Q & A: Surprising Stars and How to Stop Category Fraud
Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 12:00PM Thanks to Pedro for suggesting we revive the "Ask Nathaniel - Q & A s". So many questions came in when I feared getting none. Let's start with Pedro since this was his idea.
Q: Of all people involved in moviemaking that you have interviewed or known, who surprised you the most and why? - Pedro
A: I wouldn't say I "know" very many people in the industry. Usually interviews are short and even if you meet the person multiple times it can be years inbetween conversations. So I'm not sure how to answer this one. As for "surprises" I will say that Jessica Chastain shocked me with a steel trap memory. I've met her three times and the third she went into detail about something we discussed the second time which was two years earlier. Mentally I was like "HOW?!?" as she talks to hundreds of journalists all year long...
The other person I would like to shout out here is David Dastmalchian (who is really having a break-out year emerging as the fan-favourite from The Suicide Squad and also appearing in the internet's new obsession Dune). With his angular face, black hair and love of the horror genre he is almost always cast as shady, sinister, or creepy types but he is so sweet and friendly in real life -- the polar opposite of the typecasting. You may remember he even guest-blogged here for a day in 2015.
Q: Is Chastain really a sure thing for a nod given that The Eyes of Tammy Faye heat never reached more than tepid? A Judy narrative this is not. But, if she is nominated, is her narrative stronger than K Stew's with a third nomination...? - Joe
A: I no longer think Jessica is a sure thing for a nomination because people just aren't talking about that film. But Best Actress doesn't seem particularly defined outside of Kristen Stewart (which we can blame on the late arrivals of so many films and Kristen's significant lead. SIGH) so there's still a sizeable chance that Chastain shows up. She deserves to! I do wonder how much more campaigning she'll do, though. She's already been at it, valiantly, for months.
Q: If the Film Bitch Awards existed in 1950, who would have won Gold, Silver, and Bronze in Best Actress? - Jules
A: Evil question, Jules! The eternal debate. The answer changes all the time and I think I probably answered this at some point on the blog and the answer was different. At this writing, I will say Gloria Swanson, Sunset Blvd (Gold), Bette Davis, All About Eve (Silver... but only because I would have already given her 2 Gold medals by then) and Judy Holliday, Born Yesterday (Bronze) though I also really love Eleanor Parker in Caged. It's a super Best Actress year and the lineup would be phenomenal if you tossed Anne Baxter out and replaced her with Gloria Grahame in In a Lonely Place.
Q: Speaking of Norma Desmond, do you think Garbo would have won the Oscar if she came out of retirement for it? - Arlo
i'm inclined to say no. Maybe it wouldn't have been as iconic because would Garbo have been able to give it the same tragicomic delusional spin? Plus Garbo had only been retired for nine years at that point and Hollywood has never revered their mature actresses in quite the same way they have the more senior actors.
Q: Do you think the Academy should change the acting categories to acknowledge non-binary performers, and if so, how? - Edward L.
A: Judging acting is already so subjective. To quote a friend "it's already comparing apples and oranges and that would make it even worse... apples and oranges and kiwis and cucumbers and..." There will never be perfect ways to compare performances, really, unless all actors performed the same role. Plus there's value in tradition and history and being able to compare 2021 to, oh, 1973 or whatever. You can trace so much American and showbiz history through the movies and the Oscars. I'd probably cry for days if "Best Actress" was cancelled after nearly a century of pageantry and glamour. I've never cared about "Best Actor" that much and combining the categories would just mean less chances to celebrate fabulous actresses.
Q - What rules, if any, would you implement to address category fraud in the acting categories? Would you be in favor of enforcing a limit on what percentage of screen time? -Edwin
A: I don't think screentime tells the whole story and it would be too much work for the Academy at that. It can also be misleading because it's so dependent on whether a director prefers wider shots that include multiple actors (♥︎) or constant close-ups. But here's a simple way to stop it. If you're first or second billed in a film, or if your name is above the title, a "supporting" campaign should trigger an automatic review by an Executive Committee. There are exceptions but in most of the cases of egregious fraud it's a two lead film and the two leads are the two top-billed stars. Yes there are films with more than two leads but that's a fuzzier argument. Since there's no way to cover all cases with a hard and fast rule I think this change (automatic Executive Committee Review if you're a top two billed star) would solve 90% of the fraud problems which are now rampant.
And then we could go back to honoring supporting players in the categories designed specifically to honor them.
Q: Do you take notes when you watch movies? - Mike in Canada
A: You know I do sometimes. But why? They're always useless. When I read them back later -- IF I can even read them -- they generally say very obvious things no one in their right mind would have scribbled down. Plus they always end after about the first 15 minutes because I get caught up in the story and forget to continue. The only cases when they are, in theory, useful is when I've scribbled down some sort of cartoon to illustrate a particular shot I liked but those often dont come out well while you're watching a movie and not looking at what you're doing.
Q: Top five actors most overdue for a first nomination? - Jonathan
A: That deserves a whole article but off the top of my head I would be THRILLED if any of these people could manage a first nomination: Kiki Dunst, Sonia Braga, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael B Jordan, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Marthina Plimpton, Essie Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Colman Domingo, Colin Farrell, Jamie Bell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ann Dowd, Oscar Isaac, and Emily Blunt.
And a few that aren't "overdue" per say but I hope they get a perfect role to really showcase their gifts because they're such fabulous interesting actors: Alessandro Nivola, Aldis Hodge, Hong Chau, David Dastmalchian, Riley Keough, Rose Byrne, and Nicolas Hoult.
And how thrilling would it be to get an unexpected awards run from, let's say, Parker Posey. Very thrilling indeed!
Until next time... We'd love to hear your answers to these questions in the comments, too.
Reader Comments (15)
Why Parker Posey didn't get an awards run for Scream 3 is BEYOND ME
Poor Anne Baxter, the Rodney Dangerfield of the 1950 Oscars.
Top five actors overdue for a first nod: Gong Li, Danny Glover, Lindsay Duncan, Donald Sutherland, Paul Dano
I like All About Eve a whole lot, but I've always thought Sunset Blvd was better in every way. One of my top 10 (or 5 even) movies of all time.
The Academy will never do anything about category fraud. The farce of Kaluuya and Stanfield both being nominated for supporting actor this year sealed the Academy's indifference.
I'm a Gloria voter too but would have replaced Baxter with Joan Crawford in Damned Don't Cry.
Glad this series is back.Loved the Jessica Chastain memory story
I think Best Actress is not the done deal most are predicting Colman,Cruz,Chastain,GaGa,Stewart and judging by the new Ricardo's trailer Kidman is not giving me winner vibes either.
Have a feeling Berry or maybe a foreign performer not named Cruz or a newbie like Rachel Zegler or Hayley Bennet who seems to be underestimated seeing how Dinklage is predicted all over.
With so many of the best actress contenders having such poor box office results, Spencer included, I think this year is wide open. If only Sony had held onto the Wife until this year!
All kidding aside, I think this is the perfect year for someone to Blue Sky their way to a win or even to a second Oscar. I could see both Nicole and Penelope doing very well. Sandra and Olivia Colman might also find themselves as stronger contenders too.
Top 5 actors overdue for Oscar nods: Kirsten Dunst of course. Also Jena Malone, Evan Rachel Wood, and Gong Li.
A first Oscar nod for Tony Leung THIS YEAR would be fun. I hear the Supporting Actor category is wide open and so why not? His turn in SHANG CHI was very well-received in one of the best-reviewed films this year. I will put this out into the universe now and hope it happens!
LMAO yeah rite like the Oscars would give all the new invented genders their own category
Top 5 overdue actors:
Kiki Dunst
Ewan McGregor!
Jeffrey Wright
Colin Farrel
Emily Blunt
I mean, their career would have at least warranted one nomination!
"I do wonder how much more campaigning she'll do,"
LOL
Thanks for answering my question! As to overdue for a nomination, I’d say Emily Blunt.
Thank you for answering my question! I know it was evil, but I was reading All About All About Eve (which is fantastic, btw) and I was curious about your thoughts. I am a Bette superfan, so my answer will always be the same, but I like your Gloria Grahame nomination - she would probably be third for me, after the other Gloria in second place. I do love Judy Holliday, though. It's such a great year.
It's always interesting to think about the fact that Claudette Colbert was supposed to play Margo Channing - she would have had such a different spin on that character. It would have changed the entire tone of the film.
I think Gaga will be a very strong player in Best Actress. House of Gucci will do well, relatively speaking, at the box office (not only is the interest there, it has the best possilbe release date), and she has good reviews.
And I think Oscar Isaac should have at least 3 nominations in his relatively short career (Inside Llewyn Davis, A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina). He's my pick for most overdue.
Your solution for category fraud is a good one. Let's hope someone on high is reading this.
I've occasionally thought about memory and how it correlates with intelligence and acting ability. Particularly when I think of Broadway stars, a good memory is just the most basic requirement for the job before you can even do things like acting. I bet really good actors with really good memories (and intelligence) is pretty highly correlated.
And I for one am thrilled with Anne Baxter's nomination, in part because it is NOT category fraud even though she would surely have been demoted to Supporting nowadays and kicked out Thelma Ritter from her own nomination.
The 1950 Best Actress lineup is rightly the stuff of legend. My ranking is Davis-Swanson-Parker-Holliday-Baxter, but I think Baxter is quite deserving, too. And although I rank Davis just barely ahead of Swanson, I would have voted for Swanson, who deserved a first Oscar more than Davis a third. Although I have no quarrel with the five actual nominees, I wish there was room for Katharine Hepburn in Adam's Rib, who would be my #3, had she been nominated