Friday
Dec122014
Open Thread. Questions for the Podcast?
Friday, December 12, 2014 at 5:21PM 
We're recording again soon. As I update the Oscar charts tonight, what questions would you like to ask Nathaniel, Nick, Joe and Katey about the race as it stands post critics and televised award show nominations?
ALSO
The Oscar eligibility list is out. Here's the annual list that tells us which movies we've never heard of bothered to do stealth qualifying runs (though sometimes its inaccurate if they bail on their runs that are set for December)
tagged Oscars (14), precursor awards
Oscars (14), precursor awards
Reader Comments (33)
I hated The Judge. Do you all feel there is really any validity to the Robert Duvall thing or is this just a Nicole in The Paperboy situation? I just don't see it happening at all.
Forget this season. Has Katey finally seen Finding Neverland and The Iron Lady? The world has been waiting to know.
SAG usually matches between 17-19 of the eventual acting nominees. Who are their three most vulnerable? Oyelowo over Gyllenhaal or Carrell? Are Aniston and Duvall happening? Is the likely Watts replacement Chastain, or are we underestimating the love for Dern?
Who's leading in best actor for Oscar win? Is it Keaton? I think with strong showing of Theory at sag - similar to DBC last year - it's Redmayne. Your thoughts and predictions, please.
Which of the predicted Best Picture noms is most likely to gain What Were They Thinking status ten years from now?
Jessica Chastain or Carmen Ejogo for the final Supporting Actress spot? The former would likely be the sole nod for AMVY and will struggle to get her film widely seen. Latter could get swept up in love for 'Selma.'
Which actor that got skunked from both organizations can pull a Marcia Gay Harden/Jacki Wever like surprise nomination.
AKA
Which best picture nominee will have strong enough coattails to sweep an extra person outside of these two nomination groups into the Oscar final 5.
Do you guys on the podcast believe that AMPAS would nominate more than three non-Americans for Best Actor (with Cumberbatch, Fiennes, Oyelowo, Redmayne and Spall in the race to various degrees, and Corden, Hardy and Molina on the fringes)? It hasn't happened in years.
1. I don't think it'd be the correct placement but the LAFCA got me to thinking: Who do you think would become the new frontrunner if Patricia Arquette got "Winslet-ed" into the Best Actress category at the Oscars? Also, since we won't be able to tell with SAG, do you think her current frontrunner status will go out the window if Jessica Chastain or Laura Dern - two popular previous nominees who are seen as overdue - get Oscar nominations?
2. Much like Arquette, is J. K. Simmons as much as a frontrunner as we think when you factor in the "overdue" title that may find itself attached to Edward Norton and Ethan Hawke? Or will their reputations hurt their chances?
Yes... Move Arquette to lead so Streep can takeover!
Is this Boyhood movie only cast with supporting actors?
Jamie - No, that "boyhood" movie has a lead, who is the, um, boy... -_-
I just want to know everyone's feelings on the likelihood of Julianne finally winning an Oscar. Obviously amazing that she will, but I know many are sad that it's for such a middling film, not the most memorable character, etc.
Philip- I joke :)
Do you think last year was an anomaly or (sadly) the dawn of a new age where the Broadcast Film Critics and Guilds line up so perfectly that every Oscar category is spoiled before the big night?
And don't you find it odd that the "boy" is not getting any award traction? He aged along with the rest of them?
Do you have a more complete list of which films failed to get screeners out to the nom committees and thus,which actors got noms based more on their reps than on the performances and which films failed to get anything as a result of their laziness or late finish date? And......do you think these films underestimated the effect of being late on their chances this year? I use Paramount and it's now desperate attempt to get Interstellar back into the conversation as an example.
I don't mean to suggest (in a racist/reductive way) that these two films are comparable just because they feature black actors and are directed by black directors, but do you think the Guilds/Critics Awards/Golden Globes could line up another split with Selma as Best Picture and Richard Linklater as Best Director, the way they did last year for 12 Years/Cuaron? Or do you think if Selma catches on in this 2nd trial heat of the awards season that Duvernay automatically goes along with it?
That fourth Best Actress spot feels soft at the moment, with Aniston, Swank, Cotillard, Adams and others all vying for it. Is there any chance for Gugu Mbatha-Raw to get in there? Were any of you podcasters in charge of the Mbahta-Raw '14 campaign, what do you think it would take to get her in there?
Please, discuss "Under the Skin & Oscars". The movie has been getting some major support in the Best Score field and even Jonathan Glazer (in the directing category) and Scarlett Johansson (in the Best Actress race) are getting some award recognition.
Not a movie for the AMPAS tastes but would Oscar voters give at least one nom?
OMG Enemy isn't eligible?!?! I wasn't expecting that... I just checked wikipedia and it seems it didn't open in more than one theatre?! But I got the impression from Nathaniel that it was.
My favourite of the year, Still Life, isn't eligible either but I'm glad the Lunchbox is.
Obviously Wes Anderson will never get a win making "his type of movie." That said, when will he get a nomination for direction and is possible they'll throw him one bone for a nod and never been seen at the Academy again?
some questions...
- Would you guys agree that the HFPA has really gotten their act together what with ignoring megawatts stars like Oprah Winfrey and Harrison Ford (last year), Angelina Jolie, Bradley Cooper, Johnny Depp, Julia Roberts, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, etc in favor of more deserving work. Plus, that PRIDE nomination ☺
- What did you guys (particularly Nick Davis considering his Best Actress Project) think of the Hollywood Reporter Actress roundtable… not just their film performance but how each came across during the discussion.
- What’s gonna happen to GONE GIRL on Oscar nomination morning?
Who is the biggest (only?) threat to God winning her 2nd Golden Globe and 1st Oscar… Witherspoon, Aniston or Pike??
Why isn't Wild a sure thing in the best pic conversation?
How did Julianne Moore settle in the frontrunner seat so easily? The movie has no shot elsewhere and hasn't even been that well reviewed. The Academy has passed on her in the recent past (A Single Man, The Kids Are All Right to a lesser degree).
We all know she's probably gonna win and we're happy for her, but how did it happen so easily? I just don't get how everyone was so sure and nobody questioned it after Toronto.
How do you explain Oscar's (deliberate?) insistence on awarding actors way past their peak/best years? It'll happen with Julianne Moore this year (most likely). It happened to Bridges, Winslet, Pacino, Sarandon, Newman. It seems actors that are considered the very best do in fact get nominated for their best work, but rarely do they actually win for their best work. They almost always win after their peak years are long expired. Do you think they realize this, or do you think they have a different definition of great acting?
I don't look to the Oscars to tell me which films are the best in any year. My test is which films do I want to watch a second time or more. So far this year I have seen Gone Girl, Grand Budepest Hotel, Begin Again, Edge of Tomorrow and Babadook more than once. Which films have do you want to watch again because you liked them so much?
1. What should I do Oscar morning after learning that Marion Cotillard hasn't been nominated but Christoph Waltz has been?
2. Do I have to see The Judge? Do any of you know Robert Duvall's publicist so I can personally yell at him/her?
A Mai -- the list is not reflective of how many screens a movie played on but whether or not they a) played a least one consecutive week in Los Angeles during the calendar year and b) then submitted their paperwork to be eligible.
Some movies don't bother with the b) part and some movies only play New York or whatever. I assume Enemy would have been eligible had it submitted papers. It wasn't a "hit" or anything but it grossed a million during its run which is generally a lot more than you can make if you only do one screen. and dont expand to a few more.
If questions are still being accepted, here's mine: if you could have a 5-year ban on any of Oscar's tropes or bad habits, what would it be?
In case explanation is needed:
By trope, I mean one of the recurring patterns that indicate voters on autopilot, such as the Supporting Long-Suffering WifeTM, or the Old Male Veteran in SupportingTM, the everlasting love for Prestige BiopicsTM, etc.
By bad habit, I mean Industry shenanigans like category fraud, qualifying runs, etc.
There are as many contenders this year as in years past, but to me it seems like there are fewer locks and far more films which have major question marks next to their name. Are we looking at a year with only 5 or 6 nominees?
Or, in honor of Jennifer Aniston's recent charge into the race, is there any actor or actress with whom you were "on a break" until they came back with excellent work this year?
"What should I do Oscar morning after learning that Marion Cotillard hasn't been nominated but Christoph Waltz has been?"
John, couldn't help seconding your sentiments. That's definitely a worst case scenario you've presented. Finding out that Cotillard's snubbed for her magnificent work in "Two Days, One Night" (especially after the way the Academy 's unjustly ignored her in the past few years) - then having salt rubbed in the wound with yet another nomination for Waltz , a one-note performer if ever there was one (and as far as I'm concerned it's a heck of a lousy note).