Best Supporting Actor 1998

1998 through 2007

Best Supporting Actor 1998

James Coburn - Affliction
6
18%
Robert Duvall - A Civil Action
2
6%
Ed Harris - The Truman Show
10
29%
Geoffrey Rush - Shakespeare in Love
1
3%
Billy Bob Thornton - A Simple Plan
15
44%
 
Total votes: 34

Moviesandpizza
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Moviesandpizza »

FilmFan720 wrote: Mon Jul 02, 2012 5:56 am I don't have much to add here that hasn't already been said. Billy Bob Thornton is not an actor I have ever thought of him deserving of 2 Oscars, but I have no problem voting for him twice. Funny how that works out. I also would have nominated Ed Harris, who I think is quite lovely moving from the enemy to the heart of The Truman Show.

The other three were all fine performances, if not particularly memorable ones for the actors.

My Top 5:
1. Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan
2. Jeff Daniels, Pleasantville
3. Elias Koteas, The Thin Red Line
4. John Goodman, The Big Lebowski
5. Ed Harris, The Truman Show
I agree about Jeff Daniels! Fantastic! Daniels and Macy are both excellent.

The thing with Coburn is almost really hilarious! Not even predicted by a lot of people. Considered dead last with the odds. Ends up the winner. His character is so vicious he is memorable.
Harris - small role very controlled considered almost too similar to Apollo 13
Thornton - very touching and moving but got some “hick again?” Press
Rush- light role of fluff as compared to his Machiavellian turn In Elizabeth
Duvall- solid if nothing spectacular

I would do like
Macy pleasantville
Daniels Pleasantville
Rush in Elizabeth
Nolte in Thin red line
Sizemore in Saving private Ryan
ITALIANO
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by ITALIANO »

I was glad when James Coburn won his Oscar - partly because Affliction was a tough, challenging movie, not a great movie maybe but definitely not the kind of movie that usually gets Oscars, and because Coburn's rough, realistic performance - one could almost smell his breath - WAS good.

But also partly because, let's face it, if it hadn't been Coburn, it would have been Ed Harris for The Truman Show, and I didn't believe that Harris especially deserved it. Don't get me wrong - it's impossible not to like Ed Harris, a good looking but not vain and obviously intelligent man, a hard-working but never showy actor with an interesting, varied career. The Academy likes him too and it's possible that one day he will be given an Oscar. But his role in Truman Show may have been shot in only one or two days; this isn't necessarily a problem, I know - yet, like the movie itself, it's a bit on the faux-profound side.

My pick is Billy Bob Thornton - a memorable turn in a strangely forgotten, but not negligible, movie.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by FilmFan720 »

I don't have much to add here that hasn't already been said. Billy Bob Thornton is not an actor I have ever thought of him deserving of 2 Oscars, but I have no problem voting for him twice. Funny how that works out. I also would have nominated Ed Harris, who I think is quite lovely moving from the enemy to the heart of The Truman Show.

The other three were all fine performances, if not particularly memorable ones for the actors.

My Top 5:
1. Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan
2. Jeff Daniels, Pleasantville
3. Elias Koteas, The Thin Red Line
4. John Goodman, The Big Lebowski
5. Ed Harris, The Truman Show
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by koook160 »

Mister Tee wrote:Oh... and I completely forgot about Donald Sutherland, who was indeed wonderful in Without Limits. Alternate universe scenario: Had producer Tom Cruise still been young enough and played Steve Prefontaine, might the film have been a substantial commercial success instead of the utter flop it was...in which case, might Sutherland, giving a highly-praised performance in a popular film, have been the sentimental choice that season rather than Coburn? (This of course ignores the fact that Without Limits was the second Prefontaine movie in a short space of time, and it may have suffered the Valmont fate regardless. But I think it's a whole lot better effort than the James/Leto version)

And I hate to pick on Billy Crudup, but this is one of two cases where his non-drawing power might have affected the Oscars. With originally-intended Brad Pitt playing Crudup's rock star role in Almost Famous, that film might have scored more heavily and been a stronger alternative in the Gladiator/Crouching Tiger/Traffic mash-up.
I always thought it was a damn shame Crudup never made it as big as he should have. In fact, he was the only part I liked about Almost Famous.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Big Magilla »

Without Limits did slightly better at the box office than Prefontaine but not enough to make it a hit. Still, Donald Sutherland's name was bandied about up to nomination time.

Maybe it was the subject matter, just not sexy enough for mass audiences.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Mister Tee »

Oh... and I completely forgot about Donald Sutherland, who was indeed wonderful in Without Limits. Alternate universe scenario: Had producer Tom Cruise still been young enough and played Steve Prefontaine, might the film have been a substantial commercial success instead of the utter flop it was...in which case, might Sutherland, giving a highly-praised performance in a popular film, have been the sentimental choice that season rather than Coburn? (This of course ignores the fact that Without Limits was the second Prefontaine movie in a short space of time, and it may have suffered the Valmont fate regardless. But I think it's a whole lot better effort than the James/Leto version)

And I hate to pick on Billy Crudup, but this is one of two cases where his non-drawing power might have affected the Oscars. With originally-intended Brad Pitt playing Crudup's rock star role in Almost Famous, that film might have scored more heavily and been a stronger alternative in the Gladiator/Crouching Tiger/Traffic mash-up.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Mister Tee »

Big Magilla wrote:
Mister Tee wrote:To throw in a few fresh names: how about Brendan Fraser – the unsung element of Gods and Monstersquote]

I already mentioned him.
Apologies. The thread is too long/word-crammed for my addled brain to catch everything.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Big Magilla »

[quote="Mister Tee"]To throw in a few fresh names: how about Brendan Fraser – the unsung element of Gods and Monstersquote]

I already mentioned him.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by ksrymy »

So, as of right now, Billy Bob Thornton is a two-time winner here on the board. I don't think I would have ever expected that.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Mister Tee »

To throw in a few fresh names: how about Brendan Fraser – the unsung element of Gods and Monsters – or Oliver Platt in Bulworth? I know Platt has more or less coasted on that same character his whole career, but here it was fairly fresh, and very funny.

I’ve always been a bit fuzzy on the Happiness actors’ status. I could make a case for Dylan Baker as leading actor, in which case I’d cite Philip Seymour Hoffman in support. But if Baker’s supporting, him, definitely. (Not that either was a possibility in a real-life Academy world)

I felt bad for Bill Murray, being left out, after all the reputable critics’ groups singled him out. But I didn’t love the film, so it wasn’t a personal blow.

I haven’t seen Shakespeare in Love since its original run so I don’t know if I’d be more disposed toward Geoffrey Rush now than I was then, as Sabin and BJ appear to be. My feeling at the time was that it was simply a case of a best picture favorite carrying along its associated performers – or, alternatively, the emerging sense that Harvey Weinstein could get actors undeserved nods (see Blethyn, Brenda in the same batch).

A Civil Action is one of those well-meant, intelligent, but lifeless Hollywood efforts dealing with Serious Issues. Robert Duvall is, as always, professional and amusing, but he doesn’t have anything special to do.

I can’t imagine many in Academy circles much liked Affliction (any more than they liked previous Paul Schrader efforts), and normally it’s hard for an actor to win for such a film. But there was so little consensus in the category, James Coburn’s veteran status triumphed over that handicap. I can’t say I thought Coburn’s work had any particular nuance to it, but he was OK, and he seemed so genuinely pleased at the late-career tribute (saying many times “I finally got one right, I guess”) that it was hard not to feel pleased for him. He doesn’t, however, get my vote.

Ed Harris is an actor who’s got it right often in his career, and seems like an actor who OUGHT to have an Oscar by now. But, truth be told, I can’t find the spot he deserves honoring. He’s like a guy you’d love to have on your team year after year, but who’s never rated the team MVP award. I regret to say I find this another one of those not-quite spots (though had he won here, I wouldn’t have minded). The part just doesn’t seem to have enough dimension to merit prizes.

I was among those less impressed with Billy Bob Thornton’s Sling Blade work; it felt more like a stunt than a lifelike performance to me. In A Simple Plan, I thought he ascended to the human plain, giving a similarly limited individual the ring of truth. A Simple Plan is a minor piece of work – you can feel the doom shroud waiting to descend throughout – but it’s very well executed, with strong performances across the board, Thornton’s tops among them. In this less-than-splendid field, he gets my vote.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Big Magilla »

Sabin wrote:The National Board of Review. They're not critics, and when they release their picks it doesn't signify anything other than the beginning of awards season.
Maybe nowadays when the Broadcast Critics, many of whom aren't critics either, and the HFPA whose Golden Globe awards from a handful of part-time critics were traditionally ridiculed, and the film cirtics organizations of just about everywhere and everything all agree on the same films, but at least until the appearance of the L.A. film critics in the mid-70s they were taken seriously with occasional wtf exceptions.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Sabin »

The National Board of Review. They're not critics, and when they release their picks it doesn't signify anything other than the beginning of awards season.

...

One of the big surprises for me of the 1998 Awards Season was that Jeremy Davies failed to gain any traction for his performance in Saving Private Ryan. He was a very clear standout in a very popular movie with perhaps the strongest emotional arc in the film. I was still new to the predictions game, but I found Geoffrey Rush's nominations incredibly odd. Then again, I found a lot of the nominations odd in 1998.

1998 was a wretched Awards Show also.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Big Magilla »

Sabin wrote:I don't consider the Board a major critic's group. They're basically the viewer's choice awards.
Our board or the National Board of Review?

The NBR is not a critics group, but it isn't a viewer's choice award either. Historically the membership has been made up of film buffs and historians. It originally began in 1909 as the National Board of Censorship of Motion Pictures but changed its name to the National Board of Review in 1915. They began issuing ten-best lists in 1929 and in the late 30s and early 40s lists of top performances as wel, but they did not start announcing director and lead acting winners until 1945; supporting acting winners until 1954.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by Sabin »

I don't consider the Board a major critic's group. They're basically the viewer's choice awards.
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Re: Best Supporting Actor 1998

Post by The Original BJ »

Not the best lineup, especially given the alternatives. I'd say the two must-haves would be Dylan Baker's alarmingly human pedophile in Happiness and Bill Murray's gloriously funny sadsack in Rushmore. I get, given the squeamish factor, why Baker never made much headway in the race, but Murray's snub, after all those critics' prizes, really stung. Even if you acknowledge that the Academy just wasn't going to go for those movies, there were numerous candidates from movies they DID go for, particularly the men from the year's big war movies. My preferred choice would probably be Nick Nolte in The Thin Red Line, but Jeremy Davies in Private Ryan was terrific as well, as were many of the guys in those ensembles.

A Civil Action is a solid, proficient legal thriller, and Robert Duvall gives a solid, proficient performance in it, with both gravitas and some light humor. But the work isn't transcendent, and I can't help but feel like this nomination was basically afterglow recognition for his triumph a year earlier with The Apostle.

I watched/followed the Oscars this year, but I hadn't really seen most of the movies (except the ones rated PG-13 and below). But I remember being shocked when James Coburn won -- none of the predictions I'd read considered him a strong candidate. When I finally got around to seeing Affliction, I wasn't so surprised -- Coburn had a showy role as a villainous, abusive father -- and the actor had had a long career. But the work didn't strike me as much more than an intense monster dad (in a movie I don't much care for), and he doesn't get my vote.

I share Sabin's view on Geoffrey Rush's nomination. I think he's very funny in the movie, in the kind of over-the-top part that actually fit his scenery-chewing antics well. He also gets one of the best lines in the whole movie, and delivers it perfectly. ("The show must...you know...") But I also feel like he's just one member of a terrific ensemble, and doesn't stand out in a way that I think should be singled out with an Oscar. (I feel like this nomination, too, was afterglow recognition for Shine.)

For me, this race comes down to Thornton and Harris, either of whom would be worthy picks. (As of this writing, the men are about tied in voting, which I find perfectly understandable.) I wasn't all that wild about Thornton in Sling Blade, but here I thought he played a similarly dim character with nary a hint of affectation. His character is slow, but not stupid, and the actor makes his emotional quandary complicated and painfully sad. He's the moral compass of a very enjoyable, crackling thriller, and I think the actor's work as an average guy unwittingly caught up in a great big mess gives the movie much of its dramatic weight. I could have voted for him.

But I'm a big Truman Show fan, and I go with Ed Harris in this year's race. It's not that the actor's role is so great that makes him my choice -- in fact, I think the part as written is fairly minor. But I think Harris took a role that could have been almost entirely functional and made it special, showing a wide range of sides to Christof, and making him a well-rounded character in his own right. He commands with great authority when running the show, he's witty and amusingly self-absorbed when interviewed by the press, and he even manages to touch your heart in his final monologue to Truman, when he reveals that, deep down, he harbors an almost fatherly love toward the man whom he turned into a TV sensation. Harris is the kind of consistently solid character actor who I'd like to see with an Oscar, and I think this is the best opportunity for me to grant him one.
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