Round-up: Davis and Clooney are EW's Oscar cover stars

Also: Farewell to Hoberman, and Hollywood's fear of gay sex

Thursday, Jan 5, 2012 11:53 AM

Guy Lodge

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I'm always interested to see who lands on the cover of Entertainment Weekly's Oscar-themed issue. While their picks are hardly influential, they can be a good indication of where popular opinion lies -- something that becomes less clear when you cover this beat too thoroughly. Last year, they anticipated one winner by placing Natalie Portman and James Franco front and center; this year, they seem to feel they have two, declaring Viola Davis and George Clooney "frontrunners." (I say they've still got one out of two there.) It's a nice pairing, not only because the two actors are firm friends, but because Davis is the kind of minority character actress who deserves more magazines covers of her own; as she pointedly reminds EW, she stands to become only the second black actress to score a second Oscar nomination. [Entertainment Weekly]

David Poland studies a collation of nearly 200 critics' Top 10 lists, and wonders how much it'll overlap with the Academy's picks. [Hot Blog]

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Tom Shone asks an interesting question: why do fewer Best Picture winners these days also win for their lead actors? [Taking Barack To The Movies]

In case you hadn't heard, J. Hoberman has been laid off by the Village Voice, and American film criticism is a poorer place for it. Matt Singer reflects on what he's taught us. [IFC]

With many prominent 2011 films touching on gay issues, Ramin Setoodeh wonders why Hollywood is still afraid of gay sex. [Daily Beast]

Charlize Theron talks to Nathaniel Rogers. And is generally awesome. [The Film Experience]

Tom Brueggemann on how "Midnight in Paris" could win the Best Picture Oscar. "In a parallel universe" is not one of the answers. [Gold Derby]

Melena Ryzik gathers quotes from some of this year's Oscar-tipped actresses, including Meryl Streep and Rooney Mara, about the process behind their performances. [New York Times]

Emily Rome discusses a strong short-film Oscar contender, "Sailcloth," starring John Hurt. [LA Times]

Related Searches: In Contention, Viola Davis, George Clooney, J Hoberman, Charlize Theron, Midnight in Paris, Sailcloth, Academy Awards

Laura Stewart

Fassy deserves some mainstream lovin'!
January 5, 2012 at 1:02PM EST Reply to Comment
HoustonRufus

Wow. Davis' point about being only the second black actress to be nominated twice is startling. I think it's a fun, cheeky cover. I look forward to reading the article, as I like both actors and had no idea they were such good friends.
January 5, 2012 at 1:42PM EST Reply to Comment
S

wasn't an African American actress won Oscar for playing a maid in Gone with the Wind?
January 5, 2012 at 1:49PM EST Reply to Comment
- Laura Stewart Yeah, Hattie McDaniel but Davis is talking about the lead category.
  January 5, 2012 at 2:12PM EST
- Guy Lodge Actually, Davis's point is that only one black actress (Whoopi Goldberg) has ever scored more than one Oscar nomination (either in lead or supporting) in her career.
  
  Hattie McDaniel was indeed the first black actor to win an Oscar, but it was her only nomination. I guess you're making a parallel with Davis, since they both play domestic workers, but I'm afraid I don't quite see your point.
  January 5, 2012 at 2:32PM EST
Liz

You're leaning toward Davis for the win out of her and Clooney, right Guy? Who are you thinking of for Actor? Dujardin?
January 5, 2012 at 3:40PM EST Reply to Comment
- Guy Lodge Yes. Or Pitt, possibly.
  January 5, 2012 at 3:42PM EST
CaptainCanada

I think Clooney would probably win this year if he hadn't already won, but since he has he's merely one of the top contenders.

Viola Davis looks rather like Michelle Obama from that angle (and with that hairstyle).
January 5, 2012 at 3:45PM EST Reply to Comment
ZacharyTF

Since Charlize is from Africa and has American citizenship, couldn't she be considered an African American Oscar winner? ;)

I'm still a little confused on how to pronounce her last name. Is it tuh-rone or thrown or something else entirely?
January 5, 2012 at 4:53PM EST Reply to Comment
- /3rt I think Charlize is an African-American in the literal sense.
  January 5, 2012 at 5:06PM EST
- CaptainCanada Ther[rhymes with air]-un.
  
  "African-American" as an identity means the descendants of black slaves brought to the US, who for obvious reasons lack any more specific nationality, since their nations didn't exist then and there's no record of where specifically they're from anyway (whereas a modern immigrant from Africa would be Nigerian-American or whatever).
  
  Theron is literally African American, but she'd more properly be South African-American, since that's her nationality. People using the term "African-American" in that sense are generally seen as being deliberately provocative.
  January 5, 2012 at 6:04PM EST
- Guy Lodge Tuh-RON. Say the first syllable quickly, and roll the 'r'. It should sound almost like a slurred 'Tron.'
  January 5, 2012 at 6:37PM EST

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Spearheaded by editor Kristopher Tapley, In Contention represents a collective of awards obsessives who comment and reflect upon, muse about and attempt to decipher the Oscar season on a daily basis throughout the year, and especially during the Oscar crunch of the fall. Regular contributors include Guy Lodge, Roth Cornet and Gerard Kennedy.

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