Will "The Butler" Do It?
Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 4:14PM For Oscar I mean? Oscar winner Forest Whitaker was recently snapped on the set of 2013 Oscar hopeful The Butler, from Precious director Lee Daniels. Given the The Weinstein Co will distribute the film and the subject is a long time White House butler and his relationship to the first families, one expects so.
Forest Whitaker shot on set by Anne Marie Fox
The Paperboy, which is nearly upon us, doesn't look like anyone's idea of a typical Oscar magnet, but neither did Lee Daniels' first film Shadowboxer (yes, that one. The one with Hitwoman Helen Mirren romancing Cuba Gooding Jr.). Perhaps Lee Daniels will be an every other film type Oscar player?
Have you given much thought to the starry cast of The Butler ... or any 2013 film's Oscar chances? It's always a struggle to stay in the now when it's so fun to fantasize about what's ahead of us.
Forest Whitaker, Lee Daniels, Oscars (13), on the set, politics
Reader Comments (16)
Well, right now, The Weinstein Company has three potential contenders next year. If I need to choose "principal" categories, maybe would be like that:
-The Butler
Best Picture
Best Director - Imagine that, Lee Daniels breaking a record
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker
Best Supporting Actress - Oprah Winfrey
Best Adapted Screenplay
-Nightingale
Best Actress - Marion Cotillard
Best Supporting Actor - Jeremy Renner
Best Original Screenplay
-August: Osage County
Best Picture
Best Actress - Meryl Streep
Best Supporting Actress - Margo Martindale / Julia Roberts
Best Adapted Screenplay
And, with Annapurna Pictures as a satellite studio by the Weinstein, maybe we can get "The Grandmasters" as a contender, excellent:
Best Director - Wong Kar-wai
Best Actor - Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Best Foreign Language FIlm
:P I know, i know... But we can dream
"The Paperboy, which is nearly upon us, doesn't look like anyone's idea of a typical Oscar magnet..."
No, and thank God for that. Its pretty glorious all the same.
it certainly looks more oscar-friendly than Paperboy and that cast certainly makes it look promising, but being picked by Weinstein is not necessarily a sign of success...i mean, for every Artist or King's speech they have a W.E., a Bobby or a Nine
eduardo -- good point.
Oprah won't sleep until she exacts proper revenge on Anjelica Huston. Anjel's stuck doing Smash without a nomination although that should probably change since certain nominees won't repeat next TV season.
I wish Meryl Streep took a break for film to do a Broadway show. Of course she won't. Don't let the public see what kind of actor you've actually become. Film is such a myth—Julia Roberts and Jessica Lange all learned the hard way about taking their film shtick to the stage where everyone can see you acting...click..click..click.
I'll say again what I've said before about Lee Daniels: good, bad, at least his movie is guaranteed to not be boring. If he keeps to his track record, I mean. It would be a shame to see all that crazy toned down for the sake of that Naked Gold Man.
4rtful - do we count non-Broadway stage productions of Mother Courage and The Seagull?
Were those one night only performances?
they were limited, but each ran four weeks
She was there for the entire run?
I smell Bobby...
Not sensing that The Butler does well with the Academy, but I might be completely wrong. As for thinking about next year...
1. August: Osage County probably falls very short of lofty expectations. I'm expecting nods in Picture, Actress for Meryl Streep, Supporting Actress for Margo Martindale, and Adapted Screenplay. Martindale might win, but beyond that, I'm just not seeing it.Definitely can't imagine it winning Picture: film adaptations of stage plays rarely win, and to make matters worse, films that are about women don't often take the top prize either
2. Next year's Actress race already looks more exciting than this year's, doesn't it? Nina Arianda, Lily Rabe, Viola Davis (maybe), Streep, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Mia Wasikowska, Annette Bening...
yes
leon: I think you're forgetting Supporting Actor, because, seriously, the un-nominated John Cusack as Nixon is a completely bizarre behind the eightball casting decision. If his performance succeeds, I think he'll be a strong contender for taking it all.
Winfrey wants that second nomination, and considering Oprah's generally successfully in her goals, I suspect she'll get it. As for the rest of the cast, we may have to wait and see.
I'm afraid we're going to get tired of Lee Daniels very soon. Also, I didn't need to see Jane Fonda playing Nancy Reagan.
I think Matthew McConaughey will win next year for the dallas buyers club. Its an amazing part and not like most AIDS roles circulating today. It will be the first bad ass AIDS movie