With the Academy Award nominations being announced today, lots of pop culture pundits are commenting on who's in, who's out, and who will win.
What none of them are talking about is the inspiration found within the nominations themselves.
Inspiration? In a list of film nominees?
Sounds crazy, right?
But the list is full of it.
Take the Best Actor race for example. Here you have Jeff Bridges, nominated for True Grit, a great actor who won his first award last year and now seems to be enjoying a winning streak in what most would call a young man’s game. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Jesse Eisenberg, nominated for The Social Network. Ask most people if somebody who starred in a movie called Zombieland would, less than a year later, be nominated for an Academy Award, and they’d probably laugh at you. Not only a nominee, but co-host James Franco, is nominated for 127 Hours. Not bad for someone who used to have nothing more to their name than the brilliant cancelled NBC show "Freaks and Geeks." The surprise nominee is Javier Bardem for Biutiful. Left out of most of the major awards, Bardem just goes to show you that it’s never over until it’s over (or until Julia Roberts campaigns for you). The front-runner in the race is Colin Firth, for The King’s Speech. A lesson in persistence if ever there was one.
Then there are the Best Actress nominees. If it’s difficult for men Jeff Bridges’ age to be relevant in Hollywood, then multiply that by at least five for women. Yet here are Annette Benning and Nicole Kidman nominated for some of the best work of their respective careers in The Kids are All Right and Rabbit Hole respectively. Whereas Benning is that rare actress who rarely does movies but, when she does, knocks them out of the park, Kidman consistently works, picking interesting projects. Lately Kidman’s been striking out, so it’s nice to see her rewarded for taking big risks. Then there’s Jennifer Lawrence, someone whose name is probably still unknown to most people, but who turned in a fantastic performance in Winter’s Bone. Finally you have Michelle Williams, who, like Franco, made it big on a television show (“Dawson’s Creek”) and has now carved out a new career for herself as a serious film actress. Then, there’s the front-runner, Natalie Portman, who has proven that by tackling edgy and controversial roles, a pretty face can receive a big pay-off.
At a time when it’s easier to get on the front page of People by cheating on your spouse or becoming addicted to drugs, I think it’s important to take a minute to acknowledge people in Hollywood who actually are doing great work, especially those who had to overcome some obstacles to get there.
What none of them are talking about is the inspiration found within the nominations themselves.
Inspiration? In a list of film nominees?
Sounds crazy, right?
But the list is full of it.
Take the Best Actor race for example. Here you have Jeff Bridges, nominated for True Grit, a great actor who won his first award last year and now seems to be enjoying a winning streak in what most would call a young man’s game. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Jesse Eisenberg, nominated for The Social Network. Ask most people if somebody who starred in a movie called Zombieland would, less than a year later, be nominated for an Academy Award, and they’d probably laugh at you. Not only a nominee, but co-host James Franco, is nominated for 127 Hours. Not bad for someone who used to have nothing more to their name than the brilliant cancelled NBC show "Freaks and Geeks." The surprise nominee is Javier Bardem for Biutiful. Left out of most of the major awards, Bardem just goes to show you that it’s never over until it’s over (or until Julia Roberts campaigns for you). The front-runner in the race is Colin Firth, for The King’s Speech. A lesson in persistence if ever there was one.
Then there are the Best Actress nominees. If it’s difficult for men Jeff Bridges’ age to be relevant in Hollywood, then multiply that by at least five for women. Yet here are Annette Benning and Nicole Kidman nominated for some of the best work of their respective careers in The Kids are All Right and Rabbit Hole respectively. Whereas Benning is that rare actress who rarely does movies but, when she does, knocks them out of the park, Kidman consistently works, picking interesting projects. Lately Kidman’s been striking out, so it’s nice to see her rewarded for taking big risks. Then there’s Jennifer Lawrence, someone whose name is probably still unknown to most people, but who turned in a fantastic performance in Winter’s Bone. Finally you have Michelle Williams, who, like Franco, made it big on a television show (“Dawson’s Creek”) and has now carved out a new career for herself as a serious film actress. Then, there’s the front-runner, Natalie Portman, who has proven that by tackling edgy and controversial roles, a pretty face can receive a big pay-off.
At a time when it’s easier to get on the front page of People by cheating on your spouse or becoming addicted to drugs, I think it’s important to take a minute to acknowledge people in Hollywood who actually are doing great work, especially those who had to overcome some obstacles to get there.
Comments
Post a Comment