Thursday
Nov272014
Podcast Xtra: Best Actress. The Runners Up?
Thursday, November 27, 2014 at 11:19PM 
We just delivered a podcast on Interstellar and The Imitation Game yesterday. But because we love you here's a brief "extra" conversation on the Best Actress race for your Thanksgiving weekend.
While most pundits think Reese & Juli & Felicity are locked up, there's more disagreement about the fourth and fifth Best Actress slots. We chat Hilary, Amy, Marion, Gugu, Shailene, Scarlett et al.
You can listen at the bottom of the post or download on iTunes. Continue the conversation in the comments!
Reader Comments (29)
Team Hilary Swank !!! and if not her Cotillard !
Team Hilary Swank !!! and if not her Cotillard !
Since you guys asked, yes, the Taylor Swift song from One Chance (called Sweeter than Fiction) was nominated for the Golden Globe last year. It's weird, I saw the trailer for that movie so many times, but don't remember it actually being released (I live in Mexico, so release dates get even weirder down here).
Count me in as one of those who simply can't understand why Marion Cotillard hasn't gotten another Oscar nomination since she won for La Vie en Rose. She's done tremendous work and think she should have at least been nominated for Nine (the category confusion probably hurt her there, but still). At least she now got an Independent Spirit Award nomination for The Immigrant, a film I was mesmerized by when I saw it and think should be getting more attention (also for Joaquin Phoenix). I probably would also choose Two Days One Night, but both performances are some of the best work out there this year (of course, I haven't seen Wild or Still Alice yet). Another actress who should have been nominated at least a few times since winning an Oscar on her first try is Tilda Swinton (I think she's a treat in any role she's given, I even loved her Social Services in Moonrise Kingdom, a tiny role that she makes very memorable). Her Spirit nomination for Only Lovers Left Alive was also a welcome surprise, but I wish she was more in the conversation for another Oscar nom (for that or for Snowpiercer, she's terrific in both)...
God bless you Nathaniel for putting this up on Thanksgiving. I was dying to hear it after the last podcast ended and I thought with the holiday we'd have to wait a few days to get it. What am I thankful for this year? YOU and TFE!
I share Nick's frustration about Cotillard getting ignored year after year. She is SO GREAT in "The Immigrant"!! What the hell? Why isn't she getting anything?? I haven't been this upset about an actress missing since Joan Allen in 2005.
I think the last spot is between Blunt and Amy. I will never forgive Marion's win over Julie Christie. But I think the real reason she's getting snubbed is because of the delusional 911 comments she made years ago. People in the industry remembers that! She has not been cast in any of good/commercial English speaks films with the exception of the Nolan movies. Now she's over 40, I hust don't see her getting any good offers in the future.
KarlM, Cotiillard's take on 9/11 is everything but delusional. Either way, the Academy hasn't had any kind of trouble in rewarding strongly opinionated performers (think of Jane Fonda, Vanesa Redgrave)
If you ask me, the only thing preventing Cotillard from getting more recognition from the Academy is her nationality: she's just not American (and they tend to like their awards to stay near home) Plain and simple.
@longlifemargo, but there's a lot of non-American performers getting love from the academy. Mainly British (Winslet?) or Australian (she wasn't nominated for a while because she was away doind theatre but Blanchett had a pretty good run for a few years). Or if actually meant non-English speakers you have Penélope Cruz...
why is shailene in the convo for fault in the stars? seriously? i'd rather it be gugu (who was great and refreshing in her star turn in belle) and marion (for the immigrant, not the worst dardenne film ever). perish the thought of swank. please
Interesting that Tilda and Marion won the same year and now they're vying for the title of "most overdue for another nomination". It's like Tilda passed the snub-baton to Marion after We Need to Talk About Kevin/before Rust and Bone.
I am no fan of Rosamund Pike and was not impressed by Gone. Without having seen the films yet, I would prefer Amy Adams and Marion Cotillard to get the fourth and fifth slots.
Every year in the acting categories at least one performer whom we all thought was a lock is not nominated. It would be interesting to debate who is more likely to be omitted. Well, I'd say Rosamund Pike!
Swank definitely and cos it may happen,she is top dollar in TH,Cotillards perf in TI is sensational.
I don't get Cotillard at all (I, too, think Christie deserved a win that year). That said, I would so much prefer that she be nominated over Swank this year. My first choices would be Johansson or Blunt (sight unseen), but they won't happen, so I'll take any of the other non-Swank contenders. Just praise God, don't let that woman near the Oscar ceremony during Julianne's year.
Gone Girl finished filming a year ago and Pike still hasn't given birth. So unless she's been pregnant for 18 months she can't have been at filming. They just wanted her to look overweight after the time she spent hiding away and eating badly.
if swank doesn't happen this year, may the oscar gods - as punishment - make her return during bening's next oscar campaign!
J'adore Cotillard.
(Love the pic you chose. It's sensual and desperate at the same time)
Someone has suggested there is a Cate Blanchett curse. Every woman who has beaten Blanchett has never seen a nomination since.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
(2007) Tilda Swinton
(2006) Jennifer Hudson
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
(2007) Marion Cotillard
(1998) Gwyneth Paltrow
summer - There must have been reshoots on the scenes in NPH's fortress because there are some obvious pregnancy shots (particularly in the kitchen where is is skinny but her belly is not) and in other scenes within the same plot thread she is at her skinniest.
3rtful - intereting theory
Marcos - i agree that if there is a lockish performance this year that doesn't happen it will be Pike. Largely because a) she hasn't campaigned hard and b) the character is divisive.
I agree Nat the top 3 are locked and the next 2 spots up for grabs,Hilary campaigning real hard wil help her cause and the TLJ factor,seeing Amy nominated and loose again would seem odd to many,could she win the Globe over Blunt and not be nominated or the other way round,when was the last time the Comedy Globe winner did not receive a nomination was it Sally Hawkins.
I think there's some surprises in Drama Actress possible.
I'm with Nick Davis on not doubting Amy Adams. I've heard that 'Big Eyes' isn't stellar and her performance isn't exactly one for the ages, but actors are obsessed with her. One of these days she will be nominated for a film in which she does not appear.
I think it's going to be Moore, Jones, Witherspoon, Pike, and Adams, with Hilary Swank and Emily Blunt managing a few mentions along the way.
I would expect Swank to beat Adams for that last spot. It's been a few years since Swank was on the scene and Adams needs a break from the circuit.
"Is that Brigadoon?"
Nick Davis is my favorite human being. Can he narrate my life?
In regard to the topic, I still think Aniston is being underestimated-I think that she could be the fifth slot. Rom com queen goes dramatic and Jolie's going to be there that night-I mean, what more could you ask for?
"One of these days she will be nominated for a film in which she does not appear."
Mike--LOL! Yes, this could definitely happen!
Aniston does seem to be surging, willing a nomination to happen. If it does pan out, you've got to respect her hustle. She's smartly turned her Horrible Bosses press tour into a showcase for Cake.
I'm only worried for Rosamund since she can't be out and about as much with a new baby. Hopefully her box office success of Gone Girl is enough. It seems like getting a critics win will be tough with Julianne in the picture.
Amy Adams is in. If you watch the recent roundtable, like Laura Dern, she is very, very well-liked and respected by her peers.
So it's going to be Amy Adams, Felicity Jones, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, and Reese Witherspoon? Couldn't we have predicted this line up a year ago? What does that say about the Oscar race?
I think Pike is more locked than Jones and Adams. She's not campaigning, but her performance will have much more passionate fans than Jones's solid, but not earth shattering performance. And, yes, the wise thing is to never vote against Adams who can virtually be nominated for anything but Big Eyes doesn't appear to be the buzzy, raved about film of the season like The Fighter and American Hustle were (which obviously helped her in securing a nomination cause those films were Oscar juggernauts). I'm hoping the critics and Globes and SAG committee will throw some curveballs and shake this race up. Throw a bone to Scarlett Johansson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw or Marion Cotillard.
These Oscar voters; don't they know that the best thing about movies these days is that Marion Cotillard is in some of them? Get with the program.
Thanks for the good laugh I needed after a shite week.
And Halle Berry and FRANKIE AND ALICE - I did not know that. I too will use that as an example of why qualifying runs are a little silly.
I don't think Felicity Jones did anything amazing in the way she approached the role. It was contained and all, which was nice, but haven't we seen this performance a gazillion times? It felt so familiar…It's just a prestige movie for who the subject is, but is there anyone who could say that is their favorite movie of the year? Well, I guess if formulaic fare such as The King Speech happened, what could stop this?
As far as Pike, who is an actress I had admired in her previous supporting roles, I don't she delivers a successful performance. It's too distant for its own good. There were other (better) ways to play that character, in my opinion. It's supposedly a plum role because of the structure, but she never makes it realized and truthful to me. It's a little psycho 101, to be honest.
Now, Cotillard, who even surrounded by a bad performance (surprisingly Phoenix's) is able to create a memorable character. I wish The Immigrant would go mute every time someone else spoke and the whole movie were just in close-up! She is so fantastic in conveying everything that is demanded of her. Then comes Two nights one day and she even outdoes herself there. I was expecting greatness and got more than that. She is probably the best working film actress. The fact she seems to not be in the running has nothing to do with the quality of her work and it doesn't upset me. She already has an Oscar and I'm sure is really happy about it. She is starring in small or foreign films and we all know Oscars are really about popularity, marketing and momentum. She lacks those three things and it's ok so long she keeps making bold choices and working with talented filmmakers.
Harvey is working overtime with The Imitation Game so early and meanwhile, Cotillard and Darius Khondji's luscious cinematography is right there getting their Spirit Nods and probably nothing more. The Immigrant is stronger than most of his slate. His judgment these last couple of years is bizarre.
Scott Feinberg's one-man Shailene Woodley campaign made it to the podcast and hopefully dies.
The random Big Eyes screenplay nod (OVER BOYHOOD AND BIRDMAN?!?!?!?) that maybe Big Eyes is different but not classic, ready-made Oscar fare but a good telling of the actual story. So I won't estimate Adams or the screenplay nods or Bruno Delbonnel in cinematography, but hopefully all in support of a Tim Burton comeback.
I think Swank has a shot at the 5th slot for the fact that woman is EVERYWHERE.
Jennifer Aniston in Cake seems like a Globe nod and then a disappearance act as far as theatrical release. Aren't the producers self-distributing?
Probably no shot at all, but Anne Dorval for Mommy is getting a run for Roadside Attractions.
I think were this Catching Fire's year and not a split movie, I think Jennifer Lawrence may have had a Sigourney Weaver in Aliens type of nomination.