Monday
Sep292014
Fun Fact: Celebrities Spend Way More Time Promoting Movies Then Making Them
Monday, September 29, 2014 at 8:00AM Case Study #215,031. Cate Blanchett still on the Blue Jasmine tour 15 months after the US premiere with a screening at the Zurich Film Festival this week.
(Remember how satisfying it was when she won the Oscar in March? Easily the most deserving Best Actress win in at least a decade.)
Reader Comments (30)
Last year Best Actress race was the most BORING one in at least a decade...
stjeans: Because you disliked the nominees?
I just realized that if Julianne Moore wins this year (and we sure deserve a couple of satisfying wins in a row in that category after The Iron Lady/Silver Linings Playbook), it means that the five most recent Best Actress winners have played a character suffering from a mental illness or brain disease... Or even six, if you count Bullock playing a Republican.
Sooo boring!
" Or even six, if you count Bullock playing a Republican."
Thanks for the morning chuckle, Jan
Stjeans - I partly agree because a) Blanchett was such a lock (not undeservingly, but still) and b) 3 of the nominees were decent but uninspired choices. Bullock, Dench and Streep could all have an argument made for them but there were better, if riskier, options out there. Nat's Film Bitch Awards highlights those options pretty well. I know Brie Larson, Adele Exarchopoulus and Julia Louis-Dreyfus were all long shots and would've lost but it would've been a MUCH more interesting category.
She in rarified company by winning in support first,it was very deserved and a strong field too.
Saw The Homesman last night,Swank is indeed very strong but 80 mins in something happens which diminshes her and the film she's is in,still wondering why.
I'm thinking three things Nathaniel:
1. I'm sure many will be satisfied if Julianne wins too, especially since it would mean two ACTUAL great performances potentially winning back to back.
2. What did you think of the three fug/fab outfits Blanchett wore at the festival?
3. Is it tragique that my most anticipated upcoming moment in life is watching Carol? (Though I am glad they are not rushing to release the film this year.)
Marvelous coat-dress.
Doesn't surprise me. Actors get paid some big money and they still have to "work it" even off camera.
@3rtful
I think stjeans means it was boring because there was no best actress race.
Sweeps are nice and in some cases also very deserving, but overall they're boring.
I still love Meryl's third win for several reasons.....
Eh, I better leave it there. It's all subjective anyway. ;)
So, out of curiosity - which win would you be inclined to say preceded it as most-deserving? Charlize in Monster? Something back in the 20th century?
*than
(Sorry, can't help myself)
Probably most deserving of the last 10yrs were Reese from a weak weak field,Cotillard from another weak field but she's been better since,Winslet cos it was great to see her up there and it was as much a career nod as any,Streep cos it was about time and Blanchett.
It might have been boring for some bec it was ordained. However watching my favorite actor dominate the season with a performance for the ages was exhilarating and as Nathaniel put it satisfying. Very satisfying. Go Cate.
Now waiting for Carol.
ScottC -- obviously most would say Charlize Theron in Monster... I should look at that one again because I was cool on it at the time.. But for me to get a performance of Cate's calibre I think you maybe even have to go back to 1999 for Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry. But to get a performance that's both for the ages AND my choice as well as Oscar's for #1 of that year I have to go all the way back to Frances McDormand in FARGO.
I don't think Cotillard won in a weak year at all. Christie and Linneys's performances were quiet, but impeccable and Juno is one of the best teen characters I've ever seen. Blanchett took Angelina or Amy's spot, if you ask me.
Brenda Bletyhn was so much more deserving. The scene when it finally dawns on her that Hortense is her daughter in the tea shop has been etched in my mind ever since I saw it.
Mustafa: Blethyn is my choice too.
Nathaniel - I am with you! Cate is my favorite since Frances for sure.
You said something nice about Swank,wash yourself in holy water.
I'd rank Theron and Cotillard's performances above Blanchett's but that doesn't mean her performance isn't one for the ages.
No talk about Natalie Portman's win? I thought she was incredibly deserving.
mark -- i've always said nice things about Swank in Boys Dont Cry. but people only choose to focus on my other comments on her :)
cash -- for me she was not the deserving one from that lineup
cash,
Natalie Portman won for a good performance, no doubt, but she was in one of the richest lineups for Best Actress in recent years!
I mean, Nicole Kidman with another top-notch performance (and it may even be my favorite of hers), Michelle Williams doing career-best work, Annette Bening delivering a stunning performance that only a great actress with her age and range could give (the polar opposite of Natalie's show, not tell physical work) and Jennifer Lawrence in a brilliant performance by an almost-newcomer to the ranks.
Annette or Nicole deserved the win more in my opinion but I'd be fine with almost any one of them winning :)
"i've always said nice things about Swank in Boys Dont Cry. but people only choose to focus on my other comments on her :) "
@Nathaniel - haha, well you've said so many more not so nice things about her, can't really blame it on the selective memory of your readers. It's not just what they 'choose' to focus on. ;)
I agree! I'll even go a little further and say that Cate Blanchett's performance in Blue Jasmine is the best lead actress performance to win an Oscar since Meryl Streep's win for Sophie's Choice three decades ago. I saw Blue Jasmine in the theater when it first came out and remembered all three of us being taken to an emotional roller coaster of a performance. We were simply floored by it. I'm not saying there weren't any great female performances in between those two classic performances, but Cate as Jasmine was simply the best for me since Meryl as Sophie.
Cate Blanchett's performance in Blue Jasmine is the best lead actress performance to win an Oscar since Meryl Streep's win for Sophie's Choice three decades ago.
Hm.
I'm a big fan of the actress and the performance, but I'd have to rewatch The Piano, Boys Don't Cry, Howards End, The Accused, Shakespeare in Love, Monster and La Môme to know if I agree.
I thought Cate didn't deserve this at all. I truly felt it was a really bad performance and the reception left me floating in a sea of WTFs. Also, I don't get the love for Frances McDormand in "Fargo", were 50% of it it's her saying "Yah!" (I'd go with Emily Watson). As for most deserving of the decade (actually since '00 until now) Cotillard takes the gold so easily, followed by Streep and the third spot goes for none of the above (the best actress category is so badly rewarded it should be eliminated).
Anyway, the end justify the means and it's good Blanchett has 2 Oscars.
the 1996 Oscar is Emily Watson's, there's just no competition there.
Julie in 07! Sheer brilliance.