Glenn Close and the next Best Actress competition
Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at 7:26PM by Nathaniel R
Glenn Close is "The Wife"
Happy news to share or remind you of if you've already known (this is not a 'breaking news' specific post, just newsy). Sony Pictures Classic is NOT waiting until the dread last weekend of the year to release the new Glenn Close vehicle The Wife. (Post Christmas releases in Los Angeles and New York rarely work for Oscar hopefuls but studios have been loathe to give them up, hoping that Oscar fever will rescue their commercial prospects despite not putting the effort in of releasing them before Christmas). The post Christmas pray-for-a-midnight-miracle attempt is what doomed Annette Bening's chances two years in a row for Best Actress nominations (20th Century Women and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool were released on December 28th and December 29th respectively in 2016 and 2017).
No, The Wife is trying the summer player / Best Actress momentum game (which works out more often than New Years Eve hopefuls). The film hits theaters in limited release on August 3rd and will platform from there. I think it's the best work she's done in a couple of decades so I'm hoping y'all like it too. Whether or not her perpetual "overdue" status paired with what we're assuming will be strong reviews (at least for her if not necessarily the film) will lead to a nomination or win will depend a lot on her as yet unknown competition; it's not the undeniable kind of ferocious big star turn but more of a finely calibrated character study. But who will that competition be...
Here's my preliminary list before the April Foolish predictions in alpha order but the research has just begun. Obviously some of them might go supporting. Is there anyone else you can think of?
2018 Leading Ladies
- Amy Adams, Backseat
- Cate Blanchett, Where'd You Go Bernadette?
- Emily Blunt, A Quiet Place
- Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns
- Sandra Bullock, Bird Box
- Glenn Close, The Wife
- Toni Collette, Hereditary
- Penelope Cruz, Everybody Knows
- Viola Davis, Widows
- Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
- Claire Foy, The Girl in the Spider's Web
- Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Kindergarten Teacher
- Kiki Layne, If Beale Street Could Talk
- Rooney Mara, Mary Magdalene
- Rachel McAdams, Disobedience
- Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
- Julianne Moore, Gloria
- Julianne Moore, Bel Canto
- Michelle Pfeiffer, Where is Kyra?
- Margot Robbie, Mary Queen of Scots
- Saoirse Ronan, On Chesil Beach
- Saoirse Ronan, Mary Queen of Scots
- Charlize Theron, Tully
- Emma Thompson, The Children's Act
- Rachel Weisz, Disobedience
- Olivia Wilde, Life Itself
Probably 2019 but you never know
- Jessica Chastain, George & Tammy (playing Tammy Wynette!)
- Rooney Mara, A House in the Sky (reuniting with director Garth Davis of Lion fame)
- Rachel Weisz, Untitled Miranda Barry Biopic (though being finished in time seems unlikely)
Reader Comments (89)
I think Olivia Wilde has a small part in Life, Itself, but she got great reviews for A Vigilante...
They are supposed to (finally!) release "The Seagull" with Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, and Corey Stoll, in May 2018. The latest screen version of the wonderful well-loved play, with great parts for Annette and Saoirse.
They are supposed to (finally!) release "The Seagull" with Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, and Corey Stoll, in May 2018. The latest screen version of the wonderful well-loved play, with great parts for Annette and Saoirse. Third times the charm?
McCarthy has a nomination in the bag.
Yeah, I was just about to bring up "The Seagull," too. I could see it getting totally ignored, of course, but I'm wondering if the actors have ANY chance.
@Par
The Glenn Close Instagram account is called @dublin_zoetrope - it is brutally, sometimes heartbreakingly, funny. I really hope Glenn wins, and, behind the dark irony, I’m sure the account’s creator does, too.
Fingers crossed for a long-shot bid from Collette in Hereditary as well. If that film lives up to the hype...
If we have a Glenn/Adams duo in leading and supporting this is gonna be the year of the overdue
@Nat, indeed Regina King is playing Kiki Layne's mother. It promises to be a meaty supporting role, to be sure.
Annapurna very well may campaign Amy Adams as supporting but wouldn't be surprised if it's a Theory of Everything-level two-hander. (Oh, and get this: Tyler Perry is playing Colin Powell.)
#PrayersForClose
I hope Glenn Close gets that elusive Oscar because even if we don't believe that the winners are the best, Glenn has quietly turned in excellent to great performances through the years and not just in the last 10 years or so. I have not seen The Wife yet but I hope she does get this overdue award as befits an acting royalty like her.
My list is arbitrary and not based on any algorithm or nanoscience basis, but I'd like the nominees for 2019 to have the following names:
Glenn Close
Toni Collette
Isabelle Huppert
Tilda Swinton
Michelle Williams
Unless the script is really changed in a big way, Adams role is essentially supporting Not even two handled film (Steve Carell had more scenes than Adams).
If we include (again) TFE favourites even with zero chances, I guess we can throw a bone with longshots this time like (mentioned before) Constance Wu, Salma Hayek or Gina Rodriguez.
Judy Dench for Red Joan, but I think it doesn't have a release date yet.
*Judi
duh
Leon -- lol. I wasn't playing favorites. These weren't predictions. I was just listing names alphabetically of what I'd noticed was probably aiming for release thus far. I wasn't aware that Salma Hayek had another starring role so soon after Beatriz at Dinner (good for her) but will look it up right now.
Oh and I'm not seeing any lead role for Gina Rodriguez coming out this year? Leon which are you referring to? Anyone know if she's got a lead role coming up before her 2019 double bill of Carmen Sandiego and Miss Bala?
Felicity Jones should 100% be on the list. Strong shot at the win, if the movie's any good.
My predictions:
Cate Blanchett
Glenn Close
Felicity Jones
Melissa McCarthy
Saoirse Ronan
Adams is definitely going supporting, and the front runner at the moment I'd say.
Andy – Yes, Close would've beaten McDormand. Climate has A LOT to do with these events. They're so politically driven, which leads me to my second point:
~ (Anonymous?) – You're right, it's another 'white' actress. Until times change, which they won't for a while, politics rule these events. Viola Davis has snuck in there, as has Spencer, but the ceiling is still too high. White people run the loftiest seats in the business. Until that changes, there will only be the 'chosen ones' like we have with white A–listers like Close and Bening. There are a number of fine African–American, Latino, Asian, Native–American, (etc.) actors/actresses who could probably tell us horror stories about the industry. I have a friend who worked as a comedy writer for Paramount. She's Latina. She told me things I kind of knew already, but elaborated on some stuff that made me angry. I think we all know how White Hollywood is, even when it's not White.
Nathaniel:
A few years back, you ran a points-based "Best Actress" prediction contest for we, the groundlings. I know it was a lot of work, but would you consider running it again this year? I loved it when you last had it, and I would be happy to offer any volunteer help (as would, I suspect, some other contest-loving fans of the site) that might influence your decision.
From a dedicated "cup of coffee" monthly supporter.
Dare we have a year without Meryl Streep??? :-)
Also, has the movement by AMPAS to impose racial (and gender (?)) affirmative action on the membership reached the point where the nominating body is off the hook for future "Oscars So White" protests and, if so, then does the blame now fall on studios and producers for not employing color- and gender-blind hiring?
Yassss, Queen Glenn! Fab trailer. August release date? Ehhhh, let's see how that goes. Oct./Nov. would have been better, but maybe this is a "Blue Jasmine" situation and Close creates the standard to beat for the entire season. As much as I wanted "The Wife" to be released last year, in hindsight, I see that no one on God's green Earth would have beaten McDormand, so whatever. Go Glenn!
The part that Julianne Moore plays in Bel Canto in the book is really a meaty-ish supporting role, so Gloria feels like a more likely bet (although it will be sort of sad if she gets through where Paulina Garcia’s wonderful performance couldn’t).
I really hope that at least one of these two-handers has both actresses campaigning in Lead.
Carl -- honestly, i know it's not a popular opnion but the blame was always on the studios and producers but for some reason everyone thought it was better to just blame the Oscars. The Oscars are a symptom not a cause.
Academy voters have regularly nominated actors of color when they had juicy roles in movies (the roles, more than anything, help determine the nominations and that's true for white actors too). So it's all about who gets the roles in the first place. And you can see that pretty clearly statistically in the nominations where WOC find their way fairly often into the supporting category now and men of color have long had a presence in the lead and supporting categories when they got baity roles in dramas --and that's pretty much exactly how it breaks down in terms of who gets the role opportunities and what size those roles are.
David -- we might. but maybe she'll sneak in there for Mary Poppins returns if it's more than a cameo.
Carl -- it was a ton of work, yes. I'd love to do it again but let me think on that...
Prayer for the elusive fourth nod for Kathy Bates in supporting actress for On the Basis of Sex.
Considering Amy Adams goes supporting for BACKSEAT...
My top contenders:
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE FACTOR - Kiki Layne, "If Beale Street Could Talk"
CAREER COMEBACK - Michelle Pfeiffer, "Where Is Kyra?" (might work as her Jeff Bridges' "Crazy Heart")
OVERDUE FOR 1st OSCAR NOMINATION - Scarlett Johansson, "Untitled Noah Baumbach Project" (she's at her best when she goes for indie productions, Baumbach creates characters like... well, Frances Ha)
HEIR TO MERYL STREEP - Cate Blanchett, "Where'd You Go, Bernardette"
FRESH FROM OSCAR LOVE - Saoirse Ronan, "Mary Queen of Scotts"
QUEEN OF COMEDY GOES DRAMA - Melissa McCarthy, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
CHARACTER ACTRESS SHOW - Melissa Leo, "Furlough"
YOUNG PROMISING CHILD ACTRESS - Elsie Fisher, "Eight Grade"
SHE DESERVES ANOTHER NOD - Jessica Chastain, "George and Tammy"
Taraji P. Henson in "The Best of Enemies".
And, fingers crossed, Jamie Lee Curtis for Halloween. She deserves this.
Emily Mortimer - The Bookshop
Actually I do not know if The Bookshop has a release date in the United States but Emily Mortimer obtained several nominations in Spain including a nomination to the Goya (the Spanish Oscar)
Ugh!!! for Bates.
What about Julia Roberts for 'Ben is back'? Her role (and Lucas Hedges' one) seems strong on paper.
love it! nothing like an april best actress speculation post to bring out all the comments! i love the tfe crowd
Oh shit, Penelope Cruz just arrived to TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT herself into the conversation thanks to the new Asghar Farhadi film EVERYBODY KNOWS. Cannes opening night titles don't necessarily have the best track record, but the trailer makes it look good and Farhadi is respected and will get voters eyes on it.
Missed this post, but, interestingly I just attended a book signing last night with the author of the source material for The Wife. She, Meg Wolitzer, said it was a fantastic performance by Glenn Close, and she was thrilled by the portrayal. Would love to finally see Close win an Oscar.
Unbeknownst to me, another of Wolitzer's novels was adapted and directed by the late great Nora Ephron, starring Julie Kavner, Samantha Mathis and Gaby Hoffman, all criminally underseen and amazing performances.
And Celeste Ng, the host for the event, was super excited that her two novels were in development for film and TV adaptations, particularly because both feature women of color (the latter being Little Fires Everywhere, with Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon.)
Glenn oh Glenn ... 1988 what a fantastic fatal year for Best Actresses - My heart still bleeds to know you should have taken the statue for your multilayered, fascinating portrait in "Dangerous Liaisons" - which seems to be so timeless, and still is !!! And as one over the years seemed to turn a blind eye over Jody Foster (loved her - but find her quiet tense these days) - her win for "Accused" still stands so solid and the movie hasn't aged as well, as so many others did - I think it's still one her best works and one of the best female performances of the 80's - but so is Glenn with Fatal Attraction & DL ...
Back to now - yes I'm all in for CLOSE. year !!!
Also in for overdue actresses like:
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Kindergarten Teacher
Toni Collette, Hereditary
and Jessica Chastain & Annette Bening ... really - still can't get over that one last year !!! Miss Sloane & 20thCentury POWERHOUSE performances that blow your tune off - over a quiet weak Ruth Negga and a charming but not-a-lot-of-substance-in LaLaLand Emma Stone who was so much better in all her other stuff BUT WINS ?????
Well there's a lot to do this year !!!!
And it should be the year of the women anyway !!
As we are still far, far away from Oscarland, my inner fanboy joyfully cries out at the thought that Toni Collette, Lady Gaga and Jessica Chastain will kill it and get those lead nominations. I feel like that dude in The Lion King who makes that cool proclamation that soars over the plains.
Nath: Miss Bala - Sure, it's January 23, but then Sony did similar with "All the Money of the World".
How have people forgotten Nicole Kidman in Destroyer? I’m incredibly curious about that one. It could be a minor crime drama but Nicole is major de-glamming herself and the role has affected her (she was filming it during awards season and said in her SAG speech that her character was very “out there” and she was having trouble shaking her off). Karyn Kusama’s last film was excellent - the little seen but eerily effective The Invitation. And she’s assembled a great supporting cast including Sebastian Stan and Tatiana Maslany. I’d keep an eye on it.
I saw ON CHESIL BEACH at the London Film Festival last year. Saoirse is gratin it but it's getting a May release in the UK, so I don't see it competing, sadly.
Assoluatamente Emma Thompson deve avere la nomination quest'anno.
Assoluatamente Emma Thompson deve avere la nomination quest'anno.