Best Supporting Actress in the 80s: An Alternative Oscar History

by Cláudio Alves

Out of Oscar's Best Supporting Actress winners from the 80s, Anjelica Huston is the only one who repeats the feat in my ballot. But not for PRIZZI'S HONOR!

Since the Best Actress post did so well, let's tackle another category in my Alternate Oscar history. We're still keeping with the thespians and the divas, because those are always the most beloved races here at The Film Experience. Once again, I followed Oscar eligibility rules when building these ballots, but also included honorable mentions, ineligible standouts, and some enticing prospects for some future movie-watching adventures. Any and all recommendations are welcome, of course, and you're welcome to tear these lineups to shreds – as if you needed an invitation. From 1980 to 1989, from actresses playing actresses to screen sirens for the videotape age, here are my Best Supporting Actress picks for our "Totally Awesome 80s" month…

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Bob Hope to Ella Fitzgerald

Throwback Thursday FYC: sex, lies, and videotape (1989)

Our 1989 25th anniversary celebration continues...

Have you ever seen sex, lies and videotape? Steven Sodebergh won the Palme D'Or at Cannes for his very first film and somehow it wasn't all downhill from there. The film, which was a minor box office hit, was crucial in planting the seeds for the American indie boom of the 1990s but when Oscar nominations rolled around the Academy played it very safe largely shunning both of the year's most provocative critical darlings (the other being Do the Right Thing which we honored earlier this summer in a post just like this one). I spotted these FYC ads on eBay and thought I'd share them.

Andie MacDowell has won a lot of harsh criticism over the years for various performances, most notably Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (for which she was dubbed over by Glenn Close) and Four Weddings and a Funeral but she's really wonderful in this picture and in Short Cuts. Blame Steven Soderbergh and Altman if you must but don't even try to deny it! 

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