Almost There: The cast of "A Raisin in the Sun"

by Cláudio Alves

The 1950s and 60s marked a time when the Academy Awards loved few things more than prestigious stage play adaptations. This was particularly true of the acting categories, where dozens of such movies scored multiple nominations. Comparing the Tony nods with the Oscars' is to find many of the same roles, like Tennessee Williams' heroines, Eugene O'Neill's human wrecks, Clifford Odet's tragic characters, and Edward Albee's domestic demons. For a short period, the Tonys were even better precursors for an Oscar victory than the Golden Globes. Still, even these trends have exceptions and one of the saddest was the 1961 movie based on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun…

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Almost There: Taron Egerton in "Rocketman"

by Cláudio Alves

Because it's Pride Month and Rocketman is new to streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime, this week's Almost There subject is Taron Egerton in Dexter Fletcher's Elton John biopic. In the most recent awards season, this Welsh actor probably came quite close to an Oscar nomination, both thanks to his performance as well as his aggressive campaigning. The nature of his role helped too, of course. Biopic roles are, literally, the Academy's favorite flavor of Oscar bait. Still, in the year after Bohemian Rhapsody's controversial victories, Rocketman had to content itself with a Best Original Song win. As for Egerton, he got Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG nods, but failed to secure the Oscar nomination, ending up just outside the Best Actor lineup…

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Almost There: Cary Grant in "The Bishop's Wife"

by Cláudio Alves

Movie stars are not like us. Most people look perfectly banal when observed through camera lenses, but the stars are ravishing. When one appears, all eyes go to them, as if their mere presence is a gravitational hold. They are glamourous and awe-inspiring, terminally charming, and even more alluring. Idealized beyond humanity, those icons of the silver screen are the green light for which Jay Gatsby reached.

No matter the other sins of Old Hollywood, they were an exemplary movie star factory. The studios often knew just how to showcase the great stars to maximize their appeal. Or at least the finished product often suggests so. For a fascinating example of all of this look no further than Cary Grant in the 1947 Best Picture-nominee The Bishop's Wife…

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Emmy Watch: Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series/Movie

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

Let's move on to the acting races for limited series and TV movies. Last year, this category didn’t have a single nominee from a TV movie. The two leading contenders in this race are sure to reverse that trend – Hugh Jackman (Bad Education), a past Emmy winner for hosting the Tony Awards, and Aaron Paul (El Camino), who took home three Emmys for playing the same part on Breaking Bad. After that, it’s back to the limited series to find most of the other probable nominees…

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Almost There: Colin Farrell in "In Bruges"

 by Cláudio Alves

Colin Farrell is a fascinating actor. Early on in his career, he got good notices for his work in Joel Schumacher's Tigerland, but his following movies did little to build on that promise and make him a respected up and coming star. Instead, he became a mainstay of action movies of the early aughts, gaining popularity but not being much respected as an actor. On paper, 2004's Alexander looked like his big Oscar bid, but the Oliver Stone historical epic crashed and burned most spectacularly. Still, Farrell has always shown a keen eye when it comes to working with prestigious directors. He's collaborated with Stone, Terrence Malick, Woody Allen, Peter Weir, Liv Ullmann, Sofia Coppola, Steve McQueen, and Yorgos Lanthimos, among others. His work with Lanthimos has been particularly revelatory.

An actor so game to challenge himself and with such a résumé seems like someone who should have left a mark in the awards game. However, Farrell has very rarely been a contender for acting honors. Regarding the Oscars, he came closest in 2008…

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