Please read Jennifer’s blog post below.
Best Supporting Actress
I have two shocking confessions to make about this category: I haven’t seen Amy Ryan’s critically acclaimed performance in Gone Baby Gone, and I cheated and watched Ruby Dee’s entire American Gangster cameo on a YouTube video compilation! If you could watch the whole thing on YouTube, it probably shouldn’t have been nominated. I thought Saoirse Ronan was hypnotic in Atonement, a movie that I actually enjoyed, but in a perfect world, Cate Blanchett’s unforgettable and nuanced Bob Dylan (which despite its androgynous qualities was so much butch-er than me and half the guys hanging out on Aldine and Broadway- now, that’s acting!) in I’m Not There will be galloping away with the statuette. But the world isn’t perfect- there’s global warming, oil prices are skyrocketing and I have to lose twenty pounds- so I’m pretty sure that she will be passed over in favor of Tilda Swinton, in an off-the-shelf performance as the corrupt corporate lawyer in Michael Clayton. She is respected, has turned in memorable performances before, and is nominated in the only major category that the Academy can reward Clayton, a movie it loves. I can’t wait to see Tilda accept her Oscar, ensconced in a hideous couture dress with feathers and all kinds of fabric and animal hide, and kissing both of her male life partners. The kink factor in the Oscars hasn’t been this high since Angeline Jolie gave her brother tongue when she won back in 1998!
My personal favorite: Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
My prediction: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Best Supporting Actor
From her blog post below, it seems like Tom Wilkinson is to Jennifer’s fantasy life as David Beckham is to the fantasy lives of the rest of us normal folks. I can still remember her incredible prediction that he would win Best Actor in 2002 for In the Bedroom over Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington (yes, Jen, I have the archived word documents to prove it!). Anyway, I agree with Jen that this is probably the most predictable category of the night, since Javier Bardem would be collecting his 200th award for a performance that was, to me, cryptic and one-dimensional. I think Bardem is a terrific actor and I would challenge Penelope Cruz to a hairpulling fight over him any day but I think his Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, although mesmerizing, was just not that hard to pull off and shouldn’t really be getting all that acclaim. Especially when his main competition is Hal Holbrook, in a perfect performance as the widower who takes Emile Hirsch’s character in Into the Wild under his wing (the scene in the car when he offers to adopt the young man is heartbreaking and wonderfully evocative of his character’s complex emotions). Bardem does deserve some kind of an award (not the Oscar though) for agreeing to go with that hairstyle for his character which made him look like the keynote speaker at a Liberace-meets-Nancy Sinatra fan convention.
My personal favorite: Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
My prediction: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Best Director
I would love to get my hands on the Divine Ms. Jennifer M’s 401 k (I do need a couple more Zegna suits and a new flat screen TV) but no one is going to be betting against the Coen brothers for this award, since they’ve won everything in sight except for the Kentucky Derby. I truly believe that Paul Thomas Anderson had the clearer and stronger vision, and took more risks and put in more original thought, which resulted in There Will Be Blood’s maddening duality- when the movie worked, it was a modern masterpiece, and when it didn’t, it was shrill, messy, and chaotic. However, PT Anderson is 37, and the Academy can reward him down the line (How long again did it take Scorsese to win an Oscar? Right). The Coens on the other hand directed No Country for Old Men with a steady hand, a focused narrative, and more modest ambitions. I don’t think it’s at par with their stunning achievements in Fargo and even Blood Simple, but No Country was a well-made, strictly contained film exploring interesting themes around the evil that men do.
My personal favorite: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
My prediction: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Here’s the link to Tilda Swinton’s admission of having two life partners, for you US Weekly readers out there. Look for our Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture picks tomorrow.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Wait. Did I just read that Francis has not seen all of the movies. You are slacking off my friend.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:28 pm
No fair, Francis! I had to sit through the slag heap that was American Gangster just to watch Ruby Dee (granted, I had no inkling she’d be nominated when I watched the movie, but still!). Anyway, I told you that Cate has a fair shake at walking away with statuette numero dos, but I think I will revert back to my original prediction that Tilda will sashay away with Oscar. Of all the categories, this is the one I will be clutching the armrests over.