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« Monday Monologue: You Spoiled Little Bastard. | Main | links get physical. physical. »
Monday
Apr042011

Will Glenn Close Become a Double Nominee at the Oscars?

Glenn Close has been fighting to get Albert Nobbs, the 19th century drama about a cross-dressing woman in Ireland, made into a film for some time. She starred in the play in the summer of 1982, the same summer that her debut film performance in The World According to Garp arrived in theaters. She was famously Oscar-nominated for that debut.

Not only is she playing the role again 29 years later for the screen but she's co-written the adaptation*. It's her first screenplay credit and it could theoretically win her another "first timer" Oscar nomination. Once I imagined this scenario and narrative (AMPAS does respect a dream project) I couldn't let it go. Sometimes Oscar narratives get stuck in my head for weeks, impervious to all logic**.

A play poster; Mia Wasikowska and Glenn Close in the film.

Oscar obsessing takes up an alarmingly large percentage of my cerebrum and this blog and the charts (SCREENPLAY Predictions are ready for you***) are the results. But sometimes it gets a little out of hand. Neurologists were alarmed to discover that that same gold shiny fixation has now drifted to my brain stem. Studies show that my Oscar obsession is now a completely involuntary function... like breathing. They've asked me to donate my gray-gold matter to science when I'm dead.

*If she accomplishes this it won't be the first time. At least four other actors have written roles that they were Oscar nominated for both writing and performing. Can you name them?

** Logic like this troubling fact: none of Rodrigo García's well meaning but muted films have attracted much awards recognition. My personal theory is that someone needs to jolt him with electric shock on ocassion. I really want to love his films and I suspect he's a kindred spirit given his devotion to actresses but there's something too sleepy about the movies. And I don't mean boring. Does anyone feel me here? I just think they need some filmmaking crackle that's not entirely performance-driven.

*** I felt weird about not excluding Carnage in the predictions but the more I think about it the more I'm unsure of how well it will transfer to the screen.

Garp, The Big Chill, The Natural, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons

P.S. (God shut up already, Nathaniel.) How would you rank Glenn's Oscar nominations? I still don't get what that 1984 bid was about at all -- other than involuntary nominating reflex, blame the AMPAS brain stem-- but fuckyeah on her 1980s run all told, right? She was nearly as Oscar ubiquitous as Streep. if they're both nominated this year for Albert Nobbs and The Iron Lady it'll be their third head-to-head showdown.

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Reader Comments (50)

Emma Thompson & Matt Damon immediately come to mind.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterLiz

Woody Allen
Emma Thompson
Billy Bob Thornton
The Goodwill Hunting Boys

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered Commenter/3rtfu11

Woody Allen also directed himself to an acting nomination for "Annie Hall." #4?

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterChris

Close deserves an Oscar more than Weaver (whom I love) or Pfeiffer (sorry Babe).

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered Commenter/3rtfu11

Roberto Benigni

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered Commenter/3rtfu11

Roberto Benigni is another.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJorge Rodrigues

So, there we have them all: Emma, Matt, Roberto and Woody.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJorge Rodrigues

I forgot to say: what a bizarre bunch.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJorge Rodrigues

4 that were nominated in acting and writing:
Emma Thompson (1995)
Billy Bob Thornton (1996)
Matt Damon (1997)
Sylvester Stallone (1975)

And 3 that were nominated in acting, writing and directing:
Woody Allen (1977)
Orson Welles (1942)
Roberto Benigni (1998)

Anyone else?

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterVictor S

Orson Welles for Citizen Kane (nominated for both writing and acting)

Glenn's Oscar nominations rank:
1) Dangerous Liaisons (Lead): her best performance ever in one of the greatest movies ever... what a shame she didn't get the Oscar!
2) Fatal Attraction (Lead): an iconic performance as one of the best villains in movie history.
3) The World According to Garp (supporting): an amazing debut.
4) The Big Chill (supporting): the best element of the whole wonderful cast in this marvellous film.
5) The Natural (supporting): not completely deserved, but probably it was a weak year in that category...

I'm crossing my fingers for Glenn to be nominated again this year (I'm not quite confident about a possible win, they prefer young winners - sigh! - and Albert Nobbs is a small independent picture that could be ignored at the box-office). Anyway, if they feel she's overdue (and God knows she is!) and there ain't no really strong contender (like in 2009), she could stand a chance (although Meryl is a serious treath).

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterStefano

Charlie Chaplin was nominated for both in The Great Dictator.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterGreg

She should've won for Dangerous Liasions.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterBia

you got all the ones i could think of and more! I thought Kenneth Branagh was here but i was stunned to discover that he kept missing this distinction. he was nominated for directing and acting HENRY V and then for writing HAMLET but not both at same time.

my ranked CLOSE performanes go like so
1. fatal
2. dangerous (i flipflop on those two)
3. garp
4. big chill
5. natural.

April 4, 2011 | Registered CommenterNATHANIEL R

My hope is that this mess is relegated to the REELZ channel. The thought of the annoying Close winning Best Actress gives me diarrhea.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterYibby

I love Glenn Close, but I have no faith in this movie... Rodrigo Garcia is not bad, but he's very far from being a good director... I mean, have you seen Mother and Child? What a mess that was... and what a waste of talents! But, if Meryl Streep can win an Oscar in a movie directed by Phyllida Lloyd, I totally believe that Glenn Close can get her little gold man in a movie directed by Garcia.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterLouis

Not to mention if Foster manages to grab a nod for Carnage, it'll be 1988 all over again with her and Close and Streep. I chuckle at the thought.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterAllen

Meryl Streep wrote her court monologue in Kramer Vs Kramer so does that count? :p

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJames T

The cross dressing alone guarantees a Globe nomination, doesn't it? I mean, they nominated John Cameron Mitchell, Cillian Murphy, and Chiwetel Ejiofor for donning a dress. Or is it one of the tricks that only works one way?

No, wait a minute. It works even better the other way. Swank and Paltrow won Oscars for that trick. Congratulations to Glenn Close on her nomination if the film opens past LA only and at the right time to gain traction.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterRobert G

warren beatty did it twice (red, heaven can wait). didn't you just read that book about him?

as for glenn -
1. garp
2. liaisons
3. fatal
4. chill
5. natural

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterpar3182

1. Fatal
2. Dangerous
3. Big
4. Garp
(haven't seen The Natural)

And I agree with Jorge. What an eclectic bunch. They are like four different food groups.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterDaVinciSmetana

I think that Massimo Troisi was nominated for writing and acting in Il Postino.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterErik

Glenn Close is a godess & if she wins an Oscar I will forgive a few things to the member of the academy (not everything, Im still hurting from la Bennings lost to Frog Face)

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterstjeans

Warren Beatty did twice, REDS and HEAVEN CAN WAIT.

Who's frog face?

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterArkaan

Whoopi and Robin both take the EGOT-will Billy be next?

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterJohn T

Nate forgot Warren? Twice? Oh no he di-ent.

April 4, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterDaVinciSmetana

DaVinci -- i'm only human. Warren hasn't called in YEARS. Damn him!

April 4, 2011 | Registered CommenterNATHANIEL R

Close rightfully lost her first three nominations—Garr should've won in '82; the next two turned out about right—but there's no denying how extraordinary Close was in her BA at-bats. '88 should've been hers in a cakewalk (only Streep came close to her level). Granted '87 was a strong(er) year; that said, Close should've won for Fatal Attraction, a performance at least as iconic as Anthony Hopkins' in Silence of the Lambs. What was AMPAS thinking?

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterMareko

The Natural nomination is just awful. The whole film is a mess, and Randy Newman's score is the ONLY acceptable thing about it.

I'd rank.

01. The Big Chill
02. Dangerous Liaisons
03. Fatal Attraction
04. The World According to Garp
05. The Natural

And what's most impressive isn't her streak of nominations, it's the diversity of them. No performance is like another one. She is vulnerable, insane, fierce, reserved, and bland. Nothing repeating earlier work, and most of them on sheer acting grit. I'd be nice to see her narrative closed with a win. Hopefully it won't be a poor "makeup" win in Screenwriting.

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterSam C.

What I don't get is how Close wasn't even nominated (at the Oscars and everywhere else) for Reversal of Fortune in 1990. They loved her, the film was a hit, it was a very meaty part... what happened?

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterRax

Nate ... Just giving you a hard time. :)

Mareko "What was AMPAS thinking?" ... they weren't.

Yeah, who is Frog Face? Natalie? Hilary's face (or mouth) is more equine like Julia's mouth. Okay, that's mean.

Rax "what happened?" 1990 was a competitive year in the supporting category ... we had four actresses hailing from Best Picture nominees (most of the them in career defining performances) and then Diane Ladd's crazy brilliant lipstick scene.

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterDaVinciSmetana

Oooppss. I was wrong. Bening was so brilliant I forgot The Grifters didn't get a BP nomination that year. But, it would have had the category been expanded to 10 slots (so would have Reversal of Fortune).

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterDaVinciSmetana

Has anyone mentioned Sylvester Stallone? Because he wrote and starred (plus directed, obvs) and was nominated for both.

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterGlenn

I love great Glenn and I desperately want her to win but I don't give myself hope and then I won't be disappointed.

Ranking (I usually switch #1 and #2)
1)Dangerous Liaisons
2)Fatal Attraction
3)TWATG
4)TBC
5)The Natural

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterdinasztie

Laurence Olivier directed wrote and acted in Hamlet

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterManuel

Just checked your screenplay nominees, no love for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?
Stephen Daldry aims for a September release, near to the 10th anniversary of, you know, 9/11. And iit has Bullock and Hanks in it, Daldry directing and coincidentally great timing for Awards Season.
That said, great line-up! May this be even a greater movie year than 2010?

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterpasifauna

I gotta go with GARP number one!

1. Garp
2. Fatal Attraction
3. Dangerous Liaisons
4. The Big Chill
5. The Natural


http://signatureroles.blogspot.com/

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterMichael Herbertson

pasifauna. perhaps foolishly i was assuming the movie would not arrive until 2012.

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterNathaniel R

Glenn Close was totally robbed of a win for her fierce turn in "Dangerous Liaisons" -- manipulative, cold, ruthless, and altogether scary yet somehow still vulnerable and somewhat sympathetic. What makes that loss even more egregious today is just how badly "The Accused" and Jodi Foster's performance in it have aged. It's the kind of thing that would have played well on network televesion, probably won a few Emmys, but to think that it could possibly trump such a titanic turn by Close is simply ridiculous -- to me anyway.

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterTroy H

They might want to have their cake and eat it too and give Glenn Close a win in adapted screenplay while saving their lead actress win for Meryl. But honestly, Meryl can wait. It's time for Glenn Close to finally win her lead actress Oscar. This doubt about Rodrigo Garcia's abilities behind the camera give me pause. GLENN CLOSE FTW!

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterSamson

RANKING CLOSE:

1) DANGEROUS LIAISONS: great perf, great role and beloved film...my favorite one among the 5 wonderful actresses nominated that year

2) FATAL ATTRACTION: even if DANGEROUS is my fav, maybe this was the right occasion to embrace Close...a fab perf and an iconic role in a controversial and widely successful film. but I understand that it's quite unfair to quarrel against Cher's Oscar winning

3) THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP: first film, first nomination; Close is awesome as Jennie Fields...what a pity Academy had to reward Lange with the best supporting actress award, since the leading one was (rightly) reserved to Streep

4) THE BIG CHILL: the best in show in Kasdan's cult movie

5) THE NATURAL: they loved her, they really loved her! GOLDEN GLOBES preferred her co-star Basinger (breathtakingly beautiful as Redford's marilyn-like lover), but AMPAS considered Close again, overlooking more interesting perfs from Jacqueline Bisset (UNDER THE VULCANO) and Melanie Griffiths (BODY DOUBLE)

OTHER CLOSE PERFS I LOVE: JAGGED EDGE, MARS ATTACKS, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS...unfortunately I haven't watched HEIGHTS...I think Close was good as Cruella D'Evil and in THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS but I have many problems with those movies

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered Commentermirko

I think Cher's Oscar win is quite awful. I'll quarrel about that one all day long.

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterRiley

I agree with Mareko that Glenn Close lost for her 1st three noms wasn't a travesty. But I disagree that 1982 belong to Terri Garr, I though Jessica Lange's win was well-deserved. She brought a certain frothiness and vulnerability that is both beguiling and realistic.

For her BA noms...I think she should have won for 1987. Cher was good but Close was iconic. In regards to 1988..that's a uber tough year,I won't discredit Jodie Foster's win though Close was equally deserving.

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterbluemoon02

1988 continually makes me crazy. The best performance was a huge hit and not even nominated: SUSAN SARANDON in BULL DURHAM.

and then of the nominees they gave the win to the worst one -Argh. I've loved Jodie sometimes but she was totally the weakest in that category in that particular year. ah, but she was the young pretty star all grown up. this is the way it always is!

April 5, 2011 | Registered CommenterNATHANIEL R

1988 continually makes me crazy. The best performance was a huge hit and not even nominated: SUSAN SARANDON in BULL DURHAM.

Preach daddy! Which is why I always say her 90s streak was about making up for something they couldn't makeup for.

I have mixed emotions about Cher's Oscar -- her performance is one of the stronger examples of the kind of work that's undervalued -- the romantic comedy heroine. She's also very good in the Witches of Eastwick, and from a previous year Mask. If not for Cher in the 80s I don't believe Anjelica Huston would've had quite the same career -- both tall and dark -- even when she was younger Huston she had a natural ability to make you believe she was older. I'm so happy to be an 80s kid when these were the stars of the day!

On the other hand in '87 -- Hunter (my favorite of her Best Actress nominations) and Streep (3rd Oscar worthy --Sophie 1, Silkwood 2, Ironweed 3, -- haven't seen Kirkland and Close in Fatal Attraction -- I don't get the fuss -- sure she's awesome but the movie does nothing to help the seriousness of her work. Her character is reduced as a sexist nightmare (see Thriplehorn in Basic Instinct).

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered Commenter/3rtfu11

/3rtfull -- Kirkland is great in ANNA. 87 and 88 were such great lineups. It's hard to bitch about Cher's win though because that was one of those "it's her time" things when it actually was rather than being manufactured. She was everywhere. she was good in every movie she did that year and she also had hit singles and a hit album.

but some years are like that: so many greats deserving at the same time.

April 5, 2011 | Registered CommenterNATHANIEL R

<Kirkland is great in ANNA="">

really true! what a pity her career post ANNA was so uninteristing

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered Commentermirko

Mirko>> Her career was uninteresting, but some of the outfits she wore out in public certainly were not.

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterDaVinciSmetana

Miss Close should've easily won for Dangerous Liaisons. No question, as far as I'm concerned. It still holds up amazingly, probably even better now actually. The loss for Fatal Attraction was fine for me (the movie fails her) and plus I loved Cher's work in Moonstruck.

I get grossed out when I think about the unjust acclaim Jodie Foster got for The Accused. For Silence of the Lambs? All the praise in the world, sure. For The Accused? Um, no thanks, Jodes.

Here's hoping for Glenn this year. And honestly, over Streep please. If Streep wins her THIRD before Close wins her first, lord have mercy on our frail souls...

I kinda love the idea of Rodrigo García behind this Albert Nobbs project. She's his muse of sorts and since she wrote the script and has worked with him before, she must trust the hell out of him to really bring it for her. Plus, Actressy Directors FTW, you know?

April 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterMark

I hope and pray for 2 nods and 2 wins for Close in this film. I won't be betting the ranch on either of them though. I been disappointed too many times over the last 20 years...

As an aside, I still wish the late 90's (?) proposed film of Schiller's "Mary Stuart" produced by and starring both Close (Elizabeth I) and Streep (Mary Stuart), and directed by Richard Eyre had been made.
That would have been something to behold...

April 6, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterMatt

Matt: I simple LOOOOVEEE that idea of yours. Richard Eyre did incredible work with Blanchett and Dench

Jodie Foster - The Accused
Glenn Close - Dangerous Liasions
Meryl Streep - A Cry in the dark
Melanie Griffith - Working Girl
Sigourney Weaver - Gorillas in the Mist

Well, I really really like Jodie Foster. Her acting in The Accused is strong, powerful and she was so young and fresh back then. Respected and forever beloved. BUT Close is my fav that year. Her acting in Dangerous Liasion is superb and so is the movie. Im amazed that Malkovich was not nominated at all! Crazy

April 7, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterManuel
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