haven’t actually crunched the numbers on that but Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Stone and Benedict Cumberbatch – it’s got to be some sort of record.
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