On this Christmas day, my wish list includes Oscar nominations for the following five dark horse contenders. Are you listening, Santa? (Or at least, Academy members?)
Best Picture: Brothers
I’m well aware that Jim Sheridan’s latest drama has as many haters as it does fans. But to me it felt real and true from the first frame. It also contains the strongest performance of Natalie Portman’s career and the best kid acting I’ve ever seen.
Best Actor: Matt Damon, The Informant!
At this point, Damon seems like a good bet for a supporting nod for Invictus. And that’s fine. But his more impressive work was as the world’s worst whistle-blower in Steven Soderbergh’s out-there comedy. Bonus points for Damon’s impeccable voice-over work in the film.
Best Actress: Maya Rudolph, Away We Go
Playing a conflicted mom-to-be, Rudolph was as quiet and introspective as she was riotously funny impersonating Whitney or Oprah on Saturday Night Love.
Best Supporting Actor: Alec Baldwin, It’s Complicated
I’m flabbergasted that Baldwin’s scene-stealing performance opposite Meryl Streep isn’t gaining more traction. He’s witty, sympathetic, and nude: What more should Oscar voters want?
Best Supporting Actress: Mariah Carey, Precious
Okay, let the hateful comments begin, but I insist that Carey is a deserving contender for her brief turn as a dowdy social worker. Carey’s costars Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique are well on their way to scoring nominations. Considering their most memorable moments are with Carey, she should get in there too.
My other holiday wish? That you’ll follow me on Twitter (@davekarger) for Oscar updates throughout the season. What long-shot nominations are you wishing for?
Image credit: Damon: Claudette Barius; Baldwin: Melinda Sue Gordon
Love me a nude Alec Baldwin. Yum.
Mmmmm! Me too! Nothing’s hotter than nekkid Alec Baldwin with a MacBook hiding his nether-regions.
You know, Baldwin is still an attractive man, but damn…why did he let himself go as far as weight goes? You guys remember him in Miami Blues? The Hunt For Red October? His body was absolutely delicious-looking, and he was hairy!!! None of that metrosexual, manscaping crap! I wish he would lose at least 40 pounds! Oh, well…he is still hilarious and a great actor
No way, Telly! Alec’s extra weight makes him extra sexy. He carries it so well. You can take younger Alec, and I’ll take Alec here and now. Merry Christmas!
Its called going through hell with a divorce and a public custody battle (in his own words he aged 20 years).
that’s what you get for putting your wife and daughter through hell
Well to be honest, I still think he is sexy. It’s just that back when he was thinner, he looked like the ulitmate leading man…lean, talented, smooth, charming…I remember thinking that he would be the perfect Bruce Wayne… I think the last time he looked lean and hot, in that typical Hollywood way, was in a Streetcar Named Desire theatre production that was televised, opposite Jessica Lange…
I haven’t walked out of a movie in years… until I had the misfortune of seeing “Away We Go”. Talk about pretentious, preachy, stupid and most of all BORING AS HELL! Granted the cast are mostly all talented actors, the result is painfully bad cinema.
I believe I read that it was a body double – he didn’t want to do a nude scenel.
Alec Baldwin all the way.
He is sooooooo good opposite meryl Streep (who i adore!). The made such a good ‘couple’.
Even though he has put on a little weight, he is still hot and sexy, and this is coming from a 19 year old.
Best Picture: District 9
Best Director: Spike Jonze- Where the Wild Things Are
Best Actor: Peter Capaldi- In the Loop
Best Acress: Rachel Weisz- Brothers Bloom
Best Supporting Actor: Zach Galifinakis- The Hangover
Best Sopporting Actress: Catherine Keener- Where The Wild Things Are
i totally agree with spike jonze. where the wild things are hasn’t gotten enough recognition. it was such a beautifully shot movie. it should at least win best cinematography
You’ll change your mind after you see The White Ribbon.
District 9 – Took 2 hours (and more) of my life that I will never, ever get back. I don’t understand the hype. It was poorly acted, poorly directed and full of unsympathetic characters with a plot that just…well, I understand it was symbolic of apartheid in South Africa, I’m not stupid – but it was just crap. Sorry.
I enjoyed District 9 I got the impewaaion it was not only aparthied but of the settlements in th Gaza Strip.
Wrong.
It was symbolic of apartheid until they put Nigerians in the movie as stereotypical gang types obsessed with black magic. Then that whole argument went out the window.
Agree, Best Picture: District 9
Best Picture: The Blind Side
Supporting Actress: Marion Cotillard
Supporting Actress: Paula Patton
Best Actor: Quinton Aaron (Blind side?)
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock
I totally one hundred percent with Sandra Bullock getting best actress! She is the best but good luck to all contenders for every category!
Dave…Mariah Carey is quite good in her role…very convincing…but she just doesn’t have enough to do…the role is not substantial enough and it doesn’t have a wow moment…I’m in the Paula Patton camp…nominate this girl now academy! Maya, I love her too, just didn’t think she filled all those silent, internal moments…it felt like dead air sometimes. Would prefer Tilda Swinton in Julia or Charlotte Gainsbourg in Antichrist. Please academy members, if you’re listening, please nominate Joaquin Phoenix for Two Lovers in the Best Actor category!
i agree i love mariah and am VERY happy that she had a great role. however, it is not Oscar worthy. sorry
This movie definitely moved me away from being a Mariah hater, but I think an Oscar nomination is a bridge too far. Still, I think she gave a much better perfomance than Paula Patton, who is solid in her role but not particulalry dynamic. The one scene where she could have really delivered, when (SPOILER ALERT) Precious reveals she is HIV+, Patton tries to be emotional and poignant, but just doesn’t quite do it. Decent performances all around, but I think the only nominations should be Best Pic (please Santa if it’s not too late!), Best Actress Gabriella, and of course Best Support Monique.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt deserves a lot more love for (500) Days of Summer. I would also be very pleased for Michael Stuhlbarg.
Ok, Brothers? Mariah? and Maya? That’s are absolutely ridiculous choices! What are you thinking?
How about replacing them with “District 9″ for Picture, Robin Wright in “Private Lives of Pippa Lee” for actress and Judi Dench in “Nine” for supporting actress.
Karger, you are off your knocker. To much holiday nog is my guess. How about acknowledging some ACTUAL longshots, those that are not even close to being on the Academy’s radar.
Best Picture for Goodbye, Solo
Best Actor for John Malkovich in Disgrace
Best Actress for Tilda Swinton in Julia
Best Director: Tim Blake Nelson for Leaves of Grass
I have no idea why Tilda Swinton is not on the Oscar’s radar. She’s been getting rave for this role all year, and it’s not like she hasn’t been on their radar before. Weird.
Who cares? I like keeping her a secret. She’s been one of my absolute favorite actresses ever since Orlando. There’s no film she doesn’t make infinitely better by her presence.
Nobody saw the movie. That’s the problem with a lot of these pics, if the studio & marketing wasn’t behind the movie, nobody knows about them….I’m surprised the Hurt Locker is getting all the love, nobody knows what it is.
While I’m sure some self-serious Oscar-Watchers will carp like crazy at the idea of a pop star with a track record of cinematic atrocity as a worthy award contender, the fact that Mariah Carey gives a good performance in “Precious” is old news.
What’s perhaps a bigger invite for hateful comments is the idea that Alec Baldwin is a supporting actor in “It’s Complicated.” I haven’t seen the movie, and God willing I won’t, but nothing I’ve been reading about it has even hinted that he has less of a prominent role than Meryl Streep does.
By far, my favourite film this year was A Single Man. Nice of them to give Firth props, along with the screenplay, but where’s Ford’s reward for beautiful direction? And no best picture, even at the Globes?
I absolutely loved Maya Rudolph in “Away We Go” and was shocked that Lisa put it in her Worst of ’09 list. It was such a great film.
I was shocked too…even Lisa’s “scat” was like a dagger in my heart. a longshot, but even if the Academy doesn’t take notice, I’ll still love Maya.
Sam Rockwell in Moon deserves far more recognition. He and himself (if you’ve seen, you know what I mean) were in every scene and conveyed more depth and skill than any other performance this year. The movie deserved more attention.
So glad to see someone else recognize Moon and Sam Rockwell’s amazing performance. He’s definitely my choice for best actor this year.
My Oscar longshot hopeful is Zoe Saldana in Avatar. Sure, it was motion capture and voice acting, but without Zoe the character of Neytiri would have fallen flat! Zoe brought so much strength, passion, and emotion to the role that it was the most amazing performance all year. Zoe Saldana for Avatar I say!
You’ve got to be kidding? Next we’ll have a category for “voices” in cartoons…Eddie Murphy as Dunky…
Thank You! I completely agree, she moved me to tears several times, so much emotion in her character.
I personally enjoyed Mariah Carey’s performance more than Sibide’s. But I understand why other’s loved her so much (that being said, Mo’nique destroyed them both)
I’m very serious about my longshot’ winner. My choice is Meryl Streep…for sixteen times, perhaps, seventeen now, she has conquered every role, every accent, every twitch of a finger…singing, dancing, tugging at your heartstrings, wanting to throw popcorn at the screen when her character makes the audience hate her. She’s the finest actress of this or ANY century, but she’s constantly overlooked because, “Well, she’s already one two Oscars, one for supporting and the other for a lead…but honestly, her WORST performance (if there is such a thing) is always better than any of her competitors…and it’s time we honor her again for her bulk of work. Tom Hanks won twice in a row, Hillary Swank and Sally Field have two…Katherine Hepburn won FOUR. Why punish Streep? IF she’s the best…Give her the Oscar. What performance topped “Julie/Julia” this year or “Doubt” last year. Hollywood LOVES to give Oscars to one-trick ponies who make ONE good film their entire career and fall off the face of the entertainment globe. So Jennifer Hudson lost “American Idol”, but winning the Oscar IS NOT supposed to be a consolation prize. Streep won’t win because Oprah selected this year’s best actress AND supporting actress…both playing roles not too far from their own personal lives…but was it acting or were they doing what the director told them to do and a great film editor, selecting the best shots our of 100 takes.
You obviously know nothing about Meryl Streep’s career if you think she’s gone unrecognized by award committees. Wikipedia is your friend.
“Streep won’t win because Oprah selected this year’s best actress AND supporting actress…both playing roles not too far from their own personal lives” …. I’m breathing, counting to ten… counting to ten again… *sigh*… Did you just say what I think you said? Did I just read that correctly? *Re-reading fot the seventh time*… So, let me get this correctly, you say that Oprah picked this year’s best actress and best supporting actress. You can only infer that you are referring to Gaby Sidibe and Mo’Nique, respectively, from Precious. Oprah has certainly been in their corner. Signing on as a producer didn’t hurt. So, let’s be clear… that’s what you’re saying, right? Because, if so, you need to clarify the rest of that sentence… “both playing roles not too far from their own personal lives.” Are you personally friends with Sidibe and Mo’Nique? Do you know what kind of lives they have? Mo’Nique is a top comedienne. She makes millions; has a loving husband and newborn twins. Her character is a poverty-stricken, hateful single mother who doesn’t have anyone to love her. Show me the similarity there. Sidibe is an actress. A new one on the scene, but an actress nontheless. As far as I know, she’s not pregnant, nor illiterate, nor HIV-positive, nor was she twice a mother at the age of sixteen. You were slick with it: not overtly racist, but clearly so. How old are you? Do you even recognize the power of what you wrote? Do you realize how ignorant you sound? I would say more, but you disgust me. signed, 33 year old white man, MBA
ohmygodiloveyoujoe!!!!!!
Thanks for emphasizing the total absurdity of that comment, Joe.
and…
how many great performances by women of color do not get nominated or win.
and..
so many women of color don’t even get the chance to play great roles because hollywood doesn’t provide roles for them.
Oprah is not a good barometer of good movies. She has so many movies that stink yet she loves. Precious is one of the few movies she’s been ga ga over that is actually good.
damn Joe! that was a brilliant post! i agree w/ the Meryl love, but you said exactly what i wanted to say very well. props!
“both playing roles not too far from their own personal lives.” what an ignorant and prejudiced comment to make, and you probably don’t even know why.
You give Meryl Streep fans (and people who want Meryl to win) a bad name!
Sorry but the most “memorable” moments of Precious did not go anywhere NEAR Mariah Carey. They were all between Monique and Gabourey Sidibe (baby being thrown to the ground, TV almost landing on Precious’s head). And I’d even go so far as to say Precious’s hilarious Jamaican classmate is deserving of a Supporting Actress nod way before Mariah Carey ever would be. I’m sorry, but not donning make-up for a performance does not automatically equate with acting brilliance. Her barely-there performance was probably much longer in the editing room but cut to pieces when the producers realized that having an anal diva like Mariah play a dowdy, hardened case worker was the least realistic and worthwhile part of the movie. Big mistake in casting.
If everyone thought that a celebrity’s personality off-screen should match their on-screen persona then we’d have a pretty ridiculous film industry.
That being said, she was pretty great and I agree with Dave.
I agree with nihilistic… I think Karger put her name in there so people could click on his link. The 5 should be, Mo’Nique, Julianne Moore, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga and Melanie Laurent. Mariah?! really Dave, she is no Ellen Burstyn to be nominated for 5 minutes of screen time and I agree her scenes WERE important but I think you are more blinded by the fact that its Mariah up on the screen instead of anyone who couldve played that role.
I agree with Maya Rudolph for “Away We Go”
I’d also Like to see Joseph Gordon-Levett for “(500) Days Of Summer” as lead Actor
Spike Jonez For Best Director for “Wild Things”
Don’t Laugh but I would LOVE to see Betty White get a nom for her scene stealing turn in “The Proposal”
Ed Helms in “The Hangover”
and would really like to see “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” get a best picture nod!
Hangover. Academy Award. ROFLLMAO.
I agree, LMFAO!