The Oscar Week: Palm Springs to NY to LA
Friday, January 6, 2017 at 3:00PM In this weekly feature from Murtada we follow Oscar contender appearances and interviews.
This week Oscar contenders were very busy, making numerous appearances from Palm Springs to New York and back to California for Sunday’s Golden Globes. From the ceremonial Palm Springs International Film Festival that basically gives awards to every single contender as long as they show up to their fund raising gala, to the more discerning New York Film Critics Circle awards, people like Casey Affleck, Jeff Bridges and Amy Adams got to test out their acceptance speeches while gaining face time with media and Oscar voters...
While Natalie Portman hasn’t won any of the major critics awards it seems that Hollywood is in love with her take on Jackie. Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon hosted screenings of the film this week in her honor, and Tom Hanks presented her Palm Springs award calling Portman “unknowable but authentic”. Her speech included a funny and heartwarming anecdote about her grandmother that will endear her to many if she were to repeat it when she wins this Sunday.
When my grandmother moved to Palestine from Romania in the late 1930s, she and her roommate shared one dress and they had to take turns who could go out for the day. The other one would stay home in bed in their underwear while one friend got to be out working wearing their one dress, so I think it would tickle her to know that I got to play the best-dressed woman in the world.
Emma Stone, you in danger, girl.
Mahershala Ali had a great week, accepting awards in Palm Springs and NY. Even when he wasn’t accepting an award he was presenting one, as he did to his co-star Naomie Harris at the National Board of Review. In his Palm Springs speech he paid honor to his father whose work as understudy in theater went unrecognized, while acknowledging that it feels strange for him to be honored.
I'm not accustomed to receiving individual honors... the work has always been its own reward.
If he continues to be as humble and charming, there will no stopping him. Even if Jeff Bridges bests him at the Golden Globes, which could happen since they are known for loving big stars.
I'm going to take this honor as a symbol of being considered. [] I want to acknowledge this because as we make America great again, let's remember some of the inconsiderable things in our legacy, because there was a time when somebody like me was not considered.
And finally Portman wasn’t the only contender to get celebrity endorsements.
Meryl Streep came out to honor Viola Davis at her Hollywood Walk of Fame celebration. Oscar winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black wrote a tribute to Lion. Everyone is trying to get attention. Which of these endorsements or speeches do you think will matter most?
Reader Comments (13)
But... but.. "Two Time Academy Award Winner Natalie Portman"... It just doesn't sound right! (Still haven't seen the film, though.)
Can we get Meryl and Viola back on screen together!
Meryl's endorsement of Viola was pretty great!
Two-time winner Natalie Portman sounds fine to me. Her career blueprint is not dissimilar to Jodie Foster. Two unfussy, private, bookish former child prodigies who don't tend to waste our time unless they have something quality to promote.
It's a measure of Portman's stature that she can greenlight a freestanding Oscar campaign at all. Mega-talented peers like Johansson and Dunst have not been so lucky.
Emma FTW :)
Two time oscar winner doesn't mean you are a genius, just that you gave what many believed was the best performance in its category two different times.
You can judge 2x winners for winning for an unworthy performance or winning for category fraud; you can't judge them for their non winning performances. The acting awards are not meant to award your career consistency or even your overall talent - it simply awards you for being the best in your category in your given year. By that metric, two time winner Natalie Portman makes sense.
Now should she win an honorary oscar? Hell no.
I just can't get a good read on Portman. She criticizes Oscar chasing/Oscars as a misguided waste of time yet she campaigns relentlessly. And never forget: "Hold me like you did by the lake on Naboo..."
Viola deserves that star. She is almost always the best in show in her movies. I remember watching 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' and being moved to tears when her character cried, when you know nothing about her. (Not a movie worth watching for her performance, BTW).
lol she'll never live Star Wars down. Talk about an awful performance.
I don't remember her saying the oscar is a piece of shit or anything. Just that when you are in that bubble and you start to care too much then that's not good. Not a radical thought at all. Also if she didn't campaign at all I bet her director would not be too happy and she she stay on his good side!
Every single year, the AMPAS has dozens of opportunities to shake up the acting nominations and yet the short-lists are *always* as conventional as ever. Just once I'd love to see an acting list as shockingly but gloriously left-of-center as, say, Best Director 2012. It's seriously looking like Portman, Stone, Adams, Streep and maaaaybe Bening. Zzzzzzzzz......Best Five of the year? It actually angers me. I don't care if Jackie is a career peak for Portman, but that this is the eventual line-up (or some combo with one other actress-take your pick) in a year with Rebecca Hall, Isabelle Huppert (Things to Come, whatever about Elle but they'll *never* go for that one), Sandra Huller, Haile Steinfield, Sonia Braga (as if the ineligibility makes a difference, they'd never have voted for it anyway), Krisha Fairchild (dream scenario), Kate Beckinsale, Kalieaswari Srinivasan (also, *where* is this woman's due? This performance was amazing and no one seems to be talking about it?!)
I know it's a silly gripe and you could write this about any category, but that the final five Best Actress nominees are going to be people we already see ALL THE TIME is getting boring.
Also, Viola Davis' endorsement was beautiful.
We do live in a world in where Hillary Swank is a two time winner. So yeah, two time winner Natalie Portman can't sound bad at all.
But let's wait a few more weeks.
"Just once I'd love to see an acting list as shockingly but gloriously left-of-center as, say, Best Director 2012."
Yes, it was glorious to see them deny the first ever female Best Director winner her deserved follow-up nomination so that we could be surprised.