Oscarweb Round-up: The year of the dog
Also: Hollywood homophobia and sexual subtext in 'Shame' and, er, 'Puss in Boots'
Ewan McGregor and Cosmo in "Beginners."
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"The Artist" is looking an increasingly safe bet in any number of Oscar categories, but Best Supporting Actor isn't one of them, and it's all because Academy rules bar canine actors from competing. That's a tough break for the film's remarkable Jack Russell prodigy Uggy, who's no less deserving than some past human nominees in the category I could mention. Gregg Kilday contemplates this injustice. On a side note, meanwhile, what's up with the bumper crop of amazing movie dogs in 2011? Between Uggy, Laika in "Le Havre," Cosmo in "Beginners," Snowy in "Tintin," Skeletor in "50/50" and others, there are at least enough contenders to form a new Oscar category. [Hollywood Reporter]
For Variety's Contenders series, yours truly contemplates the crossover Oscar potential of Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin." [Variety]
Dave Karger on how "The Help" got a handy boost from this weekend's Governors Awards. Cheers, Oprah. [Entertainment Weekly]
Jenny McCartney on how Brett Ratner's "fag" faux pas scarcely scratches the surface of
Speaking of which, Tom O'Neil rounds up a gallery of examples to prove that playing gay can net you an Oscar, but only if your character meets his maker. [Gold Derby]
David Poland asks Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender about the debatable insinuations of incest in "Shame." [The Hot Blog]
No one else is writing about the degree of repressed sexuality in "Puss in Boots," so Charlie Lyne has fearlessly taken that responsibility. [Ultraculture]
Nathaniel Rogers digs through history in search of the roles for which Meryl Streep was not Oscar-nominated, and finds none. (Okay, a few.) [The Film Experience]
Those Vulture wags on the potential pros and cons of Billy Crystal returning as Oscar host, "excessive shirtlessness" among them. [Vulture]
Jeff Wells is still talking about a "potential" Best Picture nomination for "The Artist," wonders about its box office future. [Hollywood Elsewhere]
Oh, a lot of people seem very excited about a trailer for something called "The Hunger Games." I'll leave you to it. [Cinema Blend]
2012-2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Best Original Score
Best Original Song
Best Production Design
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Foreign Language Film
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November 14, 2011 at 12:15PM EST Reply to CommentGuy I think you might be slightly underestimating Tintin.
I think if well campaigned, it has lots of potential to land in many categories including Picture and Screenplay and if all goes well, maybe even Director.
Guy Lodge I wrote that a few weeks ago, but I mostly stand by it. I think its Oscar potential hinges heavily on that of War Horse.
November 14, 2011 at 12:42PM ESTGuy Lodge Also, it's worth noting that the animated films that have beaten the odds to land a nomination in the top category are ones that broke down voters' emotional defences. 'Tintin' doesn't have that going for it.
November 14, 2011 at 12:46PM ESTRashad I wouldn't say The Incredibles or Ratatouille were emotional
November 14, 2011 at 4:57PM ESTLiz And they didn't receive Best Picture nominations.
November 14, 2011 at 6:52PM ESTRashad But they did get screenplays which is the point
November 14, 2011 at 6:59PM ESTGuy Lodge That's not the point, since I specifically said "the top category."
November 14, 2011 at 7:38PM ESTDylanS Rashad: "The Incredibles" was totally emotional. Maybe you didn't find it emotional, but it was certainly aiming to be emotional.
November 14, 2011 at 7:53PM ESTRashad I mean it hit on the fact that Mr. Incredible hated his new life, and that the world seemed to reward mediocrity, but that was only a brief part. Everything else was just regular adventure tropes.
November 15, 2011 at 5:08AM ESTDylanS I think that's looking only on the surface level of the film. It's a movie primarily about family, and I'm not the only person who thinks that.
November 16, 2011 at 4:00PM ESTDylanS
November 14, 2011 at 12:49PM EST Reply to CommentI don't see screenplay happening for "Tintin". It's a perfectly fine script, but nothing that an awards body would spring towards.
Guy Lodge Agreed. And adapted screenplay's already a crowded category.
November 14, 2011 at 12:52PM ESTDylanS Yeah, every year when making predictions for the screenplay categories, I struggle to narrow down adapted where i feel like I'm struggling to find slots to fill in original.
November 14, 2011 at 1:37PM ESTred_wine Much much much worse scripts have been mominated.
November 14, 2011 at 2:40PM ESTGuy Lodge That's rather beside the point.
November 14, 2011 at 2:55PM ESTred_wine True that. :D
November 14, 2011 at 3:53PM ESTVoland
November 14, 2011 at 2:16PM EST Reply to CommentTrailer for "Hunger Games" looks much better than expected. Hopefully they'll keep the level of violence and mayhem from the books and won't turn this into some "Love Story in the woods".
AndrewM679
November 14, 2011 at 7:53PM EST Reply to CommentProbably best line I've read today (maybe for the entire Oscar season): Fincher (on GWTDT Oscar chances) "There's too much anal rape in this movie."