Almost There: Tim Robbins in "The Player"

by Cláudio Alves

For the past few weeks, the Almost There series has been focused on performances that won at Cannes. Tomorrow, the latest edition of Europe's most prestigious film festival begins, so it's time to end our journey through the Croisette's past. After Woodward, Duvall, and Whitaker, it's time to take a look at Tim Robbins' work in Robert Altman's The Player. The flick marked its director's splashy comeback after a decade of minor works. Playing a venal big shot producer in a skewering of the movie business, Robbins won the Best Actor prize at Cannes, got terrific reviews, but failed to secure an Oscar nomination…

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Almost There: Forest Whitaker in "Bird"

by Cláudio Alves

After two Cannes Best Actress winners who failed to nab an Oscar nomination, the Almost There series arrives at one of the French festival's male acting champions. In 1988, Forest Whitaker starred as legendary bebop innovator and jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in a Clint Eastwood-helmed. At Cannes, he won the big prize, and, on paper, the movie does seem like an obvious awards contender. It's from an acclaimed auteur, a traditional epically long biopic, and it came just two years after critics and the Academy had embraced the similarly-themed 'Round Midnight. However, Bird was only nominated for -and ended up winning- the Best Sound Oscar, leaving its leading man unheralded…

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Almost There: Jamie Bell in "Billy Elliot"

In preparation for the next Smackdown Team Experience is traveling back to 2000.

by Cláudio Alves

The ingrained sexism within Hollywood, in general, and AMPAS, in particular, has many consequences. One of them is the disparity of ages when men and women are recognized for their talents. Male actors tend to be rewarded later in life, while the industry often ignores women after they hit a certain age. You can even see this dynamic at play with underage actors. Only six male children have been nominated in Oscar history in comparison with over a dozen actresses.

Over the past two decades, several boy wonders have been ignored by the Academy, despite buzz in their years. There's Alan S. Kim (Minari), Jacob Tremblay (Room), Tom Holland (The Impossible), Thomas Horn (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland), and, of course, Jamie Bell. In 2000, the latter was definitely in the Best Actor conversation for the sleeper-hit Billy Elliot…

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Anthony Hopkins' shocking win shouldn't have shocked anyone.

by Baby Clyde

Thank you all very much. I really did not expect this.

I watched the last 20 minutes of the 93rd Academy Awards with a sense of impending doom. The disastrous decision to cynically rearrange the final awards in the hope of ending the night on a contrived ‘high’ immediately struck me as problematic. Whilst back in the day Best Picture wasn’t always given out last, it’s been that way for nearly 50 years and changing the order this year was clearly done for one and only one reason. The emotional finale meant to honor Chadwick Boseman with a posthumous award was something the hapless producers couldn’t resist, and it infamously backfired. A slow moving, gold plated car crash ensued as Sir Anthony Hopkins was declared the winner. With no back up plan, no Zoom speeches allowed and no host to close the show the evening ground to an unceremonious halt. If only they’d asked me, the day could have been saved.

I’m not a great Oscar predictor. Every year I seem to get 17 or 18 right. Usually tripped up by the Shorts, even if I’ve watched them all --no, especially if I’ve watched them all! But this year I did manage to successfully predict both Lead acting races, despite them both supposedly being "shocks".  Best Actor was less clear, yes, but I put Hopkins in the #1 spot back in September and never moved him. I’ve been Oscar watching a VERY long time (When I started Glenn Close only had Supporting noms) and sometimes you just get a feeling about a particular race. For example, I never once thought Stallone was winning back in 2015 and I’m still puzzled when people insist Meryl’s third was a surprise as it was inevitable. I felt exactly that way this year and as the season went on (and on and on) there was plenty of evidence, I present six pieces, pointing in that direction...

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What went right and what went wrong at the 93rd Oscars.

by Nathaniel R

Which Steven Soderbergh film begins with a ton of promise before getting bogged down in the middle due to its relentless seriouness? Which of his films comes chaotically lurching back to messy life near the climax but still can't stick to the landing? I don't have an answer for this question except to say "The 93rd Academy Awards if it counts!"  And should it?

The Soderbergh produced ceremony made good on its intentions to not be like every other Oscar ceremony. Not that that was ever in doubt given the worldwide pandemic that put such a dampening slog on awards season (among other admittedly more serious effects). More satisfying than the arbitrary changes in presentation or category order -- thrilling even -- was the pre-show buzz that this would feel more like a movie which the "opening scene" bore out...

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