The Different Ways I'm Looking at the Four Acting Categories

[rolotomasi99]

Crossing Delancey is a sweet comedy romance with Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, and Reizel Bozyk as Iriving's grandmother. Irving was nominated for a Golden Globe, losing to Melanie Griffith in Working Girl. Between the Lines and Chilly Scenes of Winter also have their moments.

I haven't seen anything else of hers.

Thank you for the recommendations.

Somehow I have heard of BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR even though I am certain I never watched it or read the short story. Perhaps I just heard the title once and it stuck it my heard for whatever reason.

[Big Magilla]

Crossing Delancey is a sweet comedy romance with Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, and Reizel Bozyk as Iriving's grandmother. Irving was nominated for a Golden Globe, losing to Melanie Griffith in Working Girl. Between the Lines and Chilly Scenes of Winter also have their moments.

I haven't seen anything else of hers.

[rolotomasi99]

Silver was contacted by David O. Selznick's 80-year-old former publicist who he hired to sell the film's Oscar potential by exhibiting in the homes of Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and other Hollywood bigwigs as well as at the Motion Picture Home it in the days before DVDs. Allegedly the publicist wanted money to push for Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Actress. The Silvers could only afford one, so they centered on Carol Kane's performance. The campaign worked and the attendant publicity surrounding Kane's nomination made the film a commercial success.

Thank you for sharing that lovely story. I watched this movie a while ago and remember enjoying it, but reading this makes me want to see it again.

I had not realized it was directed by a woman, or that it was her debut. I took a look at her filmography, but have not seen any of her other feature films. Is there anyone here who can recommend one of her subsequent movies?

[Big Magilla]

One more thing about Carol Kane's nomination for Hester Street which I just rewatched on Cohen Media's new Blu-ray.

Featured in the extras are interviews from 2004 imported from the DVD. Included is an interview with producer Ray Silver, director Joan Micklin Silver's real estate developer husband. In it, he discusses how the film (made in 1973) could not find distribution. All the studios passed on it while smaller distributers only wanted to market it to ethnic Jewish audiences in New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Silver eventually contacted John Cassavetes whose marketing team helped him market the film himself by advertising it as a romantic comedy. The film was a success at the Dallas Film Festival and then got shown at Cannes after which it opened slowly in New York and L.A., followed by other major cities in the U.S. and abroad.

Silver was contacted by David O. Selznick's 80-year-old former publicist who he hired to sell the film's Oscar potential by exhibiting it in the homes of Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and other Hollywood bigwigs as well as at the Motion Picture Home in the days before DVDs. Allegedly the publicist wanted money to push for Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Actress. The Silvers could only afford one, so they centered on Carol Kane's performance. The campaign worked and the attendant publicity surrounding Kane's nomination made the film a commercial success.

[flipp525]

Just to fun little story: I’ve met Glenda Jackson twice in the past three years during her Broadway runs of Three Tall Women and King Lear, and I can attest that she is extremely kind and warm in person. (Laurie Metcalf was cold and unapproachable during stage door appearances at Women while Alison Pill inexplicably sent a stage manager ahead of her to announce that she would not be signing programs which was laughable as literally no one even wanted to see her). Glenda, on the other hand, stayed to greet every person waiting and even took pictures with an elderly woman whose first play she’d seen on stage had starred Glenda decades before.

When I spoke with her after King Lear, she remembered my friend and me and introduced us to Ruth Wilson who she was super chummy with. Ruth was like, “Isn’t she just amazing?” Lovely woman.

Did she have anything to say about her time as a Member Of Parliament?

I didn’t ask her about that.

[Greg]

Just to fun little story: I’ve met Glenda Jackson twice in the past three years during her Broadway runs of Three Tall Women and King Lear, and I can attest that she is extremely kind and warm in person. (Laurie Metcalf was cold and unapproachable during stage door appearances at Women while Alison Pill inexplicably sent a stage manager ahead of her to announce that she would not be signing programs which was laughable as literally no one even wanted to see her). Glenda, on the other hand, stayed to greet every person waiting and even took pictures with an elderly woman whose first play she’d seen on stage had starred Glenda decades before.

When I spoke with her after King Lear, she remembered my friend and I and introduced us to Ruth Wilson who she was super chummy with. Ruth was like, “Isn’t she just amazing?” Lovely woman.

Did she have anything to say about her time as a Member Of Parliament?

[Big Magilla]

That Most Important Thing: Love was called The Main Thing Is to Love when it was released in L.A. at the end of 1975. It was, however, not on the Academy's list of eligible films for that year.

https://www.atogt.com/askoscar/display- ... =list-text

It wasn't reviewed by the New York Times until 2017 when a restored version was rereleased as The Importance of Loving

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/movi ... eview.html

We've discussed the Louise Fletcher category placement ad infinitum in various threads over the years and don't need to go into it again here, but, yeah, in a year with stiffer Best Actress competition she would probably have been relegated to the supporting category. It is, however, worth noting that 1976 wasn't much stronger with BAFTA giving her its Best Actress award for that year over Liv Ullmann in Face to Face, Rita Moreno in The Ritz, and Lauren Bacall in The Shootist.

[Reza]

Shouldn't Fletcher have been in the supporting category?

The year's best female performance was by Romy Schneider in L'important c'est d'aimer / That Most Important Thing: Love. It was released in L.A. on December 17 so it must have received an Oscar qualifying run. Wonder why Schneider was not considered but Isabelle Adjani was. This was one of Adjani's very first major roles but Schneider was an established star in a prominent part - she would even go on to win the Cesar over Adjani that year.

[Big Magilla]

Getting back to 1975 for a moment, I quite liked Carol Kane Hester Street when I saw it back then.

Glenda Jackson is fine in Hedda, a stage-bound adaptation of Hedda Gabler, which I didn't see until years later on a washed-out VHS copy. At the time, I thought she might be nominated for The Romantic Englishwoman which I liked, not Hedda which wasn't released in New York until 1976.

I thought Ann-Margret's nomination for Tommy was a bit of a joke. Only Adjani, Fletcher, and Florina Bolkan (A Brief Vacation) seemed like sure bets to me with Jackson and Kane more interesting contenders than Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn in Shampoo and Barbra Streisand in Funny Lady whose names were bandied about at least as much as Golden Globe winner Marilyn Hassett (for Best Newcomer) in The Other Side of the Mountain.

It wasn't until years later that I learned that Bolkan was ineligible due having been dubbed in her film.

The Globe nominees for Best Actress - Musical or Comedy that year were Ann-Margret, Christie, Hawn, Streisand, and Liza Minnelli for the long-forgotten Lucky Lady. The Globe nominees for Best Actress - Drama were Fletcher, Jackson, Hassett, Karen Black in The Day of the Locust and Faye Dunaway in Three Days of the Condor. Seven of the ten were ignored by Oscar voters with only the strong performances of Fletcher and Jackson and the WTF nomination of Ann-Margret moving forward.

It could be just three of the Globe nominees moving on to Oscar nominations again this year - Colman, Kidman, and your choice of Chastain, Gaga or Stewart. Mine would be Chastain, but I do think that there could be four with Gaga being replaced by Cruz. I really don't see any of the Musical or Comedy nominees making the cut.

[Okri]

I do think this is a weaker year for Best Actress- especially compared to the run we've been on. I'm not even sure I'd call 2014 weak, to be frank, compared to this one - 2014 had three candidates who I was genuinely behind as potential win candidates. This year seems broad, but it seems broad with the type of performances that might make the fifth spot in an adequate year. I think the other caveat, which might just be how I view performance categories, is that the films have been just... poorly received by critics or audiences. Of course, we're in this sui generis state when it comes to box office, so audience scores and audience "appreciation" becomes harder to measure. But Respect, Being the Ricardos, House of Gucci and The Eyes of Tammy Faye are scoring in the 60s at metacritic. Meanwhile, Spencer and The Lost Daughter (both of which I quite like) seem very divisive. Zegler is fine in a role that isn't particularly great - she'll show up at the Oscars, present a category or two with Debose and Moreno, and look fantastic but that's it.

Now, I haven't seen Haim or Cruz, but those are really the only performances/films that I haven't seen that doesn't make me feel like I'm just watching to tick a box. But a line-up of Gaga, Chastain, Coleman, Kidman and Stewart isn't one I'm enthusiastic about

Side note - re Hester Street - I quite like the movie and while initially it seemed to be for Oscar completists only, it feels like it's gotten a bit of critical reevaluation this past decade.

[Eric]

1) Great to see you still stay somewhat connected to us.

2) In lieu of dependable guidance, I'd gone with the format used by SAG and the Broadcasters. But I bow to your insider knowledge.

I can’t avoid checking in now and again, emphasis on the “now” at times like this when we have a clear race but are still awaiting the big nominations.

You may also be correct, but couldn’t avoid planting my gay flag in the ground in a drive-by.

For what it’s worth, this gay liked Haim better than any of the other touted performances so far (outside of the yet unseen Cruz), and her pushing Hoffman back in his seat to get a clear view of the runaway truck’s rear view mirror is incredibly gay-GIF friendly.

[Mister Tee]

Something interesting, with which I've just become acquainted: Aaron Sorkin's films have a long history of under-performing with AMPAS. This is somewhat in line with the fact he's also (as Sabin has noted) wildly over-performed with the Globes. But not just that. Consider:

A Few Good Men came into the season looking like a solid best picture nominee. Rob Reiner got a DGA nod -- his 3rd, and this looked to be the first to carry over to an Oscar nomination. Didn't happen; the film unexpectedly fell short in screenplay, as well. It did scrape out the best picture nod, but without all the rest, it was strictly filler.

The American President was touted as big Oscar hopeful -- Globe nominations galore -- but its one Oscar nomination was for comedy/musical score.

Charlie Wilson's War was another late-year hopeful that did very well with the Globes, but only got the one nomination, for Hoffman.

The Social Network got a lot of nominations, but missed Andrew Garfield in support, despite his being cited by the Globes, Broadcasters and BAFTA. And the film, of course, looked on a rocket-flight through the Globes, but crashed in the Oscar stretch.

Moneyball was only half a Sorkin, and it did better than most -- though it didn't get a directing nomination for Bennett Miller.

Steve Jobs eked out the two acting nominations, but was boxed out of what seemed a well-deserved screenplay nod.

Molly's Game managed a writing nomination (in a terrible year), but failed to get Jessica Chastain a possible best actress slot.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 was the DGA nominee bumped by the directors' branch -- and of course was blanked on Oscar night.

So...if you think Kidman is dead-certain, or see Bardem/Simmons as potentially scoring borderline nominations -- be aware you're dealing with a guy whose work has been far more likely to fall short than to do better than expected.

[Big Magilla]

Well, that's ridiculous me. Feel free to ignore.

[Mister Tee]

In 1975, only Adjani and Fletcher were in universally acclaimed films. The others were distinct also-rans. This year, only Cruz is in a universally acclaimed film, while the others including Colman are in films in which they were better than their material.

Ahem: Alana Haim -- who, apparently, you too are determined to ignore. (Also Rachel Zegler, for completeness' sake.)

Comparing this year to 1975 is pretty ridiculous. The infamous NY TImes early-season article in 1975 suggested the best actress winner might be Marilyn Hassett in The Other Side of the Mountain -- hyperbole meant to underline just how barren the slate was for standard best actress contenders. Louise Fletcher is the only one who would have qualified in a typical year, and she'd have been in supporting. Adjani was highly praised, but she was an utterly new face, and only the fact she swept the critics' awards (due to non-existent competition) gave her the exposure to attract Oscar votes.

This year, as I just spent a significant amount of time chronicling, is over-stuffed with possible contenders. The fact that you don't like Kristen Stewart's performance doesn't negate the high praise she's received. Colman, Haim and Cruz, at minimum, also received nomination-worthy reviews, with Chastain not far behind -- and you can't ignore the fact that Gaga won NY. That's a bounteous crop -- way better overall than 2014, let alone a rock-bottom year like 1975.

[mlrg]

Big Magilla wrote
This may be the weakest group of contenders in this category since 1975.

I don't know how you can make that claim. I could fill two lineups with viable contenders. They may not all work for me but none would be an embarrassment and it's making for an exciting race.

In 1975, only Adjani and Fletcher were in universally acclaimed films. The others were distinct also-rans. This year, only Cruz is in a universally acclaimed film, while the others including Colman are in films in which they were better than their material.

Penelope Cruz = Isabelle Adjani (distinguished performance in foreign language film)
Jessica Chastain or Lady Gaga = Ann-Margret (famous person playing famous character, also applies to Kidman and Stewart)
Olivia Colman = Louise Fletcher (character actress as star)
Nicole Kidman = Glenda Jackson (former winner, also applies to Colman)
Kristen Stewart = Carol Kane (independent film contender)

Comparing Stewart to Kane, or Spencer to Hester Street seems a little far fetched. Hester Street, aside from being a dreadful film, is a very obscure film that doesn’t exist outside of Oscar completist lists. Spencer is far from even being in the same league, in terms of exposure, present and future.

Same could be said between Hedda and Being the Ricardos.