What's Next for the Best Actress Class of 2014?
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 7:35PM
Manuel here to talk some more about that actress quintet Nat was just gushing about (we really can't get enough of our fave category!) With news that a certain franchise has nabbed one of our Best Actress nominees for an upcoming film, I figured we should check in and see when we’ll see each of our leading ladies next...
Reese Witherspoon
Hot Pursuit (8 May 2015)
From Anne Fletcher, director of The Proposal and The Guilt Trip (and apparently an upcoming Enchanted 2?), comes this buddy comedy that pairs Witherspoon with Sofia Vergara as a police officer and a prisoner who are on the run in Texas. Gotta say, I’m intrigued (between this, Spy, Trainwreck, and that recent Ghostbusters casting decisions, we might be getting more "female comedies" thinkpieces than we'll ever need). And then of course there’s the long-gestating Peggy Lee project which, last we heard was going to be directed by Todd Haynes.
Julianne Moore
The Seventh Son (6 Feb 2015), Freeheld (2015) & The Hunger Games: The Last One (20 November 2015) and Maggie’s Plan (2015?)
2015 is shaping up to be quite the year for Moore. We knew that fantasy epic would hit right around Oscar season (but don’t call it her “Norbit”), we’ve covered Freeheld before which might be festival bound in the fall, and we expected she’d show up for Katniss’s final lap, but I want to single out Maggie’s Plan, a comedy of manners starring Greta Gerwig and written by Rebecca “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” Miller about a woman moving to New York City.
Rosamund Pike
Return to Sender (2015)
While she’s probably busy taking care of her newborn baby with husband Robie Uniacke, she has this one thriller presumably coming out soon billed as such “A nurse living in small town goes on a blind date with a man who is not the person he says he is.” It co-stars Nick Nolte and Shiloh Fernandez so you know which one I’m rooting for to be the “man” in that synopsis. Also, she’s the voice of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in something called The Thunderbirds Are Go? Someone please enlighten us.
Marion Cotillard
Macbeth (2015), The Little Prince (2015), A Rigged World (2015)
We’re all obviously waiting to see Cotillard’s take on Lady Macbeth opposite Michael Fassbender and that might be the only thing we’ll see Marion on screen this year. She will be lending her voice to two animated features, including what looks like a gorgeous adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic tale. Watch the French-language teaser below (though I think Cotillard is part of the English-speaking cast):
Felicity Jones
True Story (Sundance -Michael's Review), Autobahn (2015), A Monster Calls (14 October 2016) & [Redacted]!!
Her latest film bowed at Sundance to not-so hot reviews though with Jonah Hill and James Franco attached we may see it soon enough. Of her other projects the most interesting is Juan Bayona’s adaptation of A Monster Calls which co-stars Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson with a plot synopsis that sounds like a fitting companion to The Orphanage: “A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom's terminal illness.” Oh, and yes, apparently she got cast in this tiny tentpole film set in a galaxy far far away? Let the incessant rumors begin!
Which of these projects are you most excited about? Do you think any of these will get these ladies back on the red carpet next year?
Reader Comments (34)
Macbeth!!!
Marion will be nominated again next year for Macbeth. If Freeheld plays its cards right, Julianne (and Ellen Page) might be too.
Hot Pursuit (depending on which lady plays which role) and MacBeth.
MacBeth, Freeheld, Autobahn and Return to Sender all sound possible.....or not.
Julianne is coming back next year with Freeheld. She might even win!
Well, of course Julianne will be back next year...to present Best Actor. Though Freeheld does sound promising.
And if Marion pulls off Lady MacBeth, she should be a shoo-in.
Rosamund Pike is "the voice of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in something called The Thunderbirds Are Go!!!!!
Absolute cult classic! Thunderbirds was a '60s British sci-fi marionette animation TV series. The new version is actually called Thunderbirds Are Go! (no "the"), which were the words that ended the old opening credits countdown. Pike is voicing the iconic Lady Penelope in the remake (for television) of the series. (There was a live-action feature adaptation about ten years ago.)
I'm most excited about Macbeth and Freeheld. Both sound promising and both offer juicy parts for Cotillard and Moore. I just hope Harvey doesn't dump Macbeth recklessly like he did with his last Shakespearian epic Coriolanus. That still pisses me off. Vanessa Redgrave could've been a major player that year.
This is one of those lineups that at one point in the future all 5 of the nominees are Oscar winners. Obviously Marion and Reese have theirs, and Julli is getting hers. Felicity is about to explode in the next few years, and then the biggest question mark would be Rosamund. But she surely has the talent. We just have to hope the right directors start working with her.
The book A Monster Calls is ASTONISHINGLY, ASTONISHINGLY sad. I hope they do it justice.
I love Reese but I'm having a hard time seeing her as Peggy Lee, she has a different kind of energy. Now Rosamund Pike that I could see. Still she's a fine actress and with Todd Haynes directing it should be worth checking out.
Macbeth is the one of these projects I'm looking forward to the most. I have no doubt Marion will nail the lunatic Lady. Actually I think the question mark is Fassbender.
Macbeth is the project I am looking forward to the most, Lady Macbeth is a part many actresses would kill for. ( pun intended)
Paul Outlaw - I grew up with the Thunderbirds. Being cast as Lady Penelope is a bit of an honour in Britain, but the prestige will be lost on those who are unfamiliar with it's charms.
Julianne Moore has the best line up for 2015, I like her work in Mockingjay, and look forward to the last Hunger Games.
Marion for nod 3.
I'm overly happy for Marion. I hated that both Actor and Supporting Actor winners from 2007 were allowed subsequent nominations and a win. But the Actress and Supporting Actress winners from 2007 played a game of have your name not called on Oscar morning until this year. That was the biggest shocker for me on nomination morning.
Now I feel like Cotillard can build a narrative and a relationship with the Academy that says she is always reliable and viable for a prestige on paper nomination. I want to see more of her ever so often in the up coming years.
Swinton will return eventually. I wonder if she'll be able to penetrate Best Actress someday. Maybe her lot is Supporting Actress nominations. She is bound to win again simply because of who she is and the choice of projects she generally tackles.
Go Julianne Moore.
I think Reese and Felicity are fine.
Pike is the one I'm concern with. This is sort of her showcase as a leading lady. And there is nothing wrong with pursuing character parts if they are more rewarding for your talents and could actually nab you an Oscar.
Rosamund's post-GONE GIRL tale is (still) bound by the circumstances around which she won it. Her reps made astounding moves that aided her work in auditions and meetings with Fincher to win the role. Then, after contracts were done and before the film was even shot, she left her longtime agents amidst Hollywood turmoil and ended up with a team who didn't have the same kind of care or interest in her. No other way to explain how empty her upcoming project list appears given how covetous the role she's nominated for was during its development phase, how anticipated the film became, and what an huge success it turned out to be.
I'm, like many others, most excited for Macbeth. I hope Michael and Marion KILL it (hehe) and get nominated.
Also interested in the film with Juli and Ellen Page. Hope they get nominated too.
Steve - I would agree with some of your points, but disagree that there is no other way to explain Rosamund's upcoming slate. It's because she was pregnant. Plus she has The Bend and The Mountain Between Us already lined up.
"Also, she’s the voice of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in something called The Thunderbirds Are Go? Someone please enlighten us."
Not sure if this line was ironic or genuine. There's hardly anybody in Australia who doesn't know The Thunderbirds and that famous cacthphrase.
Reese plays the police to Sofia's prisoner, and I can't wait it! I love Vergara.
Return to Sender seems interesting.
and Macbeth is a total YES
Yep, Macbeth and Freeheld might bring Moore and Cotillard back to the group of 5 but either way I'm very excited about these two films/performances.
I didn't know about the Haynes/Lee project but I have this to say: NICE!
@Steve, that's an interesting narrative about Pike's management and career strategy. Certainly odd that she'd ditch her team after they landed her what is arguably THE female role of 2014. I'm sure her pregnancy also has played a role in her not lining up more project, tho. Besides, she's probably been sent lots of stuff in early stages that the public just doesn't hear about.
Can't can't can't wait to see Marion in Macbeth though I do have my reservations. I thought her worst performances were in the Nolan movies where, both times she was cast as the villain and both times she came across as hammy but not effectively so. That being said, whatever performance she gives ought to be a thousand times better than the one Natalie Portman would have given (shudder).
Not too excited for human Wonder Bread Felicity Jones to be in the Star Wars spinoff over her rumored competitors.
Ryan - ha. I think it was on My New Plaid Pants that described her as "unsalted breadstick Felicity Jones."
"Can't can't can't wait to see Marion in Macbeth though I do have my reservations. I thought her worst performances were in the Nolan movies where, both times she was cast as the villain and both times she came across as hammy but not effectively so."
I thought Marion was effective in Inception but not in the Dark Knight Rises. I'm looking forward to seeing her as Lady Macbeth but I could see her not pulling the role off.
This blind item from Lainey Gossip is about Pike. This explains why she's not getting good roles.
http://www.laineygossip.com/February-3--2015-Smutty-Shout-Outs/36532?categoryId=1057
I don't know if the blind item is about Pike (although it sounds like a perfect fit), but I know it works for several actresses (and actors) who are often lamented on this site for not getting cast. If an actress of the caliber of Glenn Close (who is easy to work with) can't get pick of the roles, how can a bitch on heels expect to be first choice? If you want to pay your rent, stop reminding everyone you are working with, that you consider working with them beneath you.
I've worked on a lot of sets where the leads have treated the little people like shit, but rarely where a lead was stupid enough to treat everyone badly. It is the fastest way to send your career into the toilet.
What I love about this years nominees is that I feel they've all got a lot from their nominatons and will come away from the Oscars with a lot of goodwill.
For me, this year has been about Reese. Always a fan but this year I've fallen in love.
^ Yikes, that horrible if that's how Pike is actually perceived. Pregnancy can make people go crazy so we'll see if that stuff evens itself out within a few months and she gets cast in some big project. This seems like THE worst possible time for her to have a child tho ugh. And why would she ditch the people who got her THE role of her career? Something is obviously happening that we're not seeing.
Speaking of big projects, why must Felicity Jones continue to haunt me like a loaf of stale bread that just WON'T. GO. AWAY. And every time Tatiana Maslany's name gets brought up in reports of young actresses vying for huge studio parts, I die a bit inside because I know they picked the wrong girl in the end.
Glenn Close is an amazing actress. But she's 67. There are not a lot of roles for a woman her age (Hello Meryl Streep!).
The blind item which alleges that Pike is difficult is the worst part of the Oscar season, and is pure crap. Everyone from Joe Wright to Tom Cruise, to Simon Pegg has raved about working with this actress. It's would be laughable ("yeah she's a bitch in real life she can't really act") if it weren't so lamentable and slimy.
When Pike changed her representation there were 4 actors who left that manager (Shelly Browning) at UTA at that particular time. Clearly there were problems within the agency and she wasn't the only actor to leave.
Oscar season really takes a toll, there can be backlash in so many ways. Benedict Cumberbatch has been called racist, Rosamund Pike is called "difficult", and Eddie Redmayne is trying too hard.
Let's all do ourselves a favour and ignore this white noise and rise above this slime.
Perhaps Pike went method for Gone Girl!
I just want the 2014's Best Actress Class of 5 to star in a Jonathan Glazer project a decade from now preferably set in the Yemen.
Lainey Gossip is reliable. She verifies her sources. I think Ms. Pike must have pissed off someone in the industry (Affleck?). This also explains why she didn't have any joint press junkets with Affleck. Even Felicity Jones is getting great roles. Pike is only being offered B/C tier movies.
Rosamund Pike also has The Mountain Between Us in 2017:
"A pair survive a plane crash in the mountains where they are forced to trust each other and find safety while badly injured."
The other lead is Charlie Hunnam
So looking forward to Return to Sender, MacBeth and The Mountain Between Us