"The Color Purple" and the Best Supporting Actress Oscar History

by Cláudio Alves

A shadow of uncertainty has loomed over the awards season for a long time. It was the enigma of a major contender yet unwatched until last week when the first screenings of The Color Purple movie musical finally took place. Now, it feels like the race is truly on, with the Blitz Bazawule's picture firmly established in the run for gold. And of the categories it might compete in, Best Supporting Actress is the surest bet. Indeed, some folk are already predicting Danielle Brooks for a sweeping victory thanks to Sofia, the sing-and-dance version of the same role that earned Oprah Winfrey a nomination 38 years ago. On stage, both Brooks and Felicia P. Fields have earned nods for the part, too. But will Taraji P. Henson's Shug Avery follow her into the 96th Academy Awards ballot? 

These matters make one think about the history of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, its embrace of musicals, and its propensity for nominating multiple people from the same film…

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Wyler, Kazan, Ashby, Scorsese – Who's Next?

by Cláudio Alves

Barbra Streisand in FUNNY GIRL was the last performance William Wyler directed to an Oscar win.

As stated in the Scorsese at the Oscars write-up, the Killers of the Flower Moon auteur is one of only four directors to have helmed Academy Award-winning performances in all acting categories. The others are William Wyler, Elia Kazan, and Hal Ashby, with the former having the record to end all records. Across 32 years, Wyler directed fourteen victorious turns, including multiple champions in the four races. Such a feat won't likely be equaled, but that doesn't mean the quartet is bound to stay put forever. Some directors are on the cusp of joining the ranks of Wyler, Kazan, Ashby, and Scorsese…

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The Apology Nomination

by Cláudio Alves

Sometimes, even the Academy thinks they messed up. That's how you get what I like to call "apology nominations," crucially different from "career nominations" because they come in response to one or more specific slights in the recent past. They are the honors that resound with an echoing sorry if you ring them just right, and there's no better example than Paul Giamatti's 2005 Best Supporting Actor nomination for Cinderella Man. After his shocking Sideways snub, one feels he would have been included for anything remotely Oscar-friendly.

It doesn't mean this reliable character actor didn't deserve it, of course, but there's a narrative quirk to how he got there, a faint sense that AMPAS was making up for a mistake. Now that Giamatti's back in the race with The Holdovers, it got me thinking about other cases of the phenomenon in the years since Cinderella Man…

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Is it finally Blunt's time?

by Cláudio Alves

With Pain Hustlers new on Netflix, Emily Blunt continues to stake her claim in 2023. Indeed, we're heading into an awards season that could end with the British actress becoming, at long last, an Academy Award-nominated thespian. For over a decade, she has persisted as a contender who never makes it to the finish line, stranded with precursor support but no love from AMPAS itself. Hell, when the Almost There series eventually comes back, one could dedicate an entire month, if not more, to Blunt's many failed bids – from The Young Victoria to her SAG-winning turn in A Quiet Place. Keep in mind that The Devil Wears Prada, arguably her most egregious snub, was already covered a while ago.

In any case, hopes are high for Blunt fans, even if few would argue her performance in Oppenheimer represents the height of her talents. Not that it's any sort of meritless hack job…

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Category Confusion: LEAD or SUPPORTING?

by Cláudio Alves

The Gotham nominations caused quite a stir among the Film Experience readership. Going through the comments section, the matter at hand is category fraud: who is and isn't guilty of perpetrating it going into the awards season? For instance, I would have categorized Ryan Gosling as a secondary lead in Barbie, but I've been convinced by the comments that he fits better in supporting. Other cases discussed included Binoche's Gotham-nominated work in Taste of Things, Whishaw in Passages, Hüller in Zone of Interest, and beyond. 

So, why not relocate that discussion here while having fun with polls? You get to vote, deciding on each performer's rightful placement…

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