Oh right, you suspect that a Razzie nomination is coming your way for Worst Actress for Burlesque? Happily the movie, though, is not on the longlist for a potential Worst Picture bid.
Worst Picture Longlist: The Bounty Hunter, Clash of the Titans, The Expendables, Grown Ups, Jonah Hex, Killers, The Last Airbender, Little Fockers, Sex and the City 2, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Vampires Suck and Yogi Bear.
The Razzies are rarely discussed in a serious way on the web as it's mostly an opportunity for free-form mocking. It's good that Burlesque missed this longlist. Burlesque is NOT a bad movie; it's fully aware of what it is and it's totally entertaining. If you get a good helping of entertainment out of a movie, it is not worthy of Worst Picture gong.
But in some ways, the Razzies reflect just as much laziness in groupthink voting as any of the "Best" focused precursors do year in and year out. Both actresses are on the longlists for Worst Actress. There is nothing about Cher, as an actress, that one could conceivably view as worst; she's fully aware of what she's capable of and she's totally entertaining (I'm sensing a repetitive theme here). More inexplicably, since Cher is an easy/visible/lazy target, is that Cam Gigandent is on the longlist of Worst Supporting Actor for his best performance to date... which is not saying much, but throw a guy a bone! If you can watch Easy A and Burlesque and think he's worse in the latter, you are probably missing your eyeballs altogether. (In which case: How are you watching movies, silly!?)
41 Songs were declared eligible for Oscar's least cinematically relevant prize a short while ago. Wheeee!
We only didn't share them yesterday because every single damn thing happens in the same week. I'd be more excited about this category if recent years hadn't seen the big show trending away from original performers singing their original songs. If I can't see Cher doing her Burlesque number(s) on Oscar night, someone is going down.
The Academy will choose up to 5 of these songs as nominees, depending on how their voting goes. I've included video accompaniment when available - listen (and watch up).
Which are you rooting for?
Please god no. No more honors for this eyesore movie.
"Alice" from Alice in Wonderland
"Forever One Love" from Black Tulip
"Freedom Song" from Black Tulip
oooh, now this is more like it. Sadly, it's only a partial video.
"Welcome to Burlesque" from Burlesque
a Burlesque suite.
"Bound to You" from Burlesque
"You Haven‘t Seen the Last of Me" from Burlesque
Despical Meusic Videos from Narnia
"There‘s a Place for Us" from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
"Despicable Me" from Despicable Me
"Coming Home" from Country Strong
"Me and Tennessee" from Country Strong Country Strong has a YouTube channel but neither of their eligible songs are featured. Weirdness. "Prettiest Girls" from Despicable Me
Jeg♥Sondre Lerche and not just because he's Norwegian, kjenner du.
"Dear Laughing Doubters" from Dinner for Schmucks
eat pray love & going the distance.
"Better Days" from Eat Pray Love
"If You Run" from Going the Distance
demo version of Holy Rollers end credits and live Jónsi perf.
"Darkness before the Dawn" from Holy Rollers
"Sticks & Stones" from How to Train Your Dragon
There's no mistaking Bill Plympton's animated films for anyone else's
"Le Gris" from Idiots and Angels "Chanson Illusionist" from The Illusionist
God clearly hates me that I am forced to share that music video (to your left)
"Never Say Never" from The Karate Kid
"To the Sky" from Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga‘Hoole
"What If" from Letters to Juliet
"Life during Wartime" from Life during Wartime
"Made in Dagenham" from Made in Dagenham (couldn't find a vid but here's a sample)
"Little One" from Mother and Child (no vid but sample - pretty song)
"Be the One" from The Next Three Days (no video -- why not Moby? You used to make good ones -- but here's the song)
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Care for some turkey? Cher, XTina and gay filmmaker Steve Antin shall provide a succulent bird. If you’ve been looking forward to the new musical BURLESQUE, relax. I come not to disparage the movie, but to (mostly) praise it. Consider this a corrective protest. It will prove too easy a target for critics and haters, who often seem to despise girlie or flashy movies before they’ve even seen them, but it’s not truly a turkey. It’s more like a (hot) pink flamingo; the plumage is so colorful, you forget that it looks like it should fall over.
The basic plot of Burlesque is so typical as to be personality free: small town dreamer arrives in big city to make it big. Does. The End. But let’s backtrack. Christina Aguilera, referred to as “Ali” since she’s acting or “Iowa” since she’s just off the bus, chances upon the club “Burlesque” run by Cher. For some reason everyone in the movie keeps calling Cher “Tess" but even Cher knows she’s just playing Cher. Tess even gets an 11th hour power ballad "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me Yet" to remind you that she's Cher....
Journalistic Skepticism Oooh, it's a must read listen. Luke has collected the film scores this year. Which is your favorite and who do you think is winning the Oscar for Best Score? Cinema Blend smart post about confusingly similar 2011 romantic comedies Friends With Benefits and No Strings Attached. One twin thing that isn't mentioned: Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman, the female leads from the respective movies are sexually entanged together in Black Swan. Towleroad A bit about Spielberg's Lincoln. Plus, my continued Harry Potter agnosticism . I don't even wanna see this one. Five hours to tell that book? And I've heard that they do spend lots of time moping in that tent. Argh. I don't even dislike the movies really (except the first two) but 9 years is more than enough for one series. Wrap that damn thing up already! Austin Translation has some fun advice for future Disneyland travellers. I.Z. Reloaded amazing Star Wars inspired art. Vulture looks at the possibilities in a post Harry Potter world for Daniel Radcliffe.
Finally, have you read this great New York Times Cher profile piece? I particularly loved this bit about her surreal fame-filled life.
It’s an odd existence, Cher’s. When she recounted a late-night gabfest with two girlfriends in the bedroom of her Malibu manse not long ago, the gabbers in question were Joan Rivers and Kathy Griffin. When she flashed back to a favorite exercise class in Beverly Hills decades ago, the fellow crunchers and squatters were Raquel Welch, Ali MacGraw and, to a more limited and grudging extent, Barbra Streisand, who “would go over, do two little things, and then walk around and talk,” Cher said.
She refers to most of these people by first name or nickname only, figuring you can fill in the blanks. Nicky is Nicolas Cage, Kurty is Kurt Russell, Mich is Michelle Pfeiffer and Nony is Winona Ryder, who starred with Cher in “Mermaids” in 1990 but suffered a career setback after a subsequent arrest for shoplifting.
“It’s such a drag that some crimes are cool and some crimes are uncool,” Cher said.
Ha. You know why that "snap out of it" scene in Moonstruck is so infinitely funny/resonant? Because loving Cher (in ridiculous proportions to how much you probably should love Cher) comes so naturally; you have to be slapped to break her spell!
True story: Last night I was supposed to meet The Boyfriend for an event and I got confused about where we were meeting. I ended up at that big wall-painting of BurlesqueI shared last week (which wasn't where I was supposed to be). A minute later he showed up just as I was ringing him.
"How'd you know where I was?" I ask. "I knew you'd gravitate towards Cher." *
"On November 13, 1974, Karen Silkwood, an employee of a nuclear facility, left to meet with a reporter from the New York Times. She never got there."
And 34 years later, we still don't know exactly what happened to her, though anyone who has seen 1983's Silkwood probably has their suspicions. After all, the film brings the woman back to life in the form of Meryl Streep, at her most lifeforce-tastic, while depicting the manager whose lives she was making so difficult as a pasty, puffy, shifty sort of fellow, the kind who looks like he's constantly about to break into sweat. We don't have the slightest difficulty believing that he and his cronies are just the kind of people to take out a hit on a troublesome young activist, especially since Silkwood is always so engaging and easy to like, and darn it, just plain good, despite some troubling details about her personal life that keep creeping in, adding just enough ambiguity that we can't be absolutely sure that she wasn't maybe at fault for her supposed single-vehicle car crash.
I assume that everybody visiting this site knows why they, at the very least, ought to have seen Silkwood by now (I just finally did *cough* thismorning): Streep in one of the great performances of her early career (it netted her Oscar nomination #5), Cher's breakthrough as a "serious" actress, Kurt Russell's most nuanced dramatic performance ever. Certainly, the combined talents of those three actors, feeding off of each other and giving back so much intimacy, each member of the triangle driving the others to reach their peak, is enough to make Silkwood an excellent human-sized story; personal and observant in a way to make it far more than what the concept threatens to make it, another routine "social activist" picture in the Norma Rae mold.
Less obviously, but just as importantly, the film relies heavily on the careful handling by director Mike Nichols of Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen's fine script: Nichols was on his very best behavior here, opening up the characters through unstressed details and very delicate use of the camera frame to suggest the ongoing shift between the main characters, and their environment.
And it's that ending where Nichols does some of the best work of the film- nay, of his career. With the script rightfully refusing to conjecture what happened that night, Nichols finds an uncanny way to clearly indicate what he wants us to think, while steadfastly maintaining ambiguity. The tension-raising long shot of a car following Karen on a lonely road, which in one steady take shows the lights of that car slowly appear and then draw painfully near, suggests a lot, but it shows absolutely nothing, other than Karen's panic and paranoia. Or the quick insert of Cher's Dolly, Karen's best friend and possible betrayer (foreshadowed in another directorial coup on an airplane), silently crying: it tells the viewer nothing, but creates a feeling of intense foreboding.
Does Silkwood assume, for the sake of drama, that its heroine was murdered? Absolutely, and yet there's not a frame of the film that I can use to prove it. It's that same haunting ambiguity that made the circumstances of Karen Silkwood's death so compelling in the first place; and the filmmakers' ability to honor both her memory and the known facts at the same time is one of the surest reasons that this movie is one of the great true-story thrillers of its decade.
Over at Towleroad, I've done a brief review of 127 Hours. I enjoyed a lot even if I don't think it's the masterpiece many are claiming. I also talk about the new dvd set Cher: The Film Collection. More on that collection later here at the blog. (I can't wait to watch these movies again.)
This is an actual cel phone snapshot from Soho here in NYC. They painted the Burlesque poster on a brick wall. *
Guardian good piece on Anne Heche, her not totally recovered career post-Celestia, and Hollywood's double standards about men and women with troubled souls. After Elton first look at Cheyenne Jackson on Glee. He's replacing Idina as the Vocal Adrenaline coach. I guess that means he's off 30 Rock? But this'll be a better fit anyway. Yay for singing stars! Lazy Circles speaking of Cheyenne... Natasha VC makes a brilliant observation on the quality of Al Pacino's acting. Broadway Buzz A Cher bio-pic style Broadway musical is in the works from director Andy Fickman (You Again)
Avengers Assemble have you seen these new YouTube shorts, the superhero team gathers to discuss business/politics. It's such a weird concept that I am forced to enjoy. They need to speed up line delivery a bit but each episode has a few good laughs. Film Freak Central on Let Me In (I thought this review was interesting. Positive but definitely keeps the original in mind.) Coming Soon Sacha Baron Cohen to play Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in a biopic. Filming starts in 2011. You know what's weird? The internet rumor mill spends so much time talking about pre-production and development that by the time something is official, one could swear it was official 7 or 8 months prior! and that it's totally old news. PopWrap Carey Mulligan has been making surprise appearances at movie theaters in NYC to introduce Never Let Me Go. How cool. Pussy Goes Grrr offers up a late "best shot", a minimalist one, from the wonderful Pandora's Box (1929) /Film Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies) writing a new live-action version of Pinnocchio. 37 Posters by Jerod Gibson is a design project using movie quotes in the shape of the movie's iconography for new posters. Fun. The one for The Big Lebowski is probably my favorite. Movie|Line Andrew Garfield sings "Bed Intruder". Wait, what? I have to post it here. It's just too funny/weird.
HELP. I'm curious as to what you all use for your blog reading? Do you click directly to the sites or do you use a blog reader? In the past I've always used bloglines which is where roughly 2/3rds of my link roundups are pulled from. I have hundreds of subscriptions... some of which I read and some of which... well, there's only so much time. Bloglines is shutting down as of October 1st so I'll have to rebuild elsewhere. I think I'll start from scratch so to as freshen up. Any suggestions? *
Behold: The Poster for Burlesque. I think the marketing department deserves kudos for managing to pay homage to both of their leading ladies simultaneously in a way that's flattering to both. Although the hot pink "they airbrushed my face" quality won't be a sale for everyone.
Linques MTV Whoa! Darren Aronofsky originally conceived of Black Swan and The Wrestler as a single film. Now I'm even more intrigued. Hollywood Crush Bradley Cooper and Ryan Reynolds as action co-stars? Media to swoon. In Contention Isabella Rossellini to head Berlinale jury Stale PopcornGypsy 83. I never hear anyone talking about this movie so I had to link up. Way too underseen for something so heartfelt. MNPP Good morning. Hey, I love bookshelves, too. They scream "I am what I am." Serious Film "Pulled from the Wreckage" Fine acting in terrible films Cinematical freaks out over the amount of stunts in Mad Max: Fury Road Awards Daily on the current cynicism and the Oscar race. Movies Kick Ass picks his favorite Emmy dresses. Christina Hendricks was probably mine. But I'm a sucker for attention grabbing cleavage ... and lavender come to think of it... and redheads (come to keep thinking of it). Triple success.
Go Fug Yourself on Diana Agron's (Glee) Little Women look on the red carpet. PopWrap first official image of Kristen Bell in Burlesque. They think she'll be the most quoted character. Geekscape asks "What if The Expendables had an all female cast?" Answer: Nathaniel would've seen it twice already. (P.S. A female version is so not a bad idea.)
And finally The Awl asks a question that's really been haunting me lately "Why is American selfishness so widespread now?" It's been a disheartening summer -- lack of empathy everywhere. I think you can even see this in reviews of movie dramas. People just have no time or patience for other people's heartache.
OK that's too depressing to end with.
How about By Ken Levine's (who knows from television) Emmy recap:
You realize of course that you watch a lot more television than the people who made these decisions? If it weren't for screener DVD's, many Academy members would still be voting for HILL STREET BLUES.
Ha. Good one.The only reason they're lazier than Oscar voters is they can be. Movies tend to be, like, ineligible after their debut year.
I almost don't have the stamina for this after drooling all over Showgirls (1995) for three or so hours yesterday. But the first trailer for the new musical Burlesque (2010) has arrived and we'll all be comparing the films from now on. Until we're actually watching it at least. Then... who knows? Movie|Line has already memorably mocked the trailer saying
What would happen if Glitter, Showgirls and Nine had a baby — and that baby was raised by Cher and Stanley Tucci’s character from The Devil Wears Prada?
And we can't compete with that. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat.
But we're here for the "Yes, No or Maybe So?" treatment anyway which isn't the same thing as making fun. Are you eager to see it, desperate to avoid or totally on the fence? It's often some mix for me and this is how it breaks down.
Cher in a big starring role insures my ticket purchase. Listen up, I paid for Tea With Mussolini for pete's chaz's sake. I think only 90 people did. I am loyal. From the ebb and flow of this trailer (already disappearing from the web) it looks like she's playing the Velma Kelly or Cristal Connors role only mixed with Mama Morton. It's like she's being the seasoned pro diva but leaving the dirtywork catfighting to minions (like Kristen Bell?). I can totally get behind Cher as wisdom dispenser/diva entrepreneur who delegates her bitchiest moments to others.
Did it have to be Christina Aguilera? Hasn't she been working this burlesque thing for some years now? That big character reveal moment that is supposed to shock everyone where she starts the vocals, preventing the curtain drop? It already feels anti-climactic. Big whoop-dee-doo. Christina can do growly runs. I think this sort of storyline begs for an unknown in the lead or a name that we didn't know could sing like a madwoman. Someone who can shock you with their lion's roar when you assumed they were a pussycat (doll).
On the other hand... the supporting cast looks very fun. We see a lot of reliable ol' Stanley Tucci in Prada mode, Kristen Bell promises great catfight in her blink and you'll miss her kittenish moment, and Alan Cumming, who could outperform most Burlesque divas just by replaying any single moment of his Tony-winning emcee performance from Cabaret , is also glimpsed. How enjoyable the movie is may well rest on how much screen time these supporting players get. Of course it might make me crazy that they're all second fiddle to Xtina but what can you do. Hollywood has never been much of a meritocracy.
You know what to do in the comments. And you'd better do it. Cher is in the (movie) house and she doesn't come around too often. Be ready with a tip for a true show queen.
It's time to look at the movies that have us salivating with anticipation for this fresh new film year. I asked the whole Film Experience team to give me their "most anticipated" list and then we fused them together for a countdown which kicks off soon.
"We Can't Wait. Summer and Beyond"
Before we get to our dozen most awaited films, I've given everyone the go ahead to chat up their "orphan". That's the film from their List O' Impatience that the rest of us weren't quite as anxious to see. My highest ranking orphan was a musical. I know. I know. Such a shock. I could knock you over with a feather right now... a feathered boa.
Burlesque Directed by: Steve Antin Starring: CHER! That's all I needed to know.
Synopsis: Tess (that's CHER!) is a retired dancer and the owner of the struggling title venue. A small town girl named Ali (Not CHER!) arrives with a very big voice and becomes the venue's main attraction. Drama of multiple sorts follows. Brought to you by: Screen Gems...and probably the popularity of the The Pussycat Dolls. Though they're really the low rent mall version of the hip neo-burlesque movement, if you ask me. Expected release date: November 24th. Let's hope it's no turkey. While it's possible that this movie will be terrible, that doesn't mean it won't be highly watchable. If it manages to be good ... oh happy day! Cher is a fine screen actress and we've barely seen her -- apart from that endless "farewell" tour -- in years and years and years. I suppose I'm vaguely curious to see if Christina Aguilera can act but I'm guessing she gets decent reviews even if she's merely adequate. After Britney's Crossroads and Mariah's Glitter debuts, the only way is up right? The supporting cast includes cheeky Alan Cumming, sparkly Kristen Bell, muscley Cam Gigante and streepy Stanley Tucci. And they're all costumed by the great Michael Kaplan, who I've already written about this week.
Finally, I've always found actor-turned-director Steve Antin "curious by association" as well as a little hunky. And that's even before he came out of the closet. I remember him best as the guy that mouthed off about his frenemy Sandra Bernhardt in Without You I'm Nothing and victimized Jodie Foster in The Accused. I know others remember him more from a certain 80s sex comedy [nsfw] or from The Goonies. He wrote Burlesque with underrated screenwriter Susannah Grant (In Her Shoes, Pocahontas, Erin Brockovich) and Keith Merryman.
Will you be buying tickets or hiding once this film struts your way in fishnets?
The Classics NY Times Douglas McGrath demands a special Oscar for Doris Day. Time to give her her due Film Art "Tell, Don't Show" David Bordwell examines a great scene with Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson in Persona to illustrate the power of extended monologues Gawker Susan Sarandon shtupping the ping pong kid? The Independent Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds is still the top celebrity scent. Talk about staying power. La Liz has been raking in the dough from that single career move for almost 20 years now. How many diamonds has she bought with the haul? I Need My Fix "Cher (!) Films Burlesque"... though be warned. 'Fix' gets the headline all fucked up and adds several letters inbetween "Ch" and "r"... confusing the true story here: CHER ! Making a movie again. Style List Catherine Deneuve's 60's era magnificence is still inspiring fashionistas
The Now contact music Toni Collette to be honored by Nicole Kidman at a special Aussie Expat event in LA on Golden Globe weekend LA Times Julianne Moore, still hoping for Oscar nom #5, says you should never take employment for granted Huffington Post I avoid the People's Choice Awards like the Bubonic plauge but Nicole Kidman looked so good. What ever possessed her to stay blonde for so long? So glad the red is hangin on Pop MattersBig Love returns. It's Amanda Seyfried's last season. Sissy Spacek is guest starring
The Stage London Travel Julie Andrews is doing a one-off show this summer Theater Mania and Isabelle Huppert is doing Streetcar in Paris in the spring. I expect a full report from one of you French readers. Comprenez-vous?
Nobody noticed my tweet on the way to a Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince screening yesterday. I thought I'd get a parade of "I'm so jealous" remarks but I must have obscured the 'I'm about to watch it' message with the corny joke that I hoped Cher would record a theme song
half bloo-oood, that's all i ever heard
half bloo-oood, how i learned to hate the word
that half blood's Potion Book was no good they warned
Hermione was against it since the day it was found*
*I realize that 'found' does not rhyme with 'warned' but Cher can warp any vowels until they rhyme. She's magic. Just think of found as 'foo•wrrr•n'd'.
Of course we're not allowed to talk about the movie just yet -- not that that's stopping 99.7% of critics from posting their reviews. So this will suffice: if you loved the other movies, you'll love this one, too. If they're hit and miss for you, this one will be too. That's my useless you-knew-that-already early review! I'd personally rank the movies like so but, again, I'm not a Potterhead.
Prisoner of Azakaban and/or Order of the Phoenix
Half Blood Prince
Goblet of Fire
Sorceror's Stone
Chamber of Secrets
Alan Rickman continues to be a standout as Snape --->
The first two are the only ones that felt like full movies to me while watching them (i.e. stand alone enjoyments, requiring less reading of the books or watching of the other movies to fill in blanks), the third being a fine "this week on Harry Potter" episode the fourth being a pretty good episode and the 5th and 6th being... Oh hell, let's not talk about the first two. They're supposed to be magical but they're just so mugglical instead (cinematically speaking you understand. I'm aware that they're filled to overflowing with spells and wands and potions and such). I can't even talk about Chris Columbus right now. I'm so mad. Yes, I also saw I Love You, Beth Cooper this week and, no, I don't know why I did that either.
As you noticed in the "Stweep" posts, I love skimming the twitterverse to see random movie reactions. That not-actually-time-consuming past time is suddenly less pleasurable. Now if you type in the name of a current movie, just to see what peeps are saying, you mostly get an endless series of "watch this movie free online!" links. Piracy is bad but, more importantly, SPAM IS BORING. It takes so little time for spam to destroy the joy of any particular social networking site. Now I just have to get sneakier about what I type into search engines and I have to eschew full movie titles. Here's a few Potter tweets to go.
As someone who spends too much time on the internet, mockzallad's dilemma amuses.
Oh and Jim Broadbent is terrific as Slughorn. Such a reliable thesp, that one.
franklinveaux is right. Aside from Dumbledore, it seems to me like every adult in the books and movies -- at least for the first handful of books -- always makes the wrong assumptions and decisions to give the books conflict and to prove that Harry & friends are always right. It makes it easy to follow and plays as wish fulfillment for the bajillions of young readers/watchers. I'm less sure why millions of adults respond to the 'kids are smart, adults are dim' plots, though. Curious. * Are you excited for the movie? If so, which part?
We've been looking at each Meryl Streep Oscar nod and its competitive field. Previously: 78, 79, 81, 82, 83 and 85
Meryl Streep's first act was the Liberated Lady. The second was The Chameleon in which Meryl was always the lead, always had new hair, voice and body language and basically controlled Oscar's Universe. It was as if there was only 4 spots for Best Actress, one reserved for her in perpetuity. This second act ended with her intense immersion into notorious dingo-hating Lindy Chamberlain in A Cry in the Dark.[Editor's Note: Yes, I'll do a top ten performance list when "Streep at 60" wraps in mid July. I've heard your requests and I've been rewatching all the movies.]
Starting in 1989 Act III of Streep's career began but we'll get to that shortly. First, let's look at her competition in the last two years of her legendary Act II.
I've always loved that "Mary Louise" exchange. But is Cher rewriting history to claim Silkwood as her first movie or was Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean filmed second and released first?
Other 87 ladies for context: The Globe nominees that weren't Oscar nominated were Barbra Streisand (Nuts), Faye Dunaway (Barfly), Rachel Chagall (Gaby: A True Story), Diane Keaton (Baby Boom), Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) and Bette Midler (Outrageous Fortune). The year also included: Lindsay Crouse (House of Games), Cher & Sarandon & Pfeiffer (The Witches of Eastwick), Holly Hunter (Raising Arizona), Ellen Barkin (The Big Easy), Robin Wright (The Princess Bride), Mia Farrow (September), Mimi Rogers (Someone To Watch Over Me) and Daryl Hannah (Roxanne)
Nathaniel's List. This is one of the truly rare Oscar years in that I love every single nominated Best Actress performance. I'm not talking just like but love, would-propose-marriage-to deep love. My only sadness then and now is that Oscar doesn't give double nominations (Hunter in Raising Arizona = amazing and possibly even better than in News) and that there wasn't room for Emily Lloyd's fresh and now little seen debut performance in Wish You Were Here. Emily won the NSFC Best Actress prize, a BAFTA nomination and my own heart. No one speaks of her anymore but it seemed like she was going places in 1987. Those places didn't materialize. After a few short years of lead roles her film career withered into occasional supporting parts and then... nothing.
Other 88 women for context The year's most outrageous snub was surely Globe nominee Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham. The movie had been a big hit, it lifted her into a new tier of stardom, her reviews were ecstatic and it arguably remains her best work. 1988 also marked the peak of Barbara Hershey's career. In just twelve months on US screens she had a huge hit (Beaches) and saw the release of not but one TWO consecutive Cannes winning performances (Shy People and A World Apart). But outside of the south of France she was only recognized once (Chicago Film Critics).
Oh the rollercoaster of fame! Glenn Close, Kim Basinger and Barbara Hershey were all smiles in 1984 (they co-starred in the baseball drama The Natural). Who knew that Basinger, the least acclaimed at the time, would become the sole Oscar winner?
Globe kudos that didn't transfer to Oscar were the winner Shirley Maclaine (Madame Sousatzka) and nominees Amy Irving (Crossing Delancey) and the awesome trio of Christine Lahti (Running on Empty), Jamie Lee Curtis (A Fish Called Wanda), and Michelle Pfeiffer (Married to the Mob). 1988 also included Gena Rowlands (Another Woman), Bette Midler (Beaches), Geena Davis (Beetle Juice), Carmen Maura (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and the debut of Ricki Lake (Hairspray).
<-- Meryl and Don at the March 89 Oscars
Nathaniel's List I consider 1988 one of the richest years of all time for female leads (though I don't much like the performance that won the Oscar. Figures). So without rescreening 7 or 8 films, I can't decide. But of one thing I am reasonably certain: my gold and silver medals would be melted down, mixed together and handed simultaneously to Glenn Close and Susan Sarandon if I were ever allowed the one-time Best Actress tie that Oscar itself gave out (in 1968). Meryl Streep would be in the mix and the remaining two spots would be hard won between...
Don't make me decide right now. I change my mind. This year gives me migraines... of pleasure.
What are your lists like for 1987 and 1988? Who do you think should have won and which movies top your list of "I must see this!" if you haven't already?
A Note: I will be returning to reviewing Streep movies soon but for now let's return to discussing Streep's competitive Oscar fields. I'll try to wrap up the 80s pictures very soon. I knew this month would be Streep heavy I had no idea how mired down in the 80s nostalgia we'd get. See also: Farrah & Michael Jackson.
1985 Six Oscar nominations is a lot for anyone but what is perhaps even more impressive / serendipitous about Meryl Streep's 1985 accomplishment is that Out of Africa, a big hit and Oscar champ, was her third Best Picture winner in seven years. That's quite rare. She would go on to lose Best Actress to Geraldine Page who was, at that time, the most nominated performer (8) never to have won the golden boy (Peter O'Toole now holds the record since he lost on his 8th nomination). Page died a scant 15 months later at 62 years of age. She is one of only five women in the history of the Oscars to have won this prize after the age of 60, the most recent being Helen Mirren in The Queen. I've been meaning to write about Ms. Page for two years now. Really must get to that soon.
To this day I have never seen Geraldine Page's Oscar winning performance though my best friend considers it one of the most moving he's ever seen. I think Page is spectacularly good in Sweet Bird of Youth and Interiors and terrible in Summer and Smoke (her three other Best Leading Actress nominations) so I'm curious. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. At the time I wanted Meryl to win. Now, my heart unquestionably belongs to Mia Farrow in The Purple Rose of Cairo for 85's gold medal.
1985 the nominees were...
Anne Bancroft, Agnes of God
Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple (Globe winner)
Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams
Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful (watch her win)
Meryl Streep, Out of Africa
More '85 Ladies for context: There were many snubs since it was a rich year for leading ladies but only two snubs if you go by media attention and awards traction. Kathleen Turner won the comedy Globe for Best Picture nominee Prizzi's Honor but went on to experience her third high profile Oscar snub in the first five meteoric years of her career (the Academy never loved her though audiences instantly did). The other snub was Cher in Mask, which prompted her famous confrontational quip at the actual ceremony
As you can see, I did receive my Academy handbook on how to dress like a serious actress
But snubs are often blessings in disguise. The Mask diss probably helped Cher win for Moonstruck in 1987 (we'll get to 1987 next week).
1985 also featured Norma Aleandro in The Official Story (a foreign hit and she was the NYFCC winner), Coral Browne in Dreamchild (zero awards traction but a fine turn), Kelly McGillis in Witness and the following comedy Globe nominees: Mia Farrow in The Purple Rose of Cairo, Glenn Close in Maxie, Rosanna Arquette in Desperately Seeking Susan and Sally Field in Murphy's Romance.
Tom Baxter: We'll live on love. We'll have to make some concessions, but so what? We'll have each other Cecilia: That's movie talk.
What's your ideal Oscar lineup in 1985? Were you born yet?
