Okay, before I decide how to reconfigure the fun but exhausting new Q&A series, I thought I'd answer 5 Oscar questions I stubbornly avoided before.
Ellen Burstyn in "Resurrection" (1980)
Michael: Going back to 1980 out of the five nominees - who would you have handed the Best Actress Oscar to?
Nathaniel: I can't vote on 1980 because I've never found an opportunity to see Ellen Burstyn in Resurrection and I don't vote without seeing all five. Or at least I don't vote without all five if I really love the missing actor... which, in this case, I do. (Also: regarding 1980. I've heard the pleas for me to talk about Gena Rowlands since I never do. I just have to decide how to attack that large subject.)
Philip: Why do you think Oscar never took a liking to Jim Carrey?
Nathaniel: He was trying too hard when they weren't ready for him yet. The Truman Show (1998) was too close to his comic persona for people to get how brilliant he was in it. By the time he'd work up to "due" and gave his best performance (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004) he happened to do it within a romantic masterpiece. Alas, it's only women who ever get Oscar credit for those. Sexist but true.
Two Actors. Beloved by Plant Life. Not by Oscar.
Adam: What sort of project do you think Mila Kunis should tackle for Oscar recognition? Comedy or drama? Any roles in particular?
Nathaniel: I talked about this briefly last month, not in the context of Oscar but in the context of a wise career move. I wrote:
My basic feeling is that she should ditch the comedies briefly for something E-V-I-L. That vaguely sinister erotic charge that she gifted to Black Swan and the way you could read it as playful one minute and agenda-filled the next, suggests that she has an untapped capacity for darker roles
But what's good for the career isn't always good for Oscar favor. But wait there's more!
This is not a knock against her because I think she's talented and there are several types of talents that don't translate to awards recognition. Since she's not really an "Oscar" actress -- I mean can you imagine her carrying a period piece message movie or even a full bodied romantic drama? -- she needs to hit their sweet spot for attention. As dull as this sounds, wringing some tears as a beautiful long-suffering wife is the way to go. Provided she wants an Oscar. But really: does everyone have to have one?
Or maybe she should star in a documentary feature about her date to that marine ball. She seems so game as a celebrity.
Jurnee Smollett. Her star should rise.Lester: Hey Nat can you name five African-American actors who need a big oscary role?
Nathaniel: Under the heading of "spread the wealth", let's eliminate everyone whose had a nomination (although nearly all of them deserve further such opportunities), So I'd say:
1. Kerry Washington (duh!) whose star seems to be fading. *sniffle*
2. Audra McDonald provided it's a big epic movie musical; that voice!
3. Anthony Mackie actually already had his "big Oscary role" only... well, you know what happened. The Supporting Actor category errs on the side of honoring careers rather than performances so it didn't matter that he was, quite frankly, embarrassingly superior to the actual nominees (excluding the winner)
4. Jurnee Smollett (Friday Night Lights) who I'm kind of madly in love with at the moment. She can project basic human goodness in riveting ways (not easy to do -- notice how most attention-grabbing parts are bitchy, funny or evil) and she can do emotional vulnerability without ever feeling like a sap who can't handle herself.
5. Kimberly Elise who deserved to be in the conversation for For Colored Girls. Yes, the movie was a mess but she's the real deal as actressing goes.
There are many more but I'll stop since I answered the question. I hear often that Sanaa Lathan is amazing but I admit that i'm unfamiliar. I somehow miss all of her films. I really wanted to catch her recent Off Broadway performance in By The Way Meet Vera Stark which would've been great to cover on the site since it was about a semi forgotten film actress and detailed a friendship between two actresses, one of them the other's maid, who are both cast in the same Southern film epic. It would've so been worth seeing in the year of The Help !
Stephanie J Block and Sanaa Lathan in "By the Way Meet Vera Stark"
But I'll stop there. I really don't need every actor I like to be in the Oscar conversation. For instance I'd be fully satisfied if Regina King could get so much as one Emmy nomination!
SoSueMe: Now that the Academy has expanded the Best Pic category, what about the acting categories? Other awards bodies sometimes nominate 6 actors to a single category, why not the academy?
Nathaniel: I think this is a terrible idea and it's the thing I most loathe about my own voting body (BFCA) after the weird "I must predict the Oscars" impulse. As soon as it goes to six, people will just bitch about seventh place finishes. Five is large enough to give you a sense of the year and small enough to feel like a prestigious honor.
Five Forever. Fantastic Five. Forever Five. FIVE!
Your turn: How do you feel about the number five? Or any of these questions.