Podcast: Side Effects & Oscar Symptoms
Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 4:00PM 
Have you ever sleepwalked? Joe, Katey, and I (Nathaniel) discuss this creepy phenom and a wide variety of other things that Steven Sodebergh's Side Effects brings to mind in this spoilery discussion including 'best in show' acting honors and which thrillers it reminds us of.
For those who'd like to see the movie fresh, the Side Effects discussion takes up the last half of the podcast. The podcast begins with very brief words on A Good Day To Die Hard (which just opened for Valentine's Day Weekend) before we move on to Oscar theories like "which Oscars can Lincoln and Amour win?" and "Who the hell will win Best Director?" as well as pressing Oscar-Obsessive-Only Worries like "will winning the Oscar kill Jennifer Lawrence's drive as a young actress?"
You can download the podcast on iTunes or listen right here at the end of the post.
Reader Comments (17)
When you mentioned those trashy late-'80s/early-'90s thrillers while talking about Side Effects, I remembered the final act of the third Naked Gun movie that takes place at the Oscars, where the Supporting Actress nominees are:
Mary Lou Retton, "Fatal Affair"
Morgan Fairchild, "Final Proposal"
Shannen Doherty, "Basic Analysis"
Florence Henderson, "Analysis of a Proposal"
Jan -- LOL. too funny.
You bring up The Pianist theory but it seems that Lincoln probably aligns with it the best in possible Director, Screenplay, and Actor not to mention period piece.
And re: Lawrence. Lest we forget her role in X-Men so that is two franchises (and I will avoid a Halle Berry comparison even though she could return to an X-Men sequel with an Oscar). I think the issue will be that the fact she is carrying one franchise with a strong female character there is this idea to make her Sigourney Weaver to make her genre queen, ruler of Comic-Con but even if she can do those awesome things in owning all of the scenes she is in and being an alpha female but in quieter films. I feel like all of the roles offered to her, even the awards bait-y, art house friendly roles will be very loud movies and performances.
And yes to Vinessa Shaw getting a Showtime series to reboot her career. She was one of my first crushes in Hocus Pocus and I really didn't hear of her again until that creepy email Jeffrey Wells sent to James Mangold in applauding her being bare-breasted in 3:10 to Yuma got leaked.
And speaking of Fatal Attraction rip-off titles, there was that scene in the film In & Out where Glenn Close presents the Oscar and reads off the nominees. Michael Douglas is among them and she acknowledges him in a pretty funny way but I cannot think of the title.
I believe Jennifer Lawrence is very ambitious, but hides it behind an every-girl persona that comes easy to her and comes very hard to girls like Kristen Stewart or Rooney Mara. I think her closest rival would be Emma Stone, but she's not on the same level in drama.
Anyway, she does have Serena coming up, which was certainly an amazing book with a killer main female character. But she is the last person I imagined in the role. So, that should be interesting.
My drive home just improved 100%.
My brother and I used to go visit out cousins in Kansas every Summer, and one year we were sleeping in the basement of their grandparent's really nice house with our three cousins. Apparently, and I was sort of semi conscious of this, I sat up and made an extended loud sort of growl like the one everyone hears in The Grudge. So maybe I'm possessed.
To CMG-- I LOVE In & Out. Here's the quote I pulled from IMDB, and it is indeed brilliant:
Glenn Close: This is Cameron's first nomination and he's in extremely good company. Tonight he joins fellow best actor nominee Paul Newman for "Coot", Clint Eastwood for "Codger", Michael Douglas for "Primary Urges"
[blows him a kiss]
Glenn Close: and Steven Seagal for "Snowball in Hell".
My gifts to Lincoln: Picture, Adapted Screenplay. Just to avoid it going to Argo or Silver Linings.
Spielberg's oscar history is fascinating and it's actually more complicated than most people think.
Best Actress.
Paltrow = Lawrence: lead in romantic comedy that's making a stronger run for best picture than expected. Young princessy type
Blanchett = Chastain: Older than the earlier actress, follow-up to breakthrough year. Anchored best picture nominee that most agree has no chance to win. Generally thought to be better of the two.
Montenegro = Riva: Older, foreign actress in foreign language film that brokethrough in a way.
Katey- YES!!!! I knew about the Steven Segal one (genius) but I always had trouble with the Douglas one. I remember Glenn playing up a flirtation after she said his name (which when you consider their character dynamics in FT, was irreverent).
I am still in seven stages of grief just anticipating Chastain losing and I cannot except maybe next year when I am an equal ZD30 partisan. Editing and Sound Editing wins would be ZD30's BP at this point and now I am just anticipating that the movie will get shut out due to controversy and politics. At least Kushner's defense of the film became public (but considering how vocal Mark Harris was, it was not a surprising development) and I wish more people acknowledged the BS they took **looks over at the Argo people**.
Will -- i love it. someone listened and shared the sleepwalking story
arkaan - nice correlation. i agree. which is why Lawrence is winning.
Adrien Brody - Riva comparison: I can imagine Riva winning and kissing Dujardin like she wants to eat him!
Thanks for the podcast, guys. You rule!
Final Analysis was on greek TV like once a year for a long time! I was about to scream "Both Gere and Roberts were in the movie!" but Katey fixed it for me :p
Regarding the brief conversation about Tommy Lee Jones vs. Christoph Waltz for supporting actor, I'm curious if anyone else is concerned that Alan Arkin actually has a real chance here. I am loath to even float this theory, just for fear of what putting it out in the universe may or may not do, but y'all...Arkin is Argo's only acting nomination and that is a film that we're seeing many of the branches, including the actors, really liking. I just feel like in a category with five winners, three of whom have won in the past ten years and no compelling reason (narrative-wise) to give it to any one of them over the other four...it feels like a legitimate possibility to me. I don't really understand where all of this Robert DeNiro stuff is coming from. I don't see them doing that. Imagine DeNiro having Oscars on his shelf for, wait for it...The Godfather: Part II, Raging Bull and...Silver Linings Playbook? It's very "one of these things is not like the other" and I think the performances that Robert DeNiro gave earlier in his career actually hurt his chances here. Maybe I'm being Pollyanna about the whole thing, but I can't imagine Oscar voters looking at those performances and not thinking that a third(!) Oscar for this particular performance is overstating the case. Whereas with Arkin, this is about the register, acting-wise, that he's shown us he can reach. I think Tommy Lee Jones could easily win--great performance that's not markedly worse than his best work and a healthy distance from his previous win. I'm just wondering if anyone else shares my fears that the Argo tide, which already looks like its pulling in the screenplay, might pull in Arkin as well in a category where all things are pretty much equal.
Love the Emmy Rossum love happening on here! She is great on Shameless, totally SAG/Emmy worthy, and it is obscene how excited I am for Beautiful Creatures. Way more juiced about that than I am about Side Effects. But then again, I've always had a taste for the ridiculous.
This podcast gives hope to my Benh Zeitlin fever dreams, but I'm with Katie. I think the idea of an Argo/Lincoln split has got to be satisfying for the undecided, campaign-weary voters of the Academy. For all of the fun speculation that happens around this time, the Oscars always go for the safest (most boring) option. I'm calling Argo, Spielberg, Lawrence, Day-Lewis, Hathaway, Jones, Kushner, and Tarantino in the big eight.
I find it outrageous that I've been permanently blocked from these podcasts, just because everyone found out I still haven't seen A League of Their Own and now nobody is speaking to me. Please sign my petition, so that my giggles and endless run-on sentences will no longer be silenced!
Nick, it's like the phrase "my favorite Tom Hanks performance" means NOTHING to you!
You'll have to take your punishment, Nick!! Not having seen 'A league of their own' is almost as bad as if you hadn't seen a major, relatively recent Oscar winning picture like, say, 'The English Patient'!!
Oh wait... I think I recall someone who hasn't!! lol