Is Viola in "Fences" a lead? Or is her "Rose" a supporting player by choice?

Scarlett & Viola won the supporting & lead actress Tonys in 2010. Now Viola is headed for a supporting trophy (for the same role) by Lynn Lee

If it’s Oscar season, there must be category fraud lurking somewhere.  This year most of the debate has centered around Viola Davis, whose barn-burner of a performance opposite Denzel Washington in Fences is a virtual lock ...for supporting actress gold.  There’s little doubt the decision to go supporting was driven by the perception that lead actress would be a much tougher road in an especially competitive year.  Still, it’s such a powerhouse turn that many Viola fans are justifiably frustrated by what looks like a cynical lack of faith in both her and the Academy.

And yet, having previously read the play and seen it performed on stage – though not the production that starred Viola and Denzel – I can’t help wondering if this is as open-and-shut a case of category fraud as it appears.  In terms of the weight and magnetism of Viola’s performance, it feels like a lead role.  But the way the role is written, as August Wilson conceived it, I think is a closer call...

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Lunchtime Poll: Viola & Meryl BFFs

Let's make the lunchtime poll a regular tradition! I'll ask you and sometimes Team Experience, too, a question that's currently hogging too much of my brain. You answer and we'll all feel less utterly alone in this vast cruel universe. Ready?

Today two questions about La Streep, just because. Here we go...

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Amy & Isabelle... and that perplexing Best Actress race.

Isabelle Huppert shared this lovely glamorous blur of two of our Best Actress Contenders at a Globe party on her Instagram account. Share worthy it is though our favorite part is Huppert's matter of fact no-frills captions which are usually "avec [insert celebrity's name]" brief. 

These two ginger beauties remind us that we've been playing with that Best Actress Chart all day and no combo of five women still feels quite right. Something's got to give. But we don't want to give any of them up! Now more than ever can't we cancel one of the male acting categories and just give them women another 5 slots?

Who do you think is stronger than the buzz suggests? I keep thinking Ruth Negga which is why I still am betting on her (for this update at least. We'll obviously have to revisit each chart for final predictions). And which leading lady is more vulnerable and could be a surprise miss? Sound off!

Who got the biggest Oscar boost from the Globes?

I'll be updating the Oscar charts once the Globe results have settled and the BAFTA nominations are thoroughly parsed. To do so we must ask the time old precursor awards question: who benefitted most from winning or losing at this speed bump on Oscar's highway (sorry for the clumsy metaphor -- I have driving on the brain due to La La Land's big deal opening number). Perhaps the obvious answer is Isabelle Huppert who has had a tremendous week winning the NSFC and the Globe and her movie winning the Globe, too, and finally passing the not insignificant $1 million mark at the box office (making it the one of the most successful foreign language film in the States this year.)

Moonlight's Best Picture win and La La Land's sweep (now the biggest Golden Globe winner of all time with 7 prizes) is perhaps the most "what does it mean?" prize. It's good news for both films obviously, at least for marketing purposes, but since Moonlight's was the last prize of the night and it had won no other awards, will it be anyone's "takeaway" from one of television's biggest awards nights? And do La La Land's seven prizes feel like overkill?

I grilled Team Experience who they thought benefitted from the Globe trophies...

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"It's pink and there are stars on it."

- Emma Stone when asked about her dress. (Early contender for quote of the evening. Are you watching the Golden Globes tonight?)

more Globes

Winner List | Jimmy Fallon La La Land Opening | Golden tweeting
 Emma vs. Isabelle | Ryan & Andrew Kiss-Kiss |  Best Dressed Men