And the Oscar for weakest category of the year goes to…Best Supporting Actor. I can’t recall another instance when an acting race had so few worthy contenders at this point in the year. Inglorious Basterds breakout Christoph Waltz became an instant frontrunner at Cannes, and Alfred Molina is a decent bet for his first career nod as An Education‘s strict dad. Ditto Stanley Tucci, who should score either for his killer role (literally) in The Lovely Bones or as Meryl Streep’s hubby in Julie & Julia. And…well, that’s basically it. The problem seems to be that many of the top overall contenders—Precious, Up in the Air, Nine—simply don’t have any meaty supporting male roles. (Up in the Air‘s Jason Bateman and Precious‘ Lenny Kravitz both do a fine job in tiny parts.) The supporting actress race, meanwhile, has an embarrassment of riches, thanks to the Precious triumvirate of Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey (seriously), and Paula Patton and Up in the Air‘s supporting standouts Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga; and though no one has seen Nine yet, it’s hard to imagine one or two of its cast won’t have a strong shot at making the cut.
So who could fill out the supporting actor ballot? Maybe Matt Damon for Clint Eastwood’s Mandela drama Invictus? George Clooney for the goofy Men Who Stare at Goats? Indie faves like Bright Star’s Paul Schneider or The Hurt Locker’s Anthony Mackie? Bill Murray is a classic scene stealer in the Toronto hit Get Low, but Sony Pictures Classics is planning a 2010 release for the film. That’s too bad: There will never be an easier path to an Oscar nomination again.
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Photo credit: François Duhamel
Christoph Waltz for the win!
He was AWESOME!
That’s a bingo!
Christoph Waltz is definately going to win, and i would go as far to say that it is better than the Heath Ledger Joker
I second that. As soon as I finished watching Inglourious Basterds, I told my husband, “Not only do I predict Christoph Waltz will be nominated, I predict he’ll win.” I’d also like to see Melanie Laurent for Supporting Actress.
lol at the Mariah Carey mention.
ummmm Dave….isn’t your Oscar coverage kinda ahead of itself by three months or so?????????? awards season is already overexposed as is …can’t you hold off on this stuff till January when it would be timely??
BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That would be a no.
I always start my Oscar speculations in September, no matter how much coworkers mock me for it.
I start thinking about new nominees the day after the show airs. It’s never to early to have a favorite front runner!
90% of the movies you mention haven’t shown in theaters yet. Should make for a lively discussion.
yes for stanley tucci in “the lovely bones”!! can’t wait to see the movie and i predict that it will be nominated(and possibly win) many awards, and that saiorse ronan will be nominated again like she was for “atonement”(which i still need to see). this awards season should be interesting.
“Ditto Stanley Tucci, who should score either for his killer role (literally) in The Lovely Bones”…man, I hope that isn’t a spoiler because I know NOTHING about that film yet!!!
Having read the book and seen the trailer, I’d say it’s a mild spoiler at worst.
Where were you for the 2 years the book was *insanely* popular? It’s about a dead girl who narrates from heaven. Hence someone killed her. It’s not a spoiler.
It’s a mild spoiler. Yeah, he gave away the killer’s identity, but the identity was never a secret of any kind in the book, either. Hell, the killer’s identity is given away in the FILM’S TRAILER.
I think Damon is a fair bet for Invictus, unless he’s bad, since I don’t think he can get in lead for The Informant!. I, unlike you, have not seen A Serious Man but I always imagined Richard Kind getting in as the unappreciated character actor vet, as well as Jeff Bridges in a similar vet-appreciation path for The Men Who Stare At Goats.
Christoph Waltz is a lock at this point to win it.
How about some love for popcorn flicks? These guys don’t have a shot in hell, but they’re worth consideration:
Jeffrey Dean Morgan “Watchmen”
Karl Urban “Star Trek
Mike Tyson “The Hangover” (kidding)
And for Best Supporting Actress, a woman whose worked in the business for decades and delivered a go-for-broke performance in one of the most mismarketed great movies of recent years:
Lorna Raver, “Drag Me To Hell”
Campaign starts now for you!
Okay..Maybe not Tyson as BSA. But definetly “The Tiger Song” for Best Orginal Song.
Even in a strong year, I’d say Christoph Waltz would be the frontrunner.
I wasn’t even finished reading when I thought of a suggestion, then you said it….Anthony Mackie in The Hurt Locker, most definitely. I think is a wonderful actor, and he was very good in a small role in Half Nelson as well a few years back. As much as I LOVED Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker, and he deserves any praise or nomination he gets, I think Mackie was the breakout performance of the film.
Got to agree and it wasn’t a tiny, barely there role like some of the others mentioned. It was a strong, meaty role. Hope both Renner & Mackie get the recognition they deserve and don’t get lost in the slew of late Oscar-baiting movies.
Mariah? oscar nomination??? wow youre really grasping at straws arent you??? seriously- this topic shouldnt even be happening until december… back off
You don’t think Mariah was great in Precious?
Paige, Dave is not the only one who was impressed with Mariah’s performance in “Precious”. People have been talking about her surprising role sense the film premiered at Sundance.
1. Everyone is raving about Mariah Carey in that role because she is so unglamorous in it. 2. If it’s too early why the hell did you read it? Paige… back off.
um, it would be awesome if Jason Bateman was nominated for Up in the Air. I know it’s a tiny role, but the Academy has given out awards for tiny roles. Judi Dench was in Shakespere in Love for a total of 8 minutes. Even better than that, Beatrice Straight basically won her Oscar for that one big fight scene as the jilted wife in Network. It has been done!
I second the suggestion for Karl Urban in Star Trek.
What about Jackie Earl Haley in Watchmen? He was, by far, the best thing about the movie.
You’re right! I have no idea why I thought of Jeffrey Dean Morgan over Jackie Earl Haley. Both were great, but Haley was the stand-out. The psycho-analysis scene in the prison was classic. “Clouds” “A pretty butterfly.”
How about Peter Capaldi for In the Loop or Jim Broadbent for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
Jim Broadbent is always good, but he gave an amazingly touching performance in “the Half-Blood Prince.”
Alan Arkin in ‘Sunshine Cleaning’ is worth mentioning or honoring too. As far as LOL for a Mariah nomination, but it’s true. She can act. She was pretty good in ‘Wisegirls’ years ago, and proves it, again, in ‘Precious’.