Oscar Season

Judd Apatow thinks comedy should have its own Oscar category. I would also say that in a few years from now there will be a category for Performance Capture, this way Andy Serkis will be the Meryl Streep Oscars' dominator!

 Beginners

This year’s Oscar Race I’m paying special attention to what critics say. I’m going on their Oscar Road. What I can say is, there’s no such thing as Oscar Buzz anymore, because it’s wrong. What critics say is one thing then what the members of the Academy will vote is another. I get to this point where I’m asking, what is an Oscar film?

The discouraging side of my involvement is that it all comes down to the ‘campaign’. It’s all about promoting you. It’s about the screenings, it’s about going to the parties and it’s about giving awesome speeches (and at the same time has nothing to do with this). There’s also something else about this race, is that how many actors and creators aren’t being recognized. But let’s not think about that. Because this year there’s this awesome tendency and it is its unpredictableness. It’s anyone’s game. ‘Beginners’ wins big at Gotham Awards. The New York Critics chooses The Artist then National Board of Review chooses Hugo. In the Independent Spirit Awards leads Take Shelter, The Descendents and The Artist. 

Feminine Roles

It seems that this year we knowledge the fact that in order to women portray beautiful, intriguing and individual roles they have to write it. It happened with ‘Bridesmaids’, it happened with ‘Albert Nobbs’, it happened with Brit Marling. She even mentioned the fact that there aren’t many representations of women. Rashida Jones also mentioned earlier this year how upset she was there wasn’t enough feminine roles that she even wrote a screenplay. The thing is, there are no strong women driven stories in this year's Oscar race and cases like The Help only prove its rarity. Women are a wreck. Even Jessica Chastain in ‘The Tree of Life’. What’s intriguing is the role of Keira Knightley in A Dangerous Method. She happens to be the core of the story. She plays a mentally ill girl due to a sexual repression caused by her father but who grows to be not only a crucial patient to Carl Jung but also part of these men's studies, developing work of her own, which in the period, was a rarity. She’s this feminist character with power, with constructive thoughts, with decisions of her own, with respectful attitudes and yet she’s living in the twenties, between two World Wars. 

The Contenders

Is it Streep vs. Close?

They both play characters with an inability to express their feelings, they’re neither warm nor fuzzy. The thing is, even if some people still think Meryl Streep is underrated, I think everyone knowledge at the end of the day that she’s ultimately the best American actress of all time. She already won two Oscars and was nominated one hundred times. Glenn Close, also one of the most serious actresses, never won one.

But the one that really shines is Viola Davis. And yet I don’t have a clue if she even gets a nomination. If Viola Davis won, it would be the second Oscar given to a black actress.

Then we have the dark roles – Tilda Swinton, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara. Then there’s Jessica Chastain category. If I could I would push Chastain to a supporting role in at least three of her films this year. She deserves it.  There should also be a category for the Hit girls that came out of Sundance and a roundtable between them should be interesting. 

About Supporting roles – Vanessa Redgrave, Octavia Spencer, Shailene Woodley, Jessica Chastain, Melissa McCarthey, Carey Mulligan…who knows?!

Here’s part of the Actresses Roundtable – Charlize Theron is back and ruling the show! Michelle Williams and Carey Mulligan are always a consistent present in these areas. We have Glenn Close, nominating her role as Albert Nobbs the most significant. And Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer.

The actresses Situation

The Dark Characters – Rooney Mara, Tilda Swinton, Charlize Theron, Keira Knightley.

The Prostetics – Meryl Streep vs. Glenn Close.

Indie Girls – Elizabeth Olsen, Felicity Jones, Carey Mulighan, Ellen Barkin, Olivia Colman, Adepero Oduye, Shailene Woodley.

Jessica Chastain Category.

I’m looking at it this way – Viola Davis, Meryl Streep and Gleen Close are in. Now the question relies in this two spots. Is it Theron? It is Michelle Williams? Mara?

Next time I’ll come with actresses that will not be around this year’s Oscar Spot but deserve as much recognition as the others. This is actually my favorite part.