Jacob Tremblay is frighteningly good at being a celebrity already. But will he be Oscar nominated?

Recently Scott Feinberg added Jacob Tremblay to his actual predictions for Best Actor nominations. Yes, Best Actor. While Tremblay is obviously the leading man of Room (he co-leads the first half and essentially takes over in the second) he's been campaigned as supporting because he is a kid and that's how kids are campaigned invariably -- remember when they tried to pretend that Keisha Castle Hughes (Whale Rider) was supporting even though her movie had no other leads. LOL. Not so good times.

Tremblay in Best Actor would be a surprise but it maybe isn't a bad call given the seemingly passion-free zone that is the presumed leaders in that particular race. Though I think we'll only see that "promotion" happening if Room is strong enough to nab a Best Picture nomination (I think it is --see the updated Best Picture chart). On the other hand the actors branch, like most organizations, is subject to the whims of the patriachy and as such little boys have a much harder time nabbing Oscar nominations than little girls probably because no one feels comfortable, subconciously that is, making grown accomplished men step aside for children (but accomplished grown women? "Get out of the way for that little cutie, you old hag!"). The most recent valid comparison point in terms of acclaim and size of role might be Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense (1999) who co-led that picture with Bruce Willis and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. In that case though the co-lead was of the same gender and Oscar is generally pretty forgiving of category fraud in those cases. At least since 1991's Thelma & Louise, the last film to be nominated for two leading players of the same gender.)

If Jacob Tremblay were to be nominated in Best Actor (and we hope he is) he'd be the second youngest of all time. His exact age is the subject of question; Wikipedia says he was born in October 5th, 2006, which would make him 9 years old right now but IMDb has no birthdate and recent reporting at Entertainment Weekly refers to him as an 11 year old boy. But regardless of where he is between 9 and 11, if he is nominated tomorrow he will not become the youngest Oscar nominee in either male acting category. The record in Best Actor will continue to be held by Jackie Cooper who was nominated for Skippy (1931) when he had just barely turned 9 and he enjoyed a very lengthy showbiz career thereafter (he passed away in 2011). The record in Supporting Actor will continue to be held by Justin Henry from Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) who was nominated at 8 years of age. Unlike Cooper, though, he did not become a showbiz fixture. 

Anyway remember that time in December that Oscar Isaac was talking about his face on Yoplait "go-gurt" and people went crazy for it? So that popped up again on Jimmy Kimmel with Jacob Tremblay as a guest and the child star handled the crowd with future leading man charm offensive... this is all very Dakota Fanning territory if you ask me. Definitely a kid but a kid with hyper-developed confidence who has eery instincts for sitting at the grown up table like he already belongs there and plans to stay.

Well, I do have a delicious face."

Let's hope Tremblay has great grounding at home and people on his professional team who care more about him than his earning potential. The child star path can be treacherous. Historically speaking child stars take one of these four roads after their first burst of fame 

1. Become a Cautionary Tale: petty crime, drug arrests, self-destructive (too many names to mention)
2. Enter the 'Where Are They Now' Lexicon Hall of Fame: a disappearing act either because showbiz wasn't for them or showbiz didn't want them after all... or some combo of the two.
3. Become Showbiz Troupers: many child stars stay in the business when they grow up with wildly varying degrees of success but their initial child star fame remains a crucial part of why they're famous (Anna Paquin, Drew Barrymore, Roddy McDowall, Christina Ricci, Jackie Cooper, etc...)
4. Ascend: Here's the rarest of outcomes. The actor or actress becomes so popular as an adult movie star once they're grown up that their childhood ascendance becomes an anecdotal part of their history but not anyone's chief focus (Jodie Foster, Christian Bale, Natalie Wood, Liz Taylor)

So best wishes to Tremblay and his team if they choose to pursue the long game of outcomes #3 or #4 or if they take a healthy #2 out if he doesn't stay interested in a few years time. 

OSCAR PREDICTIONS: ACTOR & SUPPORTING ACTOR (Supporting Actor is particularly difficult this year. It's possible to imagine virtually any combination of the top ten as long as Mark Rylance and Sylvester Stallone are accounted for)
NATHANIEL'S BALLOT: My votes in these two categories coming up shortly

Who "won" the Globes last night? Jacob Tremblay did, that's who.

That was not a trophy statistics question but a figurative one.

Proposal: T'was actually tiny Jacob Tremblay from Room who won the Golden Globes hands down. He was not nominated (though he is at the forthcoming SAG Awards) but he had his name praised from the stage via golden girl Brie Larson. She claimed that the award and her performance were half his as she took Best Actress, Drama. He stood up to watch her with his internet-fancied dad right beside him. Later, met his favorite Star Wars character "Poe" at an after-party (photo via A24)

So basically, Jacob Tremblay won the night.

Well, and Oscar Isaac too. But Oscar Isaac had basically already won the season... the world... at life. 

Previously on Golden Globes

Twitter: Brie Larson or Saoirse Ronan? Vera Farmiga doing her best Tom Hanks.

Hellow it's time for a weekly quite random round up of tweets that amused us. This week's edition features Star Wars (always those wars in the stars), Leonardo DiCaprio and his bear, and a return to Room which just keeps giving us more... both from multiple viewings and Brie & Jacob on the campaign trail.

But first let's begin by noting that this tweet is exactly what I've been saying about Saoirse Ronan and the Oscar race. I've long thought she could actually win the Oscar (though the internet keeps telling me it's Brie Larson locked up). But this... this is FYC gold. (more after the jump) 

"I am from the Bronx, as I'm sure you can tell... Saoirse from the Block, they call me." This is how Oscar campaigns are won. #NYFCC

— kateyrich (@kateyrich) January 5, 2016

Click to read more ...

"Room" and The Case for Jacob Tremblay

Kieran, here with a second look at SAG nominee Jacob Tremblay's work in Room.

My antennae were attuned for several things this past weekend while watching Lenny Abrahamson’s Room for the second time. I’ll say up front that searching for the power of Brie Larson’s accomplished, already heralded performance as Ma was not one of them. That was received on first watch and, frankly hadn’t faded from memory even a little. A rewatch only confirmed the potent emotionality of Larson’s work and it’s fortunate that work this exemplary is being so universally recognized as such—that isn’t always the case. Among other things, I was watching for Jacob Tremblay’s performance as Jack, Ma’s doting and mystified son.

Full disclosure: I often find praise heaped upon juvenile performances incredulous. Like many, I found myself fighting tears (and losing that fight) several times throughout my first viewing, most often during Tremblay’s scenes. The grimness of the initial scenario and the bond between Ma and Jack on the script level had my suspicions raised. Was Tremblay’s performance itself eliciting the emotional response or is it solely because of what’s already built in to the architecture of the piece?

This was my question going into Room for the second time. [More...]

Click to read more ...

FYC: Critics Choice Best Young Performer

Last year I began a tradition to help my fellow BFCA members choose more wisely when it comes to the "Young Performer" category by sharing an eligibility list. My belief is they often choose poorly because this category gets no pre-voting discussion whatsoever and it can be difficult to even think of who is eligible. That said, you can safely expect to see Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation) and Jacob Tremblay (Room) nominated because they have leading roles in films that have been discussed. But who else should or could be nominated?

Ballots go out to the BFCA at any moment so here's a cheat sheet to help them vote. The category is UNDER 21... (but it should obviously be adjusted to 17 and under. Remember that year when the winner came from the sexually explicit Blue is the Warmest Color? That's what you get when you have a category with adults in it that is ostensibly a child star prize)

Please FYC your favorites in the comments. Give voters some options to truly consider:

ELIGIBLE "YOUNG PERFORMERS" IN 2015 FILMS
(if we've missed any key players - make sure to shout them out in the comments)

GIRLS
Oona Laurence (13) as "Leila Hope" in Southpaw
Günes Sensoy as "Lale" in Mustang
Raffey Cassidy (13) as "Athena" in Tomorrowland
Isabella Crovetti-Cramp (?) as "Young Joy" in Joy
Willow Shields (15) as "Primrose Everdeen" in Hunger Games - Mockingjay Pt 2
Elle Fanning (17) as "Niki Trumbo" in Trumbo
Hailee Steinfeld (19) as "Emily" in Pitch Perfect 2
Joey King (16) as "Phoebe" in Stonewall
Ashley Aufderheide (?) as "Faith" in Infinitely Polar Bear
Imogene Wolodarsky (?) as "Amelia" in Infinitely Polar Bear
Mackenzie Moss (?) as "Lisa (age 5)" in Steve Jobs
Ripley Sobo (?) as "Lisa (age 9)" in Steve Jobs
Perla Haney-Jardine (18) as "Lisa (age 19) in Steve Jobs

BOYS
Forrest Goodluck (17) as "Hawk" in The Revenant
Levi Miller (13) as "Peter" in Pan
Tony Revolori (19) as "Jib" in Dope
Shameik Moore (20) as "Malcom" in Dope
Russell Posner (?) as "Zach" in The D Train
Alex Henderson (?) as "Young Adonis" in Creed
RJ Cyler (20) as "Earl" in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Josh Wiggins (17) as "Justin Wincott" in Max
Pierce Gagnon (10) as "Nate" in Tomorrowland
Ty Simpkins (14) as "Gray" in Jurassic World
Nick Robinson (20) as "Zach" in Jurassic World
Luke Ryan (8) as "Douglas Cyr" in Black Mass
Jacob Lofland (19) as "Aris Jones" in Maze Runner: Scorch Trials
Kodi Smit-McPhee (19) as "Jay Cavendish" in Slow West
Abraham Attah (15) as "Agu" in Beasts of No Nation
Jacob Tremblay (9) as "Jack" in Room
Tom Holland (19) as "Young Thomas Nickerson" in In the Heart of the Sea
Milo Parker (?) as "" in Mr Holmes

WHICH YOUNG THESPIANS WOULD MAKE YOUR BALLOT?
I hope you'll FYC your favorites in the comments and give the Broadcast Film Critic voters some options to truly consider rather than making this the annual 'which young actor is most famous' list.