Sunday
Feb092020
Film Bitch Awards - Traditional Categories Complete!
Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 4:42PM 
By now you've seen the long delayed top ten list and now the "traditional" (aka Oscar parallel) part of the Film Bitch Awards is complete with the addition of all four acting categories. If you'd like to see my 'alternate ballot' so to speak, that's there though are more "fun" categories to come since we'll try to wrap up the whole film year by NEXT weekend.
But first, THE OSCARS. TONIGHT. Here are the predictions and the nomination index if you're following along.
Reader Comments (19)
Oooh, those Best Actor nominess are super disappointing.
Great call on Hodges. Hanks is a lead to me but he'd win if there. But Hodges is outstanding and my winner otherwise.
Adam Driver should win Best Supporting Actress and Best Sound, in addition to Best Actor.
And Emma Thompson.
Egerton really! that's a bad performance,did Malek sully you that much,not for 1 moment did I believe he was Elton John and the 70's wasn't filtered green either.
Rest of the picks are spot on but Lopez is supporting Wu.
Here's mine not seen Clemency,Diane,Little Women,Beautiful day in the Neighbourhood or Pain and Glory
Actor
Driver*
Phoenix
Pattinson
Murphy
DiCaprio
Actress
Zellweger*
Miller
Theron
Smith Turner
Johansson
Supp Actor
Dafoe*
Pesci
Alda
Hopkins
Rockwell Richard Jewell
S Actress
Lopez*
Shuzhen
Russell
Bates
Kidman
Poor Saoirse!
I feel like your picks are going to get lost in Oscar madness which is a shame for all the effort and work you put into them!
Excellent justifications as usual and so eloquent - even if I feel like your picks hew very closely to the generic norm this year/very in line with the Oscars? Maybe it's just me but there aren't as many inspired choices as usual. Octavia Spencer in Luce is a great pick, more of that please!
I feel like there are two kinds of people in the world: those who prefer Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite, and those who prefer Lee Jeong-Eun in Parasite. I'm in the latter category, you're in the former, but we all admit they both gave great performances in the film.
Robert G: I prefer Park So-dam!!!
Jennifer Lopez as leading in Hustlers is an interesting choice. I think she’s easily supporting.
Thank you for putting Jennifer Lopez into the category she belongs.
It has been driving me crazy all Oscar season that everybody was behind this blatant case of category fraud, and no one even dared pointing out she doesn't belong into supporting, because they all were stanning the campaign narrative so hard.
@markgordonuk @Steve
Please explain to me the reason - other than Awards campaigning - that Lopez should be considered Suopporting rather than Lead.
There can't be a narrative reason, as Ramona is the main instigator of every major plot point in Hustlers. The film tells her story, through the eyes of Destiny. Everything that happens in this film is due to her actions. All other characters relate to her (except possibly Destiny's grandmother, although eventually she sort of does, as well). Without Ramona, there is no film (whereas Destiny, on the other hand is quite interchangeable, as she's basically serving as the audience surrogate). Jennifer Lopez is, narratively speaking, the Tom Cruise/Denzel Washington to Constance Wu's Jamie Foxx/Ethan Hawke.
It can't be screen time, either. According to @MatthewAStewart on Twitter, Lopez has a screen time of about 48.3%, which is more than Scarlett Johansson has in Marriage Story (47.7%); for further comparison's sake: Constance Wu is in 56.8% of Hustlers, Adam Driver is in 62.1% of Marriage Story, so the gap between Driver and Johansson is significantly larger than the one between Wu and Lopez; still, I don't hear of anyone seriously considering Johansson to be a supporting actress in Marriage Story. 48.3% is also higher than the 2018 and 2017 Best Actress winners (Olivia Colman is in 41.7% of The Favorite, Frances McDormand is in 46.3% of Three Billboards), and it is leaps and bounds more than, say Brad Pitt in OUATIH (a mere 34.2%, as compared to Leo's 37.9%), which this website rightfully refer to as this year's most outrageous case of category fraud.
In fact, the only real argument why Lopez belongs in supporting that anyone has ever given to me is "Hustlers is an ensemble film", which is, quite frankly, not true. Hustlers is about Ramona and Destiny, everyone around them plays second fiddle. No one can seriously claim that the one with the dog, the one with the man in jail, or the one who vomits a lot are as integral to the film as a whole in the same way that Ramona is. Take either one of them away, and you still have a film. Take Ramona away, and you don't.
So please, please tell me your reasoning why Lopez is a supporting actress in Hustlers. I am not saying all this to stir the pot, I actually want to know, because I just don't understand why everyone just assumes Lopez is supporting, and my questioning of this gets absolutely ignored.
Well, I won't ever take raw stats as proof, as it already destroys sports.
But it's valid, and I've always thought Lopez was lead. Surrogate is an interesting word choice..maybe like Freeman in Shawshank.
morganb -- "even if I feel like your picks hew very closely to the generic norm this year/very in line with the Oscars?" -- really? was not expecting that criticism as i only have 1/5 in best actress 2/5 in supp actress though i guess my choices for men are closer to Oscar's taste (this time around at least)
My way to temper expectations with the current Academy is this: If a female director gets a medal here for a film contending in other Oscar categories or had plenty of precursor buzz beforehand, then I call it a snubbing. If no females from said sort of pictures don't medal here, I shrug, say the Academy is going to Academy and continue to support change and opportunities for women in the film business.
@Nathaniel - I'm actually a little surprised you put Song Kang Ho in supporting. It's definitely an ensemble, but do ever still put someone from a big ensemble like this in lead? I think he's at least a straddler. Just curious.
*do you*
I finally found someone (besides the Korean film industry) who consider Song Kang Ho lead. I thought the movie has 2 male leads and a whole bunch of supporting actors/actresses, most of which deserve serious consideration for awardage.
Glad to see Cho Yeo-jeong and Zhao Shuzhen be medallists. Truly deserving.
Sorry what does “Young-Harridan-Period” mean in the description for Laura Dern’s role?
Charlea -- i dont think Parasite has a lead but if it does I'd say it's Choi Woo Sik who kicks the whole plot in motion and also gets the finale to himself. In a small way it's his story and he brings his family along for the ride.
Jennifer Lopez in lead is a great choice though I prefer her in supporting.
Actress
Adele Haenel - Portrait of a lady on fire
Saoirse Ronan - Little Women
Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story
Alfre Woodard - Clemency
Elizabeth Moss - Her Smell
The best actor is different from mine:
Joaquin Phoenix- Joker
Timothee Chalamet - The King
Christian Bale - Ford vs Ferrari
Adam Driver- Marriage Story
Robert Pattinson - The Lighthouse
Supporting actress
Jennifer Lopez
Florence Pugh
Margot Robbie
Toni Collette
Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Supporting actor
Wesley Snipes
Sterling K Brown
Kang Ho Song
Taika Waititi - Jojo Rabbit
Shia Lebouf- Honey boy