Image credit: Ken Regan
For weeks now I’ve been comparing Clint Eastwood’s upcoming drama Hereafter to 2006′s Babel, since they both include three distinct storylines that end up intersecting by the end of the film. (And because I loved both movies.) Now I’ve just received word from Warner Bros.’ awards consultant that Matt Damon will be campaigned in the lead actor category despite appearing in less than half of the film. By contrast, the entire cast of Babel was touted in the supporting categories. (Brad Pitt, Adriana Barraza, and Rinko Kikuchi earned Golden Globe nominations, while Barraza and Kikuchi repeated at the Oscars.)
This news surprises me, I have to admit. Maybe because I’m so into the Hereafter/Babel comparison, I’m feeling like the Academy strategy should be the same for both. But if you look at Hereafter‘s billboards, it’s clear the studio is selling the film as a Matt Damon vehicle, so this decision is consistent with the marketing plan. And by placing him in lead for Hereafter, Warner Bros. conveniently avoids vote-splitting with Damon’s supporting turn in the Coen brothers’ True Grit. (Did you see the trailer? It looks great.)
The bad news? He’ll have less of a shot at a nomination in lead, which is a shame, since he delivers a solid, emotional performance as a construction worker struggling to deal with his unwanted psychic abilities. But teaming with Eastwood in last year’s Invictus scored him a nod (albeit for supporting actor), so they’re clearly a formidable pair.
Matt Damon deserves every award he could possibly win and maybe a few more.
agreed dude.
I’m just happy it’s another fabulous year for Matt, one of the world’s sweetest and most talented people.
When I first heard that Matt Damon was supporting in Hereafter, I was surprised because the trailers clearly lead you to believe that he is the main character in the film. The fact that he is in less than 50% of the film is clear that he should be submitted in the Supporting Actor category. I really don’t like these Oscar politics when actors and actresses are placed in categories they don’t belong in for various reasons. This situation is reminding me a bit of Kate Winslet’s situation for The Reader. They tried to campaign her for Supporting Actress to avoid having her compete with herself (her lead performance in Revolutionary Road). But the Academy placed her performance in The Reader in the lead category regardless of her campaign. Maybe the Academy won’t care and will disregard Damon’s campaign and place him in the Supporting Actor category where he belongs.
Or maybe he won’t end up getting nominated.
As long as he gets in for True Grit, I’m fine.
That’s interesting. I’ve tried to keep up on some of the buzz coming out of the festival (to hear tell of it, Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush both have it in the bag for The King’s Speech), and one of the threads I’ve seen consistently is that Hereafter isn’t going to be that big of an Oscar factor.
Clint Eastwood directed it, and the Academy loves anything he does. The movie is practically gauranteed Oscar attention.
Not necessarily. Gran Torino was completely ignored. Not sure why nominations are being talked about for films that few people have seen. I had no idea Matt Damon was not the star of this film, so what are they trying to hide.
They aren’t trying to hide anything, they are trying to sell a movie that other than Damon is filled with people that one here in America has ever heard of.
Colin Firth seems like a frontrunner. However Rush will have competition with Renner (The Town) and Broadbent (Another Year).
From the trailer, this movie does not look all that promising.
He is going for lead because he is going to go for supporting for True Grit.
He should have won Good Will Hunting! But True Grit will be a good chance for him to win. And for Hereafter, Idk about Best Actor, but what do I know?
Matt Damon = great actor, even better person
and don’t even get me started on Good Will Hunting…Matt was AMAZING in that film, of course he has turned in great work since then, I personally can’t find anything that compares, perhaps it might be because the storyline for that film just clicked really well.
In short, Matt Damon does not get recognized enough for the great performances he puts out there. As for “Hereafter” itself, I guess we’ll have to wait and see,
Agree wholeheartedly about Matt. Go back and look at GWH and it’s still an absolute knock out. He didn’t win then because people said, “oh, he’s too young, he can win later if he’s so good.” Well, he IS so good and the time is NOW. He wasn’t even nominated for The Informant or Talented Mr Ripley or The Good Shepherd, which are almost insults.
Colin Firth is a good actor BUT basically cold and boring. Let’s face it, the critics give him a pass for the horrible movies he makes and the public don’t care about him.
I’m going to assume you haven’t seen A Single Man.
I completely agree.
What?!?!
Seriously? This movie looks terrible.
Please, Matt will not be nominated for this movie .