Tuesday, February 10, 1998: Part II
Continuing my lone analysis of the Oscar nominations as announced today. And keep your eyes
open for a special Oscars resource page to open up here very soon.
Best Actress
Helena Bonham Carter, "The Wings of the Dove
Julie Christie, "Afterglow"
Judi Densch, "(Her Majesty) Mrs. Brown)"
Helen Hunt, "As Good As It Gets"
Kate Winslet, "Titanic"
Some interesting choices here. First off, I continue to believe that Kate Winslet's work in
"Titanic" is vastly overrated. Not only does she lack a gift for any subtlety whatsoever, but there
are moments when she is quite obviously OVERACTING in a very annoying way. It's like
DiCaprio could reach a natural level of intensity, but Winslet has to fake intensity to match him,
and there are moments when she fakes too much and overshoots DiCaprio's skill, launching
herself into self-parody. Nasty stuff.
BUT, Christie, Carter, and Densch are all solid choices. Hunt would seem to be the odds-on
favorite, coming off her win at the Golden Globes, but a Winslet upset is not at all out of the
question. It's a shame that Pam Grier from "Jackie Brown" couldn't squeeze into Winslet's place;
Winslet really doesn't deserve the nomination, in my opinion.
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Forster, "Jackie Brown"
Anthony Hopkins, "Amistad"
Greg Kinnear, "As Good As It Gets"
Burt Reynolds, "Boogie Nights"
Robin Williams, "Good Will Hunting"
I'm really glad to see that Robin Williams got a nod here for "Good Will Hunting," though I don't
believe the orgy of award nominations for this film are completely merited. Williams did amazing
work in "Hunting" and deserves the nod. Also good to see that the "Amistad" shut-out (sure to
be a deep point of controversey in the African-American community) didn't extend to Anthony
Hopkins' stunning work in the movie. One has to wonder why Djimon Honsou was overlooked
for this category. The Academy can't overcome its fetish for old white guys, I guess.
Forster is a very cool choice, though it's a disappointment that this is the only nomination for
"Jackie Brown." Kinnear, Reynolds. . .both make perfect sense. Still, one has to wonder where
all those fantastic male actors from "L.A. Confidential" are on this list. Spacey at the very least
deserved a nod, as his work as Jack Vincennes really was masterful in that movie. Come to think
of it, James Cromwell and Russell Crowe both are deserving of nods for their work in
"Confidential." I'd say these are good nominations in a very tough category to figure out,
though.
Best Supporting Actress
Kim Basinger, "L.A. Confidential"
Joan Cusack, "In & Out"
Minnie Driver, "Good Will Hunting"
Julianne Moore, "Boogie Nights"
Gloria Stuart, "Titanic"
Lotsa problems here. First and most obvious, CUSACK?! Since when does blubbering and arm-
flailing qualify one to win an Academy Award? A decent comic role, but nothing to reward with
even an Oscar nomination. Still, the Academy has a tradition for finding quirky women's roles to
stick in this category, perhaps as a way of rewarding offbeat movies or just making stupid-ass
choices. Remember Marisa Tomei and Mercedes Rhuel and Dianne Weist?
Then there's this sticky Gloria Stuart issue. It's nice to see her pick up a nomination, BUT her
nomination practically assures that she has an amazing chance of winning. She's really old, she's
tottered out of retirement to pick up this role, and she doesn't have an Oscar yet. On the other
hand, this was presumably Lauren Bacall's formula for a shoe-in last year, before her statuette was
robbed by a gleeful Juliette Binoche. And where is ANYONE from "Eve's Bayou" on this
list?
Best Director
Peter Cattaneo for "The Full Monty"
Gus Van Sant for "Good Will Hunting"
Curtis Hanson for "L.A. Confidential"
Atom Etgoyan for "The Sweet Hereafter"
James Cameron for "Titanic"
Perhaps the most controversial of categories this year, if only because veterans doing great (or
at least Oscar-worthy) work like Spielberg, Scorcese, and Woody Allen were stepped over in
favor of the director of "The Full Monty," Peter Cattaneo. This is a huge upset and a major
oversite, a real bonehead play. Not only is Cattaneo not deserving of this award for his work on
"Monty" (what did he do to distinguish himself? Say "Strip," then "action"?), but he recieved this
nomination over some really worthy veterans, as well as a few worthy newcomers (the director of
"Gattaca" comes to mind, though his name escapes me).
It's really good to see "The Sweet Hereafter" get SOME nomination. Atom Etgoyan may be the
most deserving candidate on the list. But if Cameron doesn't get this, I'll eat my own feces.
I'm off to work on the Oscars page, then head to dinner. Catch ya later.