The Oscars' real people problem

by Cláudio Alves

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired of the biopic domination of the acting Oscar categories. Admittedly, such distaste comes from my general dislike of prestige cinema's biographical genre, but the situation is truly glaring. This year, 45% of the nominated performances are of real people whose lives were dramatized on-screen, exercises in actorly mimicry, and direct emulation. It's not that these achievements aren't impressive or worthy of awards, but that they're over-represented a great deal. Most narrative films aren't dramatizations of actual events or the lives of celebrities no matter how much AMPAS' selection might make us think otherwise. It's a pity that other kinds of character construction tend to be underappreciated while biopic roles become frontrunners before anyone has even seen the movie…

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Interview: Colman Domingo on "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and his slow burn career

This interview was originally published in an abridged version at Towleroad

a recent image from Colman's instagram

by Nathaniel R

Colman Domingo’s laugh is everything you hope it could be. Big, throaty, warm. It’s probably a little disarming for those who haven’t seen the full estimable range of his work and only know him from one of his tougher roles, like AMC’s zombie series  Fear the Walking Dead.  I first met him off the clock at a bar during the Toronto Film Festival a few years ago. Though I don’t usually approach celebrities in non-work circumstances I risked it if only to express appreciation (actors who’ve always been out of the closet deserve our respect). We ended up chatting over a drink. When I bring this chance meeting up, rather than shrugging off the awkward familiarity Colman begins to laugh. “We sure did!” he says enthusiastically before drifting into a familiar conversation — as so many of us have now — about how much he misses meeting and hugging people in person.

We spoke over Zoom in February, almost a year into the pandemic...

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What's the worst case of "category fraud"?

by Cláudio Alves

Some people don't care about "category fraud" and that's understandable. I'm a big proponent of just being happy that great artists are honored, ignoring the categorization of their work, especially when it's all so subjective. However, when it comes to the Oscar acting prizes, it does feel wrong that awards specifically created to honor character actors are now regularly dominated by stars in leading roles. Instead of opening avenues to highlight those performers with less narratively-prominent parts, the Supporting categories have become a way for leading actors that couldn't crack the leading prizes to still win gold. This game of fraudulent campaigning may have just hit its apex with this year's slew of Best "Supporting" Actor and Actress nominees.

To organize my thoughts and hopefully make the arguments clearer, here's a ranking of the "category fraud" cases of the year from least to most egregious. This is all subjective, though I'd side-eye anyone who tried to argue for the legitimacy of that top choice... 

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Final Oscar Nom Predix Pt 2: Acting, International, Docs, Shorts, etc...

Previously: Best Picture and Visuals

We really wish we'd started these final predictions earlier but there is no end to the overthinking one can do -- is there? -- when races are tight.  So perhaps it's for the best that we just have to do this and commit. For instance, we've already changed one prediction in both Cinematography (out: Chicago 7, in: Judas) & Sound (out: Tenet, in: Nomadland) to riskier options since last night -- which is probably foolish  but we're living recklessly! Okay, on to complete the final predictions (index of all of them here) with discussions of the acting categories, short categories, documentary, animated, and international features after the jump...

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Almost There: Anthony Hopkins in "The Lion in Winter"

by Cláudio Alves

As the Oscar nomination morning approaches, it seems certain that Anthony Hopkins is about to receive his sixth nod. Seeing as he's considered a wizened old thespian of stage and screen, it may be difficult to recall the days when he, like so many others, was a young actor. In 1968, Hopkins was nearing his 30th birthday when his second ever feature premiered. Thanks to that film, he got the first brush with film awards and might have even come close to an Oscar nomination. In Anthony Harvey's adaptation of James Goldman's The Lion in Winter, Hopkins plays Richard, future king of England, son of Henry II…

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