Oscar Volley: Is Best Supporting Actress a Done Deal?

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Ben Miller and Cláudio Alves to talk Best Supporting Actress...

So far, Da'Vine Joy Randolph has won EVERYTHING.

BEN: Alright Cláudio, my Portuguese pal...let's dive into BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS.

It's a funny year when it comes to the supporting ladies, because we actually seem to be pretty devoid of any category fraud in the main contenders.  With Lily Gladstone and Carey Mulligan in their correct categories, this race feels wide open.  Here's my big question: why does this happen every year with actresses and never with actors?  I'm glad they are striving to get it correct, but "people" also argue that Gladstone would be walking away with this category if she was still placed here.

Do you think Gladstone or Mulligan would win if they were here, and do you think they should be?  I am of the opinion they should both be leads, though I think Gladstone would be undeniable if she was thusly categorized...

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"The Color Purple" and the Best Supporting Actress Oscar History

by Cláudio Alves

A shadow of uncertainty has loomed over the awards season for a long time. It was the enigma of a major contender yet unwatched until last week when the first screenings of The Color Purple movie musical finally took place. Now, it feels like the race is truly on, with the Blitz Bazawule's picture firmly established in the run for gold. And of the categories it might compete in, Best Supporting Actress is the surest bet. Indeed, some folk are already predicting Danielle Brooks for a sweeping victory thanks to Sofia, the sing-and-dance version of the same role that earned Oprah Winfrey a nomination 38 years ago. On stage, both Brooks and Felicia P. Fields have earned nods for the part, too. But will Taraji P. Henson's Shug Avery follow her into the 96th Academy Awards ballot? 

These matters make one think about the history of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, its embrace of musicals, and its propensity for nominating multiple people from the same film…

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Wyler, Kazan, Ashby, Scorsese – Who's Next?

by Cláudio Alves

Barbra Streisand in FUNNY GIRL was the last performance William Wyler directed to an Oscar win.

As stated in the Scorsese at the Oscars write-up, the Killers of the Flower Moon auteur is one of only four directors to have helmed Academy Award-winning performances in all acting categories. The others are William Wyler, Elia Kazan, and Hal Ashby, with the former having the record to end all records. Across 32 years, Wyler directed fourteen victorious turns, including multiple champions in the four races. Such a feat won't likely be equaled, but that doesn't mean the quartet is bound to stay put forever. Some directors are on the cusp of joining the ranks of Wyler, Kazan, Ashby, and Scorsese…

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The Apology Nomination

by Cláudio Alves

Sometimes, even the Academy thinks they messed up. That's how you get what I like to call "apology nominations," crucially different from "career nominations" because they come in response to one or more specific slights in the recent past. They are the honors that resound with an echoing sorry if you ring them just right, and there's no better example than Paul Giamatti's 2005 Best Supporting Actor nomination for Cinderella Man. After his shocking Sideways snub, one feels he would have been included for anything remotely Oscar-friendly.

It doesn't mean this reliable character actor didn't deserve it, of course, but there's a narrative quirk to how he got there, a faint sense that AMPAS was making up for a mistake. Now that Giamatti's back in the race with The Holdovers, it got me thinking about other cases of the phenomenon in the years since Cinderella Man…

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Is it finally Blunt's time?

by Cláudio Alves

With Pain Hustlers new on Netflix, Emily Blunt continues to stake her claim in 2023. Indeed, we're heading into an awards season that could end with the British actress becoming, at long last, an Academy Award-nominated thespian. For over a decade, she has persisted as a contender who never makes it to the finish line, stranded with precursor support but no love from AMPAS itself. Hell, when the Almost There series eventually comes back, one could dedicate an entire month, if not more, to Blunt's many failed bids – from The Young Victoria to her SAG-winning turn in A Quiet Place. Keep in mind that The Devil Wears Prada, arguably her most egregious snub, was already covered a while ago.

In any case, hopes are high for Blunt fans, even if few would argue her performance in Oppenheimer represents the height of her talents. Not that it's any sort of meritless hack job…

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