Nominations are out. http://variety.com/2016/film/news/oscar-nominations-2016-full-list-award-nominees-1201679903/ Spoiler alert: no black actors are nominated, and Al Sharpton is outraged. Also, no Meryl Streep nomination this year, and but Al Sharpton clearly doesn't give a shit about that. Quick thoughts: - Best Actor nominees are roughly the same as the SAG nominees (Damon replaces Depp in the Academy slate), which means they'll be a good indicator leading up to the main event. If Leonardo DiCaprio wins the SAG, he's probably a strong bet to win the Oscar, making him the first member of the Pussy Posse to win gold. - Eddie Redmayne can thank Caitlyn Jenner for ruining his chances of back-to-back Oscars: America already pretended to give a shit about transgenders by giving away an ESPY, no need to belabor the point with an Oscar. - Jennifer Lawrence was nominated for acting in a David O. Russell film for the third fucking time in four years. Someone deserves a reach around. - Lady Gaga is nominated for an Original Song Oscar, making the Vegas odds for "meat dress" jokes at 1/1. - If Ice Cube and Dr. Dre aren't asked to present an award together, then Al Sharpton should be outraged.
Idris Elba got screwed. Netflix vendetta or did the movie never play in a cinema? Either way, he deserved recognition. Aside from Mad Max, there are zero surprises. All of these movies look supremely boring. The only thing I've interest to see is The Revenant, which I am not anxious to view because by most accounts it is an hour overlong. Room? You want to feel like killing yourself, here's a good start. Read it and it made me hate all men. (The female lead is going to win though, that character/role is intense.) Spotlight probably has the same effect. Pedophilia and conspiracy? Oh, yes, what a lovely Saturday afternoon. Read The Martian too; can't imagine sitting through the movie. Once again we have Roger Deakins nominated for Best Cinematography. 13th nomination. Fourth year in a row. Poor bastard is going to lose to the same guy as last year and the year before. However, The Revenant guy probably really deserves it. 10 month shoot using only natural light. I hope DiCaprio doesn't win. I just want to see the anguish on his face. If he cries we will know the world is just. The universe will not allow you to bang supermodels and live on yachts AND receive professional recognition. Stallone is so weird to me. Rambo 4, Rocky 7, 3 seashells? Buff, mumbling, kind of a sell out action hero. Everyone forgets the dude wrote one of the greatest movies of all time with Rocky. People forget the first Rambo flick was high art, first class acting, but is strangely forgotten. Cliffhanger, something else he wrote, is probably one of the most intense action thrillers that is also forgotten. Forgotten in part because he had his fingers in some of the worst pieces of celluloid shit because when a dumptruck of money is back up to your front door it is difficult to say no. Dude has a strange, strange career.
An honorary Oscar for Demolition Man is not out of the question. I am also getting mighty tired of the medias non stop Jennifer Lawrence love affair. She is a good actress and took a shit load of nude pictures. Beyond that she doesn't need to be mentioned on every single news broadcast. I can jerk off to her in my own time. Thank you. What's your thoughts on her pay El Tee? Ive heard for the amount of screen time/lines and her status at the time, her pay for American Hustle was inline with Hollywood pay. She really wasn't a huge part of that movie.
I don't have any real opinions about Jennifer Lawrence's pay, but I don't think the media is entirely off base about her talent. She is - no joke - a supernaturally talented actress in spite of her young age, average intelligence, and lack of maturity.
She is is a gifted actress. Never took an acting class in her life, and that's ALL she is: somebody who is good at pretending to be more interesting people. Alejandro is going to win best director two years in a row, and Leo is a lock for best actor. I'm not shocked the Mad Max was nominated, simply because it is one of the best movies of the year. It's production values alone qualify it as modern cinematic folklore. It will probably clean house in the technical nominations (and Junkie XL's music score was the best of the year). One more thing: Jason Statham fights the GOOD fight. For years he has lobbied for a stuntman category at the Oscars and people should encourage it. I can't think of a film demographic who gets the shaft more than stunt players.
Especially if you're a stuntman filming the latest Resident Evil movie... one dead, one with an arm ripped off... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...als-arm-amputated-following-accident-set.html
Holy shit. That's just awful. And to have it happen while filming such a hilariously, horrendously shitty film franchise to boot.
I'm way behind on Oscar nominated films this year because the usual artsy-fartsy, 5-screen theater near my house was recently demolished. But, I did overpay at Arclight Cinemas this past weekend and caught up on a few contenders. I plan to catch a couple more before the show, but I can already promise I won't get around to seeing outliers like 48 Years and Trumbo, but those movies aren't going to win anyway. Room Brie Larson is probably going to win Best Actress for what is essentially a supporting role, and more power to her. Spotlight How anyone can consider this a frontrunner for Best Picture is beyond me. Honestly, I think the only reason this movie is on a short list is because kicking the Catholic Church in the nuts is en vogue these days. When you put this movie side-by-side with another "huge scandal" nominated film - The Big Short - the difference is remarkable. The Big Short is driven by style and personality; Spotlight is basically a live-action newspaper article. Mark Ruffalo is pretty good in his role, but you could replace Rachel McAdams with almost any other actress and not even notice the difference. That's how one-note this movie is. The Hateful Eight If the Academy handed out Oscars for suffering abuse, then Jennifer Jason Leigh would get a lifetime achievement award. I went about 2.5 hours wondering why she was even nominated before she got her moment to shine (covered in blood and puke, at that). But otherwise, I think this movie suffers because it's in a year in which Mad Max: Fury Road is going to suck up all the style points. Bridge of Spies Watching Mark Rylance in this movie just makes me hope Sylvester Stallone is reeeeeally good in Creed.
Final Predictions Because of my ironically normal work schedule for the past few months, and the demolition of my go-to art house theater, I can't in good faith make my usual in-depth predictions due to some glaring holes in my ballot. I did manage a late rally thanks to Amazon On-Demand and my Hollywood Actor Buddy's SAG screeners, so, I'm just going to freestyle and make some guesses based on what I have seen and what I've read from reputable sources. Best Actor I saw four of the five performances nominated, so if Bryan Cranston does win for Trumbo I'm going to feel cheated. Michael Fassbender played a believable asshole in Steve Jobs, but the movie isn't good. Matt Damon's career doesn't need an Oscar bump anyway, which is good because the Academy hasn't always appreciated one-man performances (see: Cast Away, Moon, All is Lost). Eddie Redmayne was pretty good in The Danish Girl, but honestly he was better last year when he won. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, tranny rights are so five minutes ago: #BlackOscars is the new hotness. Prediction: Leonard DiCaprio has apparently been acting like he's won the thing already, so an upset out of spite isn't out of the question. But, he was clearly better than the other three guys I watched in this category. Best Actress Brie Larson is the consensus favorite here, which is good since I didn't see the other four nominees. Prediction: Brie Larson, for Best Actress in a Leading Role That Was Really More Of A Supporting Role But No One Is Mad About It Best Supporting Actor Now, I did actually see all five of these guys, and honestly all five of them were pretty evenly matched. So this statue is going to be handed out based for reasons that have less to do with the nominated performance and more to do with outside reasons. Mark Rylance was the one here who stood out most in his film, but he's basically a nobody in Hollywood. Mark Ruffalo was also legitimately good in Spotlight, but that film has a lot of shit going against it. The Big Short could legitimately win Best Picture based on the funky voting rules currently in place, so that means Christian Bale may show up on way more ballots than people are expecting. Plus, he lost the SAG to Idris Elba, who isn't even in this race. On that note, Tom Hardy and Sylvester Stallone were also not up for the SAG, so the thousand-plus members of the Actor's Branch have to basically decide this category de novo. Prediction: One of the common knocks against the Academy is that it often rewards little-seen art films that the viewing public has no interest in over the sorts of iconic films that actually pay the bills in Hollywood...and Rocky is one of those films. Stallone was good enough in Creed to warrant the award tonight, and a vote for Sly is also a nod to the arguably "black" nature of the movie, to say nothing of the hugely sentimental bonus of hearing the Rocky theme music play as he walks up the steps to the stage. It's basically a win-win for everyone...except for Rylance, Ruffalo, Bale, and Hardy, of course. Best Supporting Actress I didn't see Carol, so I'll just have to believe what I've read about Rooney Mara's performance as an indication that she's not going to win. Universal Studios must have sent out an ungodly amount of Steve Jobs screeners (I know, I have one) which is the only explanation for Kate Winslet's nomination. (The movie is just not good or interesting.) Similarly, Rachel McAdams was also not that impressive in Spotlight. In some other year, Jennifer Jason Leigh might suck up some of whatever magic hit Christoph Waltz over the heard twice, but this ain't the year. Prediction: Alicia Vikander gave the better performance in The Danish Girl, and while some people are bitching about her Supporting Actress nomination for what is inarguably a leading role, that wasn't enough to cost her the SAG up against three of the four other nominees in the same category. Besides, that sort of shit happens literally every year. (See: Brie Larson, above) Best Adapted Screenplay This is the only writing category that requires intelligent thought. When you boil it down to the two best films up for the award - Room and The Big Short - only one of them actually required award-winning writing. Prediction: The Big Short Best Original Screenplay Straight Outta Compton is the closest thing this Oscar season has to a black film, even though the writers are white, and the voters want to give Chris Rock one less reason to make fun of them. Prediction: Straight Outta Compton Best Director The Directors Guild of America has already decided that Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will win the award. Best Picture Didn't see Brooklyn, but it's not going to win. Spotlight was a good story, but I don't know that I would call it a great film (if that makes sense). Bridge of Spies, The Martian, and Room might not have even made the cut if this was a five-film category like it used to be. The three best films in the running - The Big Short, The Revenant, and Mad Max: Fury Road - are all also nominated for Best Director, which is a good sign. Interestingly enough, only The Big Short is up for a writing Oscar (which it should win), so there is a scenario in which all three films win a major award and everyone goes happy. Prediction: Mad Max: Fury Road doesn't have even a fraction of the backlash The Revenant has, and thanks to the funny counting rules it could basically win with fewer first-place votes as long as it shows up on enough ballots. And for those who care George Miller would get an Oscar as a producer.
Great, now Chris Rock has to ask South Central L.A. not to riot tonight because Spotlight won Best Original Screenplay.
And the Oscar goes to Mark RÉ™...lance. Man, my heart goes out to Mark Ruffalo. He thought he had it in the bag for a fraction of a second longer than the other guys.
Dude, Spotlight is not a great film. It's not unwatchable, but it's not great. I hope Tom Hardy gets shitfaced tonight and gets Mad Max on someone's ass at the Vanity Fair party.
The pity and subsequent overflowing of social media joy for DiCaprio is a bit annoying and humorous. He's filthy rich, well lauded, and has spent the last 20 years running through supermodel ass with no blowback. But lets all pity him some more. If he had lost, the MJ crying face meme's would have been amazing. Rachel McAdams dress took no prisoners. That deep diving backless number was ruthless. Bree Larson is about to be huge. Deserving victory, looked gorgeous, and came off super endearing and humble. Good for her. Alicia Vikander was an absolute stunner. Holy hell. Show stopping hotness. Just saw her on Kimmel after and she looked even better. Fassbender you bastard.