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How the hell did they ever win an Oscar for that?!

I'll start with Helen Hayes. Supporting actress winner for Airport in 1970. A truly awful and cringe worthy performance that can only be explained as a show of respect for a veteran older actress. What are some of your choices? Feel free to include any Oscar category.

by Anonymousreply 239August 20, 2019 10:43 PM

That screechy girl in the Woody Allen film.

Lee Grant..Shampoo

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 1August 24, 2014 6:28 PM

Diane Keaton for that shitty "Annie Hall". She should've been nominated and won one for "Looking for Mr. Goodbar". Hell, even "Baby Boom" was an Oscar-winning performance compared to that shitty "Annie Hall".

by Anonymousreply 2August 24, 2014 6:29 PM

R2 = Mia Farrow

by Anonymousreply 3August 24, 2014 6:31 PM

R3 = Lame

by Anonymousreply 4August 24, 2014 6:33 PM

James Earl Jones.

by Anonymousreply 5August 24, 2014 6:33 PM

GOOP owns this thread.

by Anonymousreply 6August 24, 2014 6:34 PM

This has been done to death.

Can you possibly imagine otherwise, OP?

by Anonymousreply 7August 24, 2014 6:36 PM

Y'all forgot about me???

by Anonymousreply 8August 24, 2014 6:36 PM

And y'all forgot about me, too!

by Anonymousreply 9August 24, 2014 6:43 PM

That Streep broad in "Sophie's Choice".

Completely unconvincing.

by Anonymousreply 10August 24, 2014 6:46 PM

W&W for R10.

by Anonymousreply 11August 24, 2014 6:48 PM

Judy Dench fo Shakespeare in Love. She was in the film for five minutes. I love her but please.

by Anonymousreply 12August 24, 2014 10:56 PM

Not another one of these threads! The hate toward these talented performers who devote their lives to your entertainment is just appalling.

by Anonymousreply 13August 24, 2014 10:59 PM

Eight minutes, r12. And Beatrice Straight won for two minutes less.

by Anonymousreply 14August 24, 2014 11:00 PM

Estelle Parsons in Bonnie and Clyde

Worst. thing. in. the. movie. Wonder what Faye thought about her win.

by Anonymousreply 15August 24, 2014 11:00 PM

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for Good Will Hunting. It's common knowledge in Hollywood that their original screenplay was unfilmable and was rewritten.

by Anonymousreply 16August 24, 2014 11:11 PM

R5 James Earl Jones never won in a competitive category. Only Oscars that were won not given count.

by Anonymousreply 17August 24, 2014 11:18 PM

Dustin Hoffman for Tootsie. I hated him (and her).

by Anonymousreply 18August 24, 2014 11:39 PM

What did he do to merit a special Oscar that Doris Day didn't do?

by Anonymousreply 19August 24, 2014 11:40 PM

Marisa Tomei for My cousin Vinny & Whoopi for Ghost

Kevin Spacey for American Beauty over Denzel Washington?

by Anonymousreply 20August 24, 2014 11:41 PM

Hoffman didn't win for Tootsie. His Oscar for Rainman, though...

by Anonymousreply 21August 24, 2014 11:46 PM

Good. Thanks, R21.

by Anonymousreply 22August 24, 2014 11:50 PM

Roberto Benigni

by Anonymousreply 23August 24, 2014 11:51 PM

Does anyone remember Denzel in "The Hurricane" fifteen years later? He was fine, but that's one of those check-the-boxes failed Oscar-bait that is forgotten once the nominations are announced.

by Anonymousreply 24August 24, 2014 11:52 PM

You have to remember that a lot of these 'wins' are really make-up Oscars for previous, and unfair losses; others are de facto lifetime achievement awards. Dench only won because she lost undeservedly for Mrs Brown to the excreable Helen Hunt.

Paul Newman won for that lousy Color of Money because he'd been nominated so many times the Academy was embarrassed and just threw him the Oscar. Ditto Martin Scorsese for the mediocre "The Departed". And Geraldine Page won for torturing a handkerchief in The Trip to Bountiful when she had plenty of better performances nominated earlier in her career. Does anyone really believe that

Don Ameche won for the wretched Cocoon, and Jack Palance for the terrible City Slickers. Al Pacino's only Oscar is for Scent of a Woman. Does anyone even remember that silly film, except to satirise it? Zellweger won for torturing a Southern accent in "Cold Mountain", when she should have won for "Chicago" (she was beaten by Nicole Kidman's supporting role in The Hours, which was barely competent).

by Anonymousreply 25August 25, 2014 12:03 AM

Again, Denzel didn't win for The Hurricane. People, Wikipedia is your friend.

by Anonymousreply 26August 25, 2014 12:04 AM

Josephine Hull for HARVEY ... enuf said

by Anonymousreply 27August 25, 2014 12:08 AM

Helen Hayes actually delivered a charming turn as the sweet old lady con in Airport. But truth be told, Maureen Stapleton's searingly raw and heartbreaking performance as the bomber's wife was the true revelation. It was like she was acting in a different, more worthy film.

by Anonymousreply 28August 25, 2014 12:12 AM

As much i as like Dorothy Malone performance in Written on the Wind, Mercedes McCambridge was robbed for her performance in Giant

by Anonymousreply 29August 25, 2014 12:15 AM

Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side

by Anonymousreply 30August 25, 2014 12:22 AM

R26, I should have been more clear that I was responding to the suggestion that Denzel should have beaten Spacey.

"American Beauty" may not have the reputation it did in 1999, but unlike "The Hurricane" it hasn't been completely forgotten.

by Anonymousreply 31August 25, 2014 12:24 AM

then we have all those Disney songs that have faded into oblivion.

by Anonymousreply 32August 25, 2014 12:48 AM

Dorothy Malone should have won a bushel basket of Oscars for Written on the Wind. Likewise, McCambridge should have won same for Johnny Guitar.

by Anonymousreply 33August 25, 2014 12:52 AM

He didn't win r18.

by Anonymousreply 34August 25, 2014 12:54 AM

You're a bit late to the party, R34.

by Anonymousreply 35August 25, 2014 12:56 AM

oh ok r35. I had non-refreshed browser issues.

by Anonymousreply 36August 25, 2014 12:59 AM

R33. what about us? Not even a damn penmanship medal!

by Anonymousreply 37August 25, 2014 1:01 AM

Kim Basinger, hands down. Over cokehead mama in "Boogie Nights", no less. I have never understood it; she wasn't even popular with the A crowd, once told Neil Simon he couldn't write comedy, etc.

I was glad Gloria Stuart didn't steal an "honorary" deathbed one. But, come on, that "Boogie Nights" performance is still amazing.

by Anonymousreply 38August 25, 2014 1:31 AM

It's obviously a popularity contest . . . Oscar night is equal to the lamest prom with the "Home Cumming Queen" and "That Jock-type Stud Guy" as the best actress/best actor. Best director equals the dweeb teacher who "makes all the difference" to the difficult/hard-to-reach students *sob*

by Anonymousreply 39August 25, 2014 1:36 AM

Mira Sorvino for "Mighty Aphrodite"....Oscar just can't lose its hardon for moderately talented supporting actresses playing whores.

And Judy Parfitt who was so astonishing in "Dolores Claiborne" wasn't even NOMINATED.

Travesty.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 40August 25, 2014 1:54 AM

ARGO? best movie of that year was the grey, then flight, neither nominated for best pic btw!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 41August 25, 2014 1:57 AM

Estelle Parsons is incredibly grating in Bonnie and Clyde. She makes the film unwatchable.

by Anonymousreply 42August 25, 2014 1:58 AM

true grit too, john wayne had so many better performances.

by Anonymousreply 43August 25, 2014 1:58 AM

r30 seconded, damn you jesse james making her a superstar.

by Anonymousreply 44August 25, 2014 1:59 AM

Judi Dench, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (should've been Lynn Redgrave for GODS & MONSTERS)

Beatrice Straight, NETWORK (should've been Piper Lauire, CARRIE)

I loathe glorified cameos winning! Straight's character really didn't have anything to do with the rest of the film. Her husband cheating is not much of a subplot, since she only has a 5-minute scene/monolog about it in a two-hour film, and she's never seen nor heard from again.

Dench had more scenes in her 8 minutes, but they were shorter, just enough for her to make a few quips. And that's it.

Terrible wins, both.

by Anonymousreply 45August 25, 2014 2:00 AM

Can someone use R7's head to clean her over-filled cat boxes? She has been running around the DL bitching about threads like a senile old cunt swearing the news on the evening news is a repeat of things she saw last year.

Cunt.

by Anonymousreply 46August 25, 2014 2:00 AM

Reese Witherspoon. Her win over Felicity Huffman (or anyone else, for that matter) was a travesty.

by Anonymousreply 47August 25, 2014 2:00 AM

Gloria Graham in "The Bold and the Beautiful" still mystifies me.

by Anonymousreply 48August 25, 2014 2:00 AM

R42, how come?

by Anonymousreply 49August 25, 2014 2:00 AM

R44, what? Bullock was a superstar a good ten years before she met James, who's never been more than a C-list reality TV star.

by Anonymousreply 50August 25, 2014 2:04 AM

Marisa Tomei was fucking brilliant in My Cousin Vinny.

by Anonymousreply 51August 25, 2014 2:05 AM

Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. He should have won for a number of other roles, but when the Academy finally decided to do it, there wasn't much of left of his career to find an appropriate vehicle. This scene-chewing embarrassment was the best they could find.

by Anonymousreply 52August 25, 2014 2:06 AM

I think they mean that she was given the award out of pity because the freak cheated on her, R50 and she cried or something . . .

by Anonymousreply 53August 25, 2014 2:08 AM

r50 she became the "it" girl and survivor after the cheating scandal.

by Anonymousreply 54August 25, 2014 2:11 AM

Many of the older Oscars, being studio trade-offs as apart from sentimental lifetime achievement nods, were bad. Helen Hayes in "The Sin of Madelon Claudet" was just as bad as she was in "Airport." And Mary Pickford was hideous in "The Divorcee."

Josephine Hull wasn't the worst. And it was just a supporting award.

Pacino in "Scent of a Woman" was horrible. As was Kidman, Whoopi Goldberg (deserved Best Actress it for COLOR PURPLE), Denzel "I can't act but you MUST watch me" Washington, Halle Berry, John Wayne, Helen Hunt, Adrien Brody, Renee Zellwegger, Paltrow, Jennifer "I'm Special and Can't Close My Mouth" Hudson, Goop, Holly Hunter….. The list seems endless.

Worst of all time: Roberto Benigni.

by Anonymousreply 55August 25, 2014 2:13 AM

Nicole Kidman owns this thread. Never was an Oscar more unjustly awarded.

by Anonymousreply 56August 25, 2014 2:14 AM

R53, but the whole cheating scandal didn't blow up until AFTER the ceremony. Bullock didn't even reveal that she had adopted a black kid until April, when she could've used that to her advantage since she won for a movie about a white family who adopts a black kid.

But none of that was public knowledge during awards season. Though I don't think she necessarily deserved it -- though better her than Streep, who was obviously runner up for JULIE & JULIA -- she won mainly because her movie was a humongous success and she'd had a banner year (THE PROPOSAL was another hit that summer) and she's likalbe and the industry wanted to show their gratitude.

by Anonymousreply 57August 25, 2014 2:17 AM

denzel is a very good actor. He makes evry movie he is better, unbreakable would've been corny as hell, same with training day, and remember the titans. I don't get the hate. Now 2 overrated black actors are Samuel l Jackson and morgan freeman. Completely one dimensional angry bad negro and the wise old negro.

by Anonymousreply 58August 25, 2014 2:17 AM

Sorry, but I think Basinger and Tomei's Oscars were well-deserved. But I agree Witherspoon's performance was completely average. It was on par with any Lifetime movie performance. Same with Bullock in the Blind Side. She's fine in it, but it's a completely pedestrian movie.

by Anonymousreply 59August 25, 2014 2:18 AM

[quote]Mira Sorvino for "Mighty Aphrodite"....Oscar just can't lose its hardon for moderately talented supporting actresses playing whores.

Mira Sorvino won because Oliver Stone refused to send out tapes of Nixon an d insisted people see it in theaters.

Joan Allen should have won for it but she got screwed by Stone's stubbornness.

by Anonymousreply 60August 25, 2014 2:31 AM

"Kevin Spacey for American Beauty over Denzel Washington?"

I thought Richard Farnsworth should have won that year for his lovely performance in "The Straight Story."

by Anonymousreply 61August 25, 2014 2:37 AM

R58 - Denzel Washington wasn't in Unbreakable. Are you thinking of Samuel L Jackson - who looks/act/talks nothing like Denzel?

by Anonymousreply 62August 25, 2014 2:40 AM

R60, Sorvino won Golden Globe and Critics Choice and Winslet won SAG, so I think it was between them.

by Anonymousreply 63August 25, 2014 2:45 AM

[quote]And Mary Pickford was hideous in "The Divorcee.

Especially since it was Norma Shearer who won for "The Divorcee".

I am going to commit a little DL sacrilege here, but I think Joel Grey did not deserve to win for "Cabaret". Of course he was great singing and dancing, but he had like two spoken lines. To the degree he was creepy, that had more to do with Fosse's shooting of the scenes rather than any acting that Grey did. Pacino was robbed.

by Anonymousreply 64August 25, 2014 2:48 AM

Halle Berry in "Monsters Ball"

Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook"

Cher in "Moonstruck"

Gwyneth Paltrow in "Shakespeare in Love"

Julia Roberts in "Erin Brockovich"

Tatum O'Neal in "Paper Moon"

Whoopi Goldberg in "Ghost"

Mira Sorvino in "Might Aphrodite"

Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny"

Penelope Cruz in "Vicky Christina Barcelona"

Roberto Benigni in "Life Is Beautiful"

Nicole Kidman in "The Hours"

Charlize Theron in "Monster"

Helen Hunt in "As Good As It Gets"

Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets"

Jack Nicholson in "Terms of Endearment"

Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man"

Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump"

Michael Caine in "Hannah and her Sisters"

Michael Caine in "The Cider House Rules"

Mercedes Ruehl in "The Fisher King"

Angelina Jolie in "Girl, Interrupted"

by Anonymousreply 65August 25, 2014 2:49 AM

Helen Hunt in "As Good as it Gets"

Richard Dreyfuss "The Goodbye Girl"

by Anonymousreply 66August 25, 2014 2:51 AM

Very few people complain about her winning but I hate Louise Fletcher's oscar win. She was probably just riding the One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest popularity wave but her role was clearly a supporting one and I didn't find her performance special at all (in fact, I think she came off as slightly wooden). And I don't get why Nurse Ratched become one of the most famous movie villains of all times. I didn't even think her character was evil, she was just a stuck up bitch nurse doing her job.

by Anonymousreply 67August 25, 2014 2:53 AM

Again with the fucking lists. That's what kills threads are lists of seventy things.

by Anonymousreply 68August 25, 2014 2:53 AM

R64, yeah, Grey was a surprise for me, too. I watched CABARET in 2000 and learned later that he won. His character had absolutely no characterization. As you said, he merely sang a few songs and had a couple spoken lines, but other than that he didn't do anything. Just last week, on the Movie Awards board at IMDb, a lot of people were expressing their approval for his win and that he was all-time worthy. I was dumbfounded.

by Anonymousreply 69August 25, 2014 2:54 AM

I can't imagine anyone other than Joel Grey playing the Emcee in the film version of Cabaret. His was a brilliant performance. R69, your statement that "he merely sang a few songs and had a couple spoken lines" indicate that you don't understand what acting in musicals is about.

by Anonymousreply 70August 25, 2014 2:58 AM

JLaw for Silver Linings Playbook

McBongo for Dallas Buyers Club

Natalie Portman for Black Swan

Sandra Bullock for Blind Side

Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line

Tom Cruise for Rain Man

Tom Hanks for Philadephia

Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

by Anonymousreply 71August 25, 2014 2:59 AM

R71, Tom Cruise didn't win for Rain Man. Dustin Hoffman did.

by Anonymousreply 72August 25, 2014 3:00 AM

Cruise wasn't even nominated for RAIN MAN.

by Anonymousreply 73August 25, 2014 3:02 AM

Denzel in Training Day over Russell Crowe in Beautiful Mind is mind boggling.

by Anonymousreply 74August 25, 2014 3:04 AM

[quote]I can't imagine anyone other than Joel Grey playing the Emcee in the film version of Cabaret. His was a brilliant performance. [R69], your statement that "he merely sang a few songs and had a couple spoken lines" indicate that you don't understand what acting in musicals is about.

I agree with your first two sentences. Did I say "merely" or "a few"?

No.

I totally understand what "acting in musicals is about". We were just subjected to an exercise on how it's not done by watching Carrie Underwood in "The Sound Of Music". But all his acting was on a stage, not as a character in his own right. He was more a symbol than a character.

by Anonymousreply 75August 25, 2014 3:05 AM

R71

Oh yeah that's right he won a GG for Jerry Maguire, my bad!

by Anonymousreply 76August 25, 2014 3:06 AM

Sorry, r70. I thought you were talking to me.

Louise Fletcher - no one complains because no one even remembers she won!! Good call though.

by Anonymousreply 77August 25, 2014 3:07 AM

I actually thought Tom Cruise gave one of his best performances in Rain Man. Better than Dustin Hoffman. He's not a "great actor" but he was perfect in that role.

by Anonymousreply 78August 25, 2014 3:09 AM

[quote]Judy Dench fo Shakespeare in Love. She was in the film for five minutes. I love her but please.

She was really embarrassed about it -- I remember.

by Anonymousreply 79August 25, 2014 3:20 AM

R79, yet she still showed up, so not that embarrassed. She hasn't bothered to attend the last two times she was nominated -- MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, NOTES ON A SCANDAL.

by Anonymousreply 80August 25, 2014 3:27 AM

Tom hooper-The king's speech

That statue belonged to david fincher my friend.

by Anonymousreply 81August 25, 2014 3:34 AM

I thought Marisa Tomei was fantastic in My Cousin Vinny. That's *exactly* the type of performance the Best Supporting Actress is meant to reward.

by Anonymousreply 82August 25, 2014 3:36 AM

R82, I agree.

by Anonymousreply 83August 25, 2014 3:38 AM

[quote]Especially since it was Norma Shearer who won for "The Divorcee".

And didn't she stink up the screen in that turkey. But, then again she was married to Irving Thalberg who was intimately involved in the creation of the Oscars. MGM practically bought ever Oscar for the first 10 years of the Academy's existence.

by Anonymousreply 84August 25, 2014 3:40 AM

R82, exactly. Tomei's performance is the definition of a supporting role. She was a scene stealer but still a minor role.

It wasn't a makeup award (like Dench's) nor a career win (like Straight's) nor an obvious lead committing category fraud (like Tatum O'Neal).

by Anonymousreply 85August 25, 2014 3:55 AM

R21 that actually woud have been a great win.

And I actually like Denzel's TD win much more then his first one.

by Anonymousreply 86August 25, 2014 3:56 AM

Celeste Holm's oscar was a joke. I watched Gentleman's Agreement twice and I honestly don't even remember her being in it.

Anna Paquin's oscar is another mystery to me. It was a tiny role that could have easily been played by a number of other averagely talented child actresses.

by Anonymousreply 87August 25, 2014 4:00 AM

I don't think Straight's Oscar was a 'career win'. She'd made 6 films before Network and only The Nun's Story was in any way a well known film. She was better known as a theater actress and did some early TV work. She was pretty much unknown when she made Network. She wasn't even nominated for a Golden Globe. I think she just got caught up in 'sweep' with the other actors (Network won 3 acting Oscars, a record equalled only by Streetcar Named Desire).

by Anonymousreply 88August 25, 2014 4:08 AM

Mira Sorvino? A scene-stealing character in well received Woody Allen comedy and you cannot see why she won? She was even playing a hooker, and they love that. She had everything going for her. The part was pure Oscar bait.

Kim Basinger is a great choice for this. Boring character, pales in comparison with the rest of the amazing cast. That was Moore's Oscar, but the subject matter of "Boogie Nights" was probably too much for some voters.

Tommy Lee Jones for "The Fugitive". "No Country for old men" should have been his Oscar winning role (Yes, even over Bardem's one note villain).

Louise Fletcher and Tom Hooper are great choices. I'll add Barry Levinson for "Rain Man"

by Anonymousreply 89August 25, 2014 4:11 AM

Mira Sorvino was brilliant in Mighty Aphrodite and made that film. I don't have any problem with her Oscar. Tomei's Oscar was considered tainted because she was the only American in her category, but I have no problem with her win, either.

Basinger was terrible in L.A. Confidential, but the fault was entirely hers; the character itself was fine. Sean Connery was another mediocre performance that won; and the less said about Nicole Kidman's entirely hopeless portrayel of Virginia Woolf the better.

by Anonymousreply 90August 25, 2014 4:18 AM

[quote]And didn't she stink up the screen in that turkey. But, then again she was married to Irving Thalberg who was intimately involved in the creation of the Oscars. MGM practically bought ever Oscar for the first 10 years of the Academy's existence.

You're not going to get much of an argument from me on this. She's laughable in "Romeo And Juliet".

I must say though, she was quite affecting in "Marie Antoinette". I just watched part of it again today. And I'll give her this...she knew when to leave gracefully. She made her last movie in 1942 when she was 40 years old and never looked back. We may not understand it today but she was wildly popular in the late 20s and early 30s, even if she was "sleeping with the boss". That only gets you so far.

by Anonymousreply 91August 25, 2014 4:22 AM

I remember when Louise Fletcher won, it was the case that the field of Leading Actresses was not strong (not that there weren't good actresses, but there weren't many good roles). In fact, this may be why the producers pushed her for the Leading category--they would have done the same if one of their earlier choices, Angela Lansbury, had said yes instead of no (I think she regretted it--probably her last chance at an Oscar). The only performance actually nominated in the category that year that was stronger than Fletcher's was Isabel Adjani in "The Story of Adele H" (I know some didn't like her, but I thought it was a fascinating, complex performance). And Adjani was in a foreign language film, which historically did not win Oscars (save Sophia Loren, and she was already a known entity in Hollywood by the time of "Two Women"). The other three were Ann-Margret (whom I love) for "Tommy," Carol Kane for "Hester Street," and Glenda Jakcosn for a filmed version of a stage production of "Hedda Gabler" (the "Gabler" dropped, presumably because "Hedda" made it sound friendlier--as in "Hedda, Get Your Gun!").

As to the person who questioned James Earl Jones' deserving to receive an Honorary Oscar over Doris Day, hasn't the conventional wisdom been that Day would have been approached (and she may indeed have been) if she would agree to appear, but always says no. Same with Kennedy Center Honors--the only time I recall a KCH being given to an absentee was Irene Dunne, who accepted the Honor but was too ill by the time the ceremony came (or so it was said).

And I think Jones has become as iconic as Day in his own way--I mean, the voice of Darth Vader? Plus he was probably the first African American actor after Poitier to achieve star status as a serious dramatic actor. In a different year he would have won for "The Great White Hope"--but that was Scott's year, and Melvyn Douglas had a triumphant return in "I Never Sang for My Father" and Nicholson had his big lead breakthrough with "Five Easy Pieces." And then there was Ryan O'Neal in "Love Story"....."it's about this whale."

by Anonymousreply 92August 25, 2014 4:24 AM

[quote]...and the less said about Nicole Kidman's entirely hopeless portrayel of Virginia Woolf the better.

NK was fine in "The Hours" but it just wasn't an Oscar-worthy performance, at least not for Best Actress. "Moulin Rouge" was crap (sorry, boys). She deserved it for "The Others".

by Anonymousreply 93August 25, 2014 4:27 AM

[quote]I must say though, she was quite affectED in "Marie Antoinette".

There, I fixed it for you.

by Anonymousreply 94August 25, 2014 4:27 AM

I also begrudgingly liked Norma in The Women. The role of Mary Haines isn't much fun because she's so pious and saintly you just want to slap her but she handles the roles limitations pretty well. Except for the ending when she runs to Stephen as if he were Jesus Christ himself waiting for her in heaven.

But The Divorcee was absolute rubbish, and she certainly didn't deserve the Oscar for that performance, particularly given she was up against Garbo in Anna Christie.

by Anonymousreply 95August 25, 2014 4:33 AM

No, you didn't r94. Yeah, I heard that earlier today (I was in the other room) and cringed. She got much better as the movie went on, after her "coquette" scenes.

Yes, she was still a silent film actress with all the gesticulating and poses. But her scenes with Louis (underrated Robert Morley) and the children in the last hour were really good.

by Anonymousreply 96August 25, 2014 4:33 AM

[quote]That statue belonged to david fincher my friend.

No it didn't. "The Social Network" was an overlong, self-indulgent bore. It should have been a 90 minute HBO movie.

by Anonymousreply 97August 25, 2014 4:36 AM

Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle. What the fuck? That dreck was better than Bette Davis in The Letter, Kate Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story or Joan Fontaine in Rebecca. Put it this way; which of those films do people still talk about?

by Anonymousreply 98August 25, 2014 4:39 AM

DING DING DING.....R98 FTW.

All the other nominees were more deserving than the horrible Ginger Rogers, but Bette Davis really deserved it. Maybe not her third, but a better second.

by Anonymousreply 99August 25, 2014 4:46 AM

R99, it would've been her third at that point. She'd won two already for 1935's DANGEROUS and 1938's JEZEBEL.

by Anonymousreply 100August 25, 2014 4:49 AM

True r88. Look at Straight's competition: Piper Laurie was in a horror film, Jodie Foster's role was too shocking, Lee Grant had just won the year before and Jane Alexander was barely in the film.

by Anonymousreply 101August 25, 2014 4:51 AM

Streep for The Iron Lady. Streep deserved it for The Dingo Ate My Baby and Put of Africa, but not for that Disney animatronic performance.

by Anonymousreply 102August 25, 2014 4:51 AM

I was implying that she really didn't deserve the one for "Dangerous". I'm not all that crazy about "Jezebel" either but she was definitely deserved one for "The Letter" and "All About Eve".

by Anonymousreply 103August 25, 2014 4:53 AM

Davis didn't deserve her Oscar for Dangerous. The film is awful to the point where it's unwatchable. She won because the Academy didn't nominate her a year earlier for her work in Of Human Bondage and this was considered a make-up Oscar. In fact, Davis WAS nominated for Of Human Bondage, but only after a write-in campaign when she was initially ignored by the Academy. Hepburn should have won for Alice Adams that year.

by Anonymousreply 104August 25, 2014 4:54 AM

Anne Baxter killed Davis's chances of an Oscar by insisting on being nominated for lead rather than supporting in All About Eve. Although, I would have preferred to see Swanson win for Sunset Blvd.

Grace Kelly also robbed Judy Garldand of her Oscar in "A Star is Born". Does anyone even remember "The Country Girl" anymore?

by Anonymousreply 105August 25, 2014 4:58 AM

Saying Davis was nominated for "Of Human Bondage" is like saying Mickey Mouse was nominated for President. Just because some people wrote her name on the ballot didn't make her an official nominee. The official record states that she came in fourth anyway (who knows--did anyone REALLY vote for Grace Moore--maybe out of studio politics). I think she should have won, though Colbert in "One Night" is awfully good (even better than in "Parrish"!) and it was rare then and rare now for a comedy performance to win, especially in leading.

For my money, Davis should have had it for "The Letter," "Now, Voyager," and "Eve." Possibly for "Baby Janes," but the competition that year was extraordinary (Bancroft repeating her Tony winning Annie Sullivan, Hepburn at her best in Long Day's Journey, Geraldine Page in her career-defining Alexandra, and even Lee Remick turned in an awfully good performance as the housewife-gone-alocholic).

by Anonymousreply 106August 25, 2014 5:01 AM

well at least these ppl got nominated, They didn't even nominate Patty Duke in Valley of the Dolls

by Anonymousreply 107August 25, 2014 5:07 AM

"A truly awful and cringe worthy performance"

YOU'RE CRAZY, the part was fantastic. Everyone loved it and it made the movie. That's why she won an Oscar for it.

You don't know JACK about movies. How dare you write such snobby, insipid trash about a classic movie that's one of the highest grossing films of all time and still is!

Just stop writing nonsense. Just stop being a snob!

by Anonymousreply 108August 25, 2014 5:09 AM

It would be good to know what film you're talking about R108.

by Anonymousreply 109August 25, 2014 5:11 AM

[quote]then we have all those Disney songs that have faded into oblivion.

I beat two Disney songs and a James Bond theme for Best Song, but good like finding anyone who gives a shit about me anymore.

by Anonymousreply 110August 25, 2014 5:20 AM

It ki

by Anonymousreply 111August 25, 2014 5:32 AM

Like = luck

by Anonymousreply 112August 25, 2014 6:03 AM

Why, why, why do you old fops even care about all this?

by Anonymousreply 113August 25, 2014 6:16 AM

[quote] I'll start with Helen Hayes. Supporting actress winner for Airport in 1970. A truly awful and cringe worthy performance that can only be explained as a show of respect for a veteran older actress

It was. She was sort of the Betty White of her time. She was older and well liked by people of all ages. Betty is different in the fact that she is hilarious and she's probably liked by younger people more than older people

by Anonymousreply 114August 25, 2014 6:18 AM

No one has mentioned David Niven for Separate Tables yet. He was fine as a pathetic liar but it was hardly a revelation.

by Anonymousreply 115August 25, 2014 8:16 AM

R106, I don't understand why Davis couldn't have been nominated? It's not like they didn't have more nominees in previous years. Why only three officially in 1934?

by Anonymousreply 116August 25, 2014 11:59 AM

Apparently Davis' name was mistakenly left off the list of nominations submitted to the Academy. In response to an uproar, presumably from Davis, they were forced to ask voters to write in their own choice on the final ballot. The person with the most votes was Claudette Colbert. Davis said that she felt that the voters went against her because of Jack Warner. She said he didn't want her to come back to him, after she had been loaned out to RKO, with a swelled head so he instructed everyone to vote against her.

by Anonymousreply 117August 25, 2014 12:15 PM

"Except for the ending when she runs to Stephen as if he were Jesus Christ himself waiting for her in heaven."

Today, saintly Mary would have had Stephen checked for possible STDs after being with slutty Crystal.

by Anonymousreply 118August 25, 2014 12:39 PM

"Under the Sea", "Beauty & the Beast", "A Whole New World", and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". I bet there are millions of people in the country, hell, the world that REMEMBER those songs. Can you sing, let alone HUM, "The Weary Kind", "It's Time to Wake Up", or "Al otro lado del río". Thought not, but I bet you can sing or hum all those Disney songs. So kindly, fuck off R32!

by Anonymousreply 119August 25, 2014 12:51 PM

Was Dorothy Malone's performance in "Written on the Wind" really Oscar worthy? I find it as over the top and hammy as Patty Duke's performance in "Valley of the Dolls".

by Anonymousreply 120August 25, 2014 12:55 PM

120 posts and no one has SHOWN ME THE MONEY!!

by Anonymousreply 121August 25, 2014 1:04 PM

R119, I remember when Siskel & Ebert did their best of 1994 film segment. Siskel had a bone with LION KING because, according to him, it didn't have any memorable songs like the previous Disney Renaissance films (MERMAID, BEAUTY, ALADDIN). He insisted that no one was humming "Hakuna Matata" or "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" or any of the other songs. It was so irritating, because I was a teenager then and all the kids I knew WERE humming/singing those songs. LION KING was so popular that summer/year. Siskel came off like a total idiot.

BTW: "Colors of the Wind" is very popular, too. In fact, I think POCAHONTAS was the last film of the Disney Renaissance to have popular songs. I can't recall any from HUNCHBACK, HERCULES, MULAN, or TARZAN that are popular.

by Anonymousreply 122August 25, 2014 1:06 PM

[R13] Agreed on why do people care about this stuff so much? Especially to the point where they get nasty about something meaningless like the lack of appreciation for a Disney song [R119].

????

The world is in chaos, journalist are being beheaded, there's an earthquake in Napa, riots in Ferguson, and this sad sad person is upset because someone doesn't appreciate Disney songs and think they are Oscar worthy ? Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

What about my song: You'll Be in My Heart?

by Anonymousreply 123August 25, 2014 10:33 PM

[quote]and this sad sad person is upset because someone doesn't appreciate Disney songs and think they are Oscar worthy

Thank God for that sad sad person.

by Anonymousreply 124August 25, 2014 10:43 PM

God's a little busy right now.

by Anonymousreply 125August 25, 2014 10:54 PM

Love Mira Sorvino in that film. She was fantastic

by Anonymousreply 126August 25, 2014 11:05 PM

I don't get why people always mention the Tomei win. She was brilliant and hilarious in My Cousin Vinny. Well-deserved in my book.

The Basinger win isn't an embarrassment until you realize that she beat out Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights. As someone mentioned upthread, that performance is incredible and has really endured.

by Anonymousreply 127August 25, 2014 11:40 PM

It mystifies me how Kim basinger won too. Chalk it up as a sympathy vote from the Boxing Helena lawsuit.

by Anonymousreply 128August 25, 2014 11:47 PM

[quote] I can't recall any from MULAN that are popular.

I'll Make a Man Out of You

by Anonymousreply 129August 25, 2014 11:49 PM

R113, R123, R125 - go fuck yourselves. You're on DL same as the rest of us - I dont see you digging latrines in Namibia anymore than we are. So take your so shove your pulls straight up your ass.

by Anonymousreply 130August 26, 2014 12:56 AM

Whereas you could take Meryl Streep or Daniel Day-Lewis's wins and correlate them with worthy performances, I do not feel the same about

Gwyneth

Jennifer

Reese

Julia

Nicole

by Anonymousreply 131August 26, 2014 1:15 AM

I remember Louise Fletcher won. She signed her acceptance speech so her deaf parents could tell what she was saying.

It's an amazing moment. One of my all time favorites Oscar speeches.

As for her worthiness, I think she's amazing. The horror of her character is that she is nothing but a stuck up nurse but one that wields AMAZING power. If you've ever been hospitalized for any length of time, you will get why she is so good... and frightening.

by Anonymousreply 132August 26, 2014 1:23 AM

R84 I bet you have never even seen "The Divorcee." It's an amazing pre-code film. Norma's performance was groundbreaking then -- just for having a woman date like a man in 1930... her work in the movie holds up.

Norma was a star of silent films BEFORE she met Irving at MGM. People who claim her career was all about her marriage are inane. Irving brought her to MGM because she was a successful actress.

If you watch the movies she made after Irving passed away (which was in 1936) you can tell she was good. She was nominated for 5 Oscars. At the height of her popularity she was one of the top film actresses.

Some of you need to do some research before you spout 20 year old misinformation.

by Anonymousreply 133August 26, 2014 1:29 AM

Here's a link to Louise's Oscar speech.

(Ann Margaret was nominated for "Tommy"?)

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 134August 26, 2014 1:33 AM

Did Walter Brennan deserve even one Oscar, never mind three??

What about Gale Sondergaard in Anthony Adverse? Has anyone still living seen tat movie?

I know 1939 was a very competitive year but it boggles my mind that none of the character actors from The Wizard of Oz were even nominated:

Ray Bolger

Bert Lahr

Margaret Hamilton

Frank Morgan

Billie Burke

by Anonymousreply 135August 26, 2014 1:37 AM

I have indeed seen The Divorcee. I have it on DVD as part of the Forbidden Hollywood pre-code movies. It's terrible, even by the standards of early talkie cinema. Norma was nominated 5 times as Best Actress and not one of those performances is memorable. Only Marie Antoinette is still shown regularly and it's a ridiculous campfest watch an almost 40 year old Shearer trying to pull off a 14 year old princess.

And then there's her nominated turn in Romeo & Juliet; you know where the 34 year old Shearer played a teenage Juliet opposite a 43 year old 'teenager' Leslie Howard.

When you fuck the deputy head of the studio that invented the Oscars, you get what's coming to you, I guess.

by Anonymousreply 136August 26, 2014 1:38 AM

1940 - neither Ginger Rogers nor Jimmy Stewart deserved their best Actress/Actor wins. Rogers was wooden as Kitty Foyle and Stewart's role in The Philadelphia Story was not just a variation on his one-note "Everyman", but it was a supporting performance as well. Henry Fonda got raped that night.

by Anonymousreply 137August 26, 2014 1:43 AM

[quote]Very few people complain about her winning but I hate Louise Fletcher's oscar win.

Don't hold it against her - she hasn't had a career since.

by Anonymousreply 138August 26, 2014 4:31 AM

Oh, and for men: Adrien Brody - completely baffling based on his subsequent work.

Halle Berry. Maybe it broke down a boundary but yeesh, she is awful.

I would like to see Denzel push himself a little more. He was good in The Manchurian Candidate remake but is often fake acting.

by Anonymousreply 139August 26, 2014 4:39 AM

[R130] Yeah, Ghandi, but you're the only one getting nasty about it. None of this warrants anger or vitriol, or is "fuck you" how you greet your friends?

Have a nice day!

by Anonymousreply 140August 26, 2014 12:39 PM

r136 Thank you, Miss Crawford. You can go back to being dead again.

by Anonymousreply 141August 26, 2014 1:44 PM

Incredible as it may seem today, Ginger Rogers as an independent working class career girl and proud unwed mother raising her baby alone in KITTY FOYLE was very heady stuff back in 1940.

It was considered a bold and ballsy career move, all the more so to further break away from her popularity as a light comedienne and Fred Astaire's dance partner.

In its time, the role of Kitty was appreciated far more by the Academy and American audiences than Bette Davis' unrepentant murderess (THE LETTER), Katharine Hepburn's spoiled heiress (THE PHILADELPHIA STORY) and Joan Fontaine's simpering second wife (REBECCA).

One may say it doesn't hold up today, but timing is everything.

by Anonymousreply 142August 27, 2014 1:19 AM

Beningni. Kidman. Hudson. Halle Berry, yes, pretty but acting, she can't. Cuba Gooding.

by Anonymousreply 143August 27, 2014 1:53 AM

[quote]Whereas you could take Meryl Streep or Daniel Day-Lewis's wins and correlate them with worthy performances, I do not feel the same about ...

God people, stop mentioning these mainstream crowd pleasing actors as the second coming of cinema. Streep is almost acting on remote control these days and DDL, unless he completely bullies every other actor around him with his big inflated ego doesn't have much range.

by Anonymousreply 144August 27, 2014 1:57 AM

With Halle Berry and Natalie Portman, it was the case of the director coaxing an outstanding performance out of an otherwise mediocre actress in a very good movie. Helen Hunt, in my mind, is by far a more egregious example of what this thread is about: a performance that actually highlighted her limited range and her mediocrity as a, basically, sitcom actress in a movie that itself was an unmemorable piece of sitcom mediocrity.

by Anonymousreply 145August 27, 2014 2:17 AM

R18, Hoffman didn't win; Ben Kingsley did.

by Anonymousreply 146August 27, 2014 2:18 AM

Jessica Lange in Blue Sky. The film had been on the shelf for a couple of years, so how was she even elligible? And it's not like she didn't already have one Oscar.

by Anonymousreply 147August 27, 2014 2:22 AM

Take a valium, R144. The anti-Streep and anti-DDL ravings are as crazy as the pro-Streep and pro-DDL rantings.

by Anonymousreply 148August 27, 2014 2:24 AM

Cuba Gooding Jr. was the best thing about As Good As It Gets. Why this guy's career never took flight is beyond me.

by Anonymousreply 149August 27, 2014 2:26 AM

R148

Why shouldn't I be enraged about Hollywood spoon feeding audiences with mediocrity and lack of imagination?

by Anonymousreply 150August 27, 2014 2:31 AM

R149, It was that stupid "Radio" movie where he went full retard. I still remember the inane tagline: "It's not what you can teach Radio, but what Radio can teach you." I guess Ed Harris needed a paycheck.

by Anonymousreply 151August 27, 2014 2:33 AM

First, you need a pill because you're "enraged," Mary R150.

Second, saying Streep and Day Lewis are always mediocre is idiotic. You don't like everything, fine and dandy. To say it's all mediocre is foolish.

by Anonymousreply 152August 27, 2014 2:36 AM

R146, because BLUE SKY never had a premiere. The Academy only counts a film eligible once it premieres in a NY or LA theater before the deadline of Dec. 31. BLUE SKY was shelved for three years because Orion went bankrupt and was never released... until September 1994, thus making it eligible for that years' Oscars.

I sometimes wonder, if BLUE SKY had been released in 1991 (as originally intended) no way would Lange have made the lineup, and would've left the race open for Foster to win for NELL. However, Foster had already won two Lead Oscars in a three-year span. Would they have really given her a third one so soon, just 3 years after her second and at age 32?

It sounds mindboggling, but she was Lange's closest competitor that year, having won the first SAG ever. The other nominees were Winona Ryder in LITTLE WOMEN, Susan Sarandon in THE CLIENT, and MIranda Richardson in TOM & VIV. The true winner should've been Linda Fiorentino for THE LAST SEDUCTION but it was deemed ineligible because it had already been shown on HBO.

by Anonymousreply 153August 27, 2014 2:38 AM

R152 - typical example of a member of the sheeple family!

Don't overuse your Valium too much, sweetie!

by Anonymousreply 154August 27, 2014 2:42 AM

How many votes do you think Ryder, Sarandon and Richardson got?

by Anonymousreply 155August 27, 2014 2:43 AM

R153 huh? Was that intended for me? I don't follow.

by Anonymousreply 156August 27, 2014 2:50 AM

R154 What fucking actors DO you like? If you mention any well known ones you are one of the sheep bitch.

R155 Sure all of them split 50% of the vote I would say.

by Anonymousreply 157August 27, 2014 2:51 AM

R156 Do you think either Ryder, Sarandon or Richardson had a chance of winning?

by Anonymousreply 158August 27, 2014 2:52 AM

R97 You have no taste it was a wonderful piece of cinema.

by Anonymousreply 159August 27, 2014 3:35 AM

I think Foster would have taken it. Nell kind of got a bad rep and became a big joke over the years, but it took a courageous performance that you never see from Meryl or DDL. She really went for it, even when the direction and storytelling of the film were inferior to what she was doing. If there's a person who can win three Best Actresses, it's Foster. She's due for something big from the Academy and has long been respected by the industry.

by Anonymousreply 160August 27, 2014 4:15 AM

R160 from what I remember Nell was a target from the time it was released. Sure there were always some defenders, but Foster's performance was always far more mocked then loved.

Unless the Academy had decided to make way to nominate some indie/lesser known performance, I think, without Lange, Ryder would have been pushed for the win.

by Anonymousreply 161August 27, 2014 4:33 AM

R160 She couldn't even win at the Emmys last night and hasn't been nominated in 20 years. I enjoy Jodie and she always elevates everything she's in but even she would tell you her best days are behind her. But I could see her maybe pulling off a supporting win in the next ten years or so with the right character part. Her heyday is over and I'm sure she doesn't even care.

by Anonymousreply 162August 27, 2014 4:33 AM

R162, what the hell was she doing in Elysium? It was mindbogglingly bad. She gets an opportunity to direct and knocks it out of the park, she'll be nominated.

by Anonymousreply 163August 27, 2014 4:54 AM

Lee Grant won for Shampoo not for her performance in it but for a long and distinguished career. This is not to suggest that there's anything wrong with her performance in Shampoo but it was not much of a role.

by Anonymousreply 164August 27, 2014 4:58 AM

R153, even if "Blue Sky" had been released in '91, Lange could have nabbed a nomination the following year, edging out Bette Midler for that overblown hamfest "For the Boys" ("'For the Boys' is For the Birds!" one critic sneered). Lange was an Academy and critics darling back then. Midler, not so much. But whether Lange would've defeated Foster for "Silence of the Lambs" (or Davis or Sarandon for "Thelma & Louise" for that matter), is doubtful. With that said, I think Lange gave a deliciously showy and sexy performance in a flawed film. Her win isn't so much a "what the hell?" win, but more of a perfect timing win.

by Anonymousreply 165August 27, 2014 6:53 AM

R165 I'm pretty sure Annette Bening (who was obviously a lot more deserving then Midler) would have taken that fifth slot, though of course you never know.

I really think '94 was the weakest best lead actress year ever (in terms of nominations, that is). There are other underwhelming years but I think this one really takes the cake.

by Anonymousreply 166August 27, 2014 7:17 AM

R135 what kind of cake?

by Anonymousreply 167August 27, 2014 12:04 PM

There was talk of unfairness the year Patricia Neal won Best Actress for "Hud", considering her screen time was so minimal.

by Anonymousreply 168August 27, 2014 12:14 PM

R167 I hate when supporting roles win for lead, and vice-ersa!

by Anonymousreply 169August 27, 2014 12:47 PM

R154, you are so, so, so bold for calling out Meryl and Daniel. We are so brave to have someone of your caliber on DL!

Let us know when you have an original thought. You know all about sheep.

by Anonymousreply 170August 27, 2014 1:04 PM

Does DL think Luise Rainer deserved her oscars? I think her Ziegfeld oscar was a joke, but I really loved her in The Good Earth.

by Anonymousreply 171August 27, 2014 1:12 PM

Luise's last appearance on TCM with Robert Osborne was painful to watch. She couldn't hear a word he said to her, so questions had to be written down and handed to her.

by Anonymousreply 172August 27, 2014 1:20 PM

R157

Any actor's name I would come up with would trigger a dismissive or even aggressive remark from you.

[quote]fucking actors

[quote]bitch.

But I just say this; many good actors, when they are lucky, get parts in mainstream fare, but some are just deliberately seeking out crowd pleasers. Streep is notoriously know for this.

by Anonymousreply 173August 27, 2014 10:13 PM

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Katharine Hepburn's Oscars for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and On Golden Pond.

Some of Hepburn's finest performances received nominations, but didn't bring home the Oscar: Alice Adams, The African Queen, Summertime, Long Day's Journey Into Night. Other great Hepburn performances, such as those for Bringing Up Baby, Holiday, and Stage Door, weren't even nominated.

But she won for her nothing performance in a nothing role in the dated Stanley Kramer "message" picture, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? -- clearly a sympathy win because of the death of Spencer Tracy (it had been his last film). Her more deserving competitors that year included Anne Bancroft in The Graduate, Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde, and Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark.

But at least she was okay in GWCTD. She was godawful in On Golden Pond -- Hepburn at her most mannered -- and the picture itself was dreck. And yet she racked up another win, beating out Susan Sarandon in Atlantic City, Streep in The French Lieutenant's Woman, and Diane Keaton in Reds. Go figure.

by Anonymousreply 174August 27, 2014 10:58 PM

On Matt and Ben for the Good Will Hunting screenplay: there was a documentary about it.

Just read the book by Mindy Kaling, Matt and Ben. It tells you all you need to know.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 175August 27, 2014 11:44 PM

R172, I think she won for GWCTD because it was a makeup/sympathy win combo. She hadn't won in 34 years -- longer than Streep's 29-year drought between awards -- and, as you said, Spencer Tracy had just died.

Now, they could've given it to Tracy, but at the time the Academy had never awarded a posthumous Oscar. Sure, they had nominated Jeanne Eagels for THE LETTER (1929) and James Dean for EAST OF EDEN (1955) and GIANT (1956), but neither had won. It would take another decade since Tracy's last nod (1977) for an actor to win posthumously -- Peter Finch for NETWORK -- and even then there's only been one nomination/win since -- Heath Ledger for THE DARK KNIGHT. So the Academy is not too keen about posthumous nominations as it is.

Anyhoo, there was no precedence to award a dead person, so the Academy thought it best to award his longtime lover Hepburn, who was very much alive. Even though Tracy never divorced his wife of 44 years, they lived separately and were no longer husband and wife for all intents and purposes. In fact, towards his final years, Hepburn moved in with him to care for him. Even though the general public was ignorant of the living situations and Tracy/Hepburn's 20+ year affair, those in Hollywood were aware and treated Hepburn as his grieving widow. Hence, the Oscar.

Also, I don't think the Academy thought they'd award her a third so soon, never mind a fourth. As I said, it had been 34 years since her first win (with 8 nominations in between) and they were probably like, "Ah, let's just give it to her, especially after her "husband" just died." Had they known that she would deliver a powerful performance the following year in THE LION IN WINTER, I don't think they would have been so eager to award her just yet, especially for DINNER, which, as you pointed out, is a nothing role/performance.

Since there had been 3 decades between her first and second win, the Academy probably assumed at the time that it would be a couple more decades until she won another, especially an unheard of third Best Actress win. (To date, Daniel Day-Lewis is the only other person who has won three lead Oscars.) As it turns out, it only took a year to get her third, and then just 13 years from that to nab a record fourth.

by Anonymousreply 176August 27, 2014 11:45 PM

Walter Brennan - Three Oscars, one performance.

by Anonymousreply 177August 27, 2014 11:47 PM

R173, that MATT & BEN play is satire/spoof. It's not to be taken literally or factually. Do you really think the screenplay for GOOD WILL HUNTING magically fell from the ceiling fully-written as portrayed in the play?

by Anonymousreply 178August 27, 2014 11:50 PM

R175, Brennan's win is not a mystery. In the early years of the Academy Awards, extras were given the right to vote. Brennan was extremely popular with the Union of Film Extras, and since their numbers were overwhelming, he won each time he was nominated. Thus, his third win led to the disenfranchisement of the Extras Union from Oscar voting.

by Anonymousreply 179August 27, 2014 11:52 PM

The rumour is that William Goldman practically re-wrote Good Will Hunting from scratch.

by Anonymousreply 180August 27, 2014 11:52 PM

Early supporting actor Oscars were also awarded plaques, rather than statues which shows what the Academy thought of that category.

by Anonymousreply 181August 27, 2014 11:56 PM

That is entirely possible, R180.

That said, I wouldn't dismiss the ceiling hypothesis entirely. Ben Affleck does seem like the kind of guy who would type out dialogue from Salinger in order to make a screenplay.

Also, GOOP's in it.

by Anonymousreply 182August 27, 2014 11:59 PM

Young people forget what an enormous hit Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was in 1967. Higher grosses than The Graduate and Bonnie & Clyde.

Besides reuniting Tracy and Hepburn (who'd both been off the screen for a few years), it starred Sidney Poitier at the height of his popularity.

And, like Kitty Foyle's unwed motherhood (see above), integrated marriage was a daring and ballsy subject for a mainstream film. Even shocking!

Tracy was dead and old pro Rod Steiger was deserving so why not award Hepburn? Dunaway was just getting started and Mrs. Robinson disappeared half way through her movie.

by Anonymousreply 183August 28, 2014 1:18 AM

Goop is not in good will hunting, she was in Proof, similar subject - different movie.

by Anonymousreply 184August 28, 2014 1:43 AM

[quote]Young people forget what an enormous hit Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was in 1967. Higher grosses than The Graduate and Bonnie & Clyde.

DINNER was the third highest-grossing movie that year, just above BONNIE AND CLYDE, but GRADUATE and JUNGLE BOOK occupied the #1 and #2 spots, respectively.

Furthermore, DINNER and IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT benefited from being timely. Race relations was a hot-button issue in the mid-'60s, what with the Civil Rights and the 24th Amendment and Voting Rights Act of 1965, but more importantly (in DINNER'S case) the Loving v. Virginia landmark decision that invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Coincidentally, that was passed in 1967.

BONNIE AND CLYDE, on the other hand, was controversial for its graphic violence, its depiction of two killers as sympathetic, and its ridicule of the law -- something the Hays Code always forbade.

[quote]Tracy was dead and old pro Rod Steiger was deserving so why not award Hepburn?

Because she was the least deserving of the nominees. The Oscar is supposed to award a specific performance, not be a makeup award or lifetime achievement award although that happens too often, which is why it's frustrating.

by Anonymousreply 185August 28, 2014 1:45 AM

Goop is in the true-life version of how Matt and Ben came up with the screenplay, aptly named Matt and Ben.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 186August 28, 2014 1:48 AM

Actually, Dame Edith Evans should have beat Hepburn. Her work in The Whisperers won many critics awards and stands up today as extraordinary realistic acting--from an actress better known for high comedy and classical roles.

by Anonymousreply 187August 28, 2014 2:22 AM

Any actor or actress that won an Oscar because the movie had a Holocaust theme. The Hollywood Jewish lobby.

by Anonymousreply 188August 28, 2014 2:56 AM

R188 Oh, give a rest, Mein Fuhrer! Anyone with an ounce of human decency recognizes the Holocaust as the definition of human indecency in the 20th century--one need not be Jewish. And the performances that won from Holocaust-themed films were, by and large, excellent ones--Shelley Winters in Ann Frank and, yes, Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice. The one ringer was Roberto Benigni and I think his win was an anomaly--he was relatively unknown to American audiences and seemed like a breath of fresh air (for about five minutes). Given this conspiracy of which you speak, how do you explain the losses of Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes (in Schindler's List), Jessica Lange (in Music Box), Anjelica Huston (in Enemies: A Love Story), and, perhaps most of all, Rod Steiger in "The Pawnbroker"?

Take your tired anti-Semitism and peddle it somewhere else. We're all done with you--and, just to be clear, I am not Jewish (raised Methodist), so, no, this is not special pleading.

by Anonymousreply 189August 28, 2014 4:14 AM

Judy Dench for Shakespeare in Love. Goop for Shakespeare in Love. Shakespeare in Love.

Does anyone even watch that movie? 7 Oscars. Such dreck. Kathy Bates (Primary Colors), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth) and The Thin Red Line should have won those categories.

by Anonymousreply 190August 28, 2014 5:23 AM

The Thin Red Line was beautifully shot but other than that it was a complete mess. Malick has no idea what do with actors.

Judi Dench (at least you, R190 should have gotten her name correct) is amazing in anything she does. The fact she did not get an Oscar for Iris (or Notes of a Scandal, or Mrs. Brown or Mrs. Henderson Presents) was a pathetic joke.

I don't get the Cate Blanchett hype at all, she is such a try hard actress.

I agree with you on Kathy Bates in Primary Colors though, great movie too.

by Anonymousreply 191August 28, 2014 5:36 AM

You can kindly fuck off, too, R123! You're gonna be the sad, sad person when my boot rips open your sphincter. Shitstain!.

by Anonymousreply 192August 28, 2014 5:36 AM

I thought Blanchett was brilliant in Blue Jasmine, but not so much in The Aviator, which was a make-up Oscar for losing to Paltrow in Blanchett's breakthrough role in Elizabeth. Laura Linney should have won the Oscar in 2004 for Kinsey.

by Anonymousreply 193August 28, 2014 5:45 AM

Shakespeare in Love is a masterpiece! A masterpiece I tell ya! It's about art and life. Would you have rather Saving Private Ryan won because of a battle scene?

by Anonymousreply 194August 28, 2014 5:46 AM

'Shakespeare in Love' won because it was a big, glitzy high-profile film. 'Elizabeth' was a smaller, foreign film. That gave Gwyneth the edge over Cate.

But Cate has had the more enduring career, and most people know she's the better actress.

As for Judi Dench, she's admitted that her role in the film was small and probably shouldn't have won an Oscar. She didn't award it to herself. Siskel & Ebert said she should have gotten it for 'Mrs. Brown'.

by Anonymousreply 195August 28, 2014 1:27 PM

R189 = MARY!

by Anonymousreply 196August 28, 2014 2:19 PM

Helen Hunt's win is totally baffling to me. I can only think it was because people liked "As Good As It Gets" at the time. It is an awful performance. Usually when someone wins for a crap performance, it is because they're being rewarded for a long career. That definitely wasn't the case with Hunt. The other women with a chance that year were Julie Christie in 'Afterglow" and Kate Winslet in "Titanic". I'm guessing they both got a decent share of votes and either would have been a better choice.

by Anonymousreply 197August 28, 2014 2:32 PM

R197, actually, just to add even more to the "baffling" aspect of that win, it was considered basically a lock.

by Anonymousreply 198August 28, 2014 3:39 PM

Grace Kelly in "The Country Girl," only because she won over Judy Garland who gave one of the enduring performances in screen history in "A Star is Born" (1954)

by Anonymousreply 199August 28, 2014 3:46 PM

Several years ago, someone on another forum wrote the following when we were discussing Oscar fuckups and several people chimed in with Hunt like here:

[quote]Not to thread-jack my own thread here...

[quote]…but as far has the "bad" Helen Hunt comments... one of my dearest "older" friends, who was a voting member of the Academy in the Acting branch for over 50 years, struggled a bit when she was deciding between Judi Dench's work in "Mrs. Brown" and Helen Hunt's in "As Good As It Gets."

[quote]She thought they were both excellent, powerful performances... and worthy of the award.

[quote]Finally, she told me she was going with Hunt. I asked her why. She (who had been a leading lady herself at Warner Bros. in the mid-'40s) said that since they were both great, it came down to "degree of difficulty." It's far more difficult to play an "ordinary person" such as a waitress with a sick son and give an outstanding performance than it is to play someone extraordinary like a grieving, widowed Queen Victoria. A lot of "wow" is built in to that part already. We know the character, and we already know her history. She "resonates" in advance for us, in other words. It's a showy role. But to do what Hunt did in AGAIG was not an easy job for an actress, nor a forgone conclusion that it would be a "noticed" role or performance.

[quote]I understood what she meant, and I still applaud her decision.

I agree with whoever she was. To be fair, Mrs. Brown was written as a mostly two-dimensional character. Judi Dench was great and made the most of the part, but it was not what you would call a role with much range. Helen Hunt had a more solidly written character and she had to work against one of the biggest scene-stealers in Hollywood and absolutely held her own. I totally thought she deserved it that year. Yes, Judi Dench is a better actress, but she just didn't get the best role that year. An interesting role in an interesting film, but nothing more than that.

by Anonymousreply 200August 28, 2014 3:56 PM

nice post {R172} but dont forget about massimo troisi's posthumous nomination for "il postino (the postman)"

by Anonymousreply 201August 28, 2014 4:11 PM

Helen Hunt was fucking terrible! Her accent was in and out the whole time. She sucked!

by Anonymousreply 202August 28, 2014 4:12 PM

[quote][R189] = MARY!

Oh, don't you start!

by Anonymousreply 203August 28, 2014 4:16 PM

R197 Why is it a crap performance, exactly? why do people say this about some things as if it's a given? It just sounds so snooty.

by Anonymousreply 204August 28, 2014 6:27 PM

[quote]The fact she did not get an Oscar for Iris (or Notes of a Scandal, or Mrs. Brown or Mrs. Henderson Presents) was a pathetic joke.

I'm not sure if "Mrs. Henderson Presents" was Dench's best work. It was solid, but something she could do pretty easily. "Notes on a Scandal" was definitely something more gritty for her, and I wouldn't have minded her winning for that. Unfortunately that was the year the Academy wanted to give Helen Mirren her due (who had been nominated twice before and not won) so the timing was bad.

by Anonymousreply 205August 28, 2014 6:35 PM

Re Louise Fletcher. I looked up her post-Oscar career and oh my god, but it's bad. What the hell happened?

I looked at her board for possible elucidation and found this:

“So says the Trivia section of Ms Fletcher's IMDB profile. What it fails to mention is that she slammed into a POLICEMAN, not just a police car. That policeman is my brother, an officer with the Leesburg Police Department. His car was parked on the shoulder of a dark road and had flashing roof lights and an open, lighted trunk, and he was wearing a reflective orange safety vest. Fletcher's Buick drifted off the road and into the rear end of the parked cruiser, crushing his legs between her car and his. Instead of using her cell phone to call 911, her first action was to dial the number for her attorney. My brother was in the hospital for at least two days before she called to ask about his well-being. His recovery and subsequent physical therapy were long and challenging and painful, and the damage to his legs required him to leave the Leesburg SWAT team, but he was ultimately able to return to active patrol duty and continue raising his four children. "

Yike.

by Anonymousreply 206August 28, 2014 7:57 PM

Nurse whatshername really was a sweetie.

There's also the fantastic actress who plays the psychiatrist in Nightmare Alley (Tyrone Power, excellent noir), she had a hit and run if memory serves right.

by Anonymousreply 207August 28, 2014 8:34 PM

R206 But that happened in 1998, so it doesn't really explain her career from 1975 up to then. Poor guy though.

by Anonymousreply 208August 28, 2014 9:00 PM

In Kitty Foyle the movie, the character was married when she gave birth to the child, which died. In the novel, she was single. The Production Code would not allow an unwed pregnancy like that.

by Anonymousreply 209August 28, 2014 11:09 PM

Who died?

Kitty Foyle's husband or child?

I think you're wrong either way.

by Anonymousreply 210August 29, 2014 2:41 AM

R210 don't ruin the movie for me, cunt! I haven't seen it.

by Anonymousreply 211August 29, 2014 2:47 AM

[quote]Re Louise Fletcher. I looked up her post-Oscar career and oh my god, but it's bad. What the hell happened?

Angela Lansbury had good instincts. She was offered that role before Louise Fletcher and turned it down because she said she was worried it would be the type of part that make finding other work difficult.

Turns out she was right.

by Anonymousreply 212August 29, 2014 9:07 AM

Louise Fletcher wasn't particularly successful pre-Oscar. I think she just continued in her destined path and the Oscar was just a strange blip.

She's kind of a strange actress. Always sounds a little sedated and dopey.

by Anonymousreply 213August 29, 2014 9:56 AM

Helen Hunt won because she was the only American. (I think that almost always happens-Marisa Tomei, Robert Duvall.)

None of the other performances really caught on. (even Judi Dench back then was just some obscure stage actress that hardly anyone in the US had even herd of.)

by Anonymousreply 214August 29, 2014 10:00 AM

As Good As It Gets is a really odd film to which nowadays.

It just seems so strange that we are supposed to be happy that thirtysomething Helen ends up with mean, nasty Jack.

by Anonymousreply 215August 29, 2014 10:03 AM

There is definitely a reward system for those who have been nominated a number of times but never own or made a ton of movies that made money

These actors should get a set of gold plates steak knives but actually give the Oscar those who deserves it

by Anonymousreply 216August 29, 2014 10:13 AM

By then, Lansbury already had 30 years career experience. She started in 1944 in Gaslight, remember.

by Anonymousreply 217August 29, 2014 11:11 AM

As Good As It Gets has always been a weird movie. It's rather long (too long for a romantic comedy, if that's what it is), the subplots are distracting... Wouldn't call it bad to its face, but its qualities certainly don't jump from the screen, apart from a few scenes here and there, which are really good.

Plus, it is a depressing movie.

by Anonymousreply 218August 29, 2014 11:13 AM

Tom Cruise still hasn't won and yet he's made a ton of money for Hollywood;

I'm not saying he deserves to, nobody deserves anything in life.

by Anonymousreply 219August 29, 2014 11:15 AM

The last 20 years has produced so many shitty disposable hit movies that it's no wonder the actors who won Oscars for them are forgettable.

by Anonymousreply 220August 29, 2014 11:27 AM

Louise Fletcher was excellent in the first and second season of SHAMELESS when she guest-starred a couple times as William H. Macy's cunty con mom (but a lovable grandmother to her grandkids). She should've been nominated for a Guest Actress Emmy instead of Joan Cusack, who is really a regular cast member despite being billed as "Special Guest Star." She's in every friggin episode for God's sake!

by Anonymousreply 221August 29, 2014 2:45 PM

[quote]Helen Hunt won because she was the only American. (I think that almost always happens-Marisa Tomei, Robert Duvall.)

That's such as stupid argument: "They only won because they're the sole Americans."

I don't really remember the race involving Tomei, and I was just a baby when Duvall won, but I recall 1997 vividly.

Hunt's fellow nominees were:

[quote]- Julie Christie (AFTERGLOW, she was her film's only nomination) [quote]- Judi Dench (MRS. BROWN, other nomination was for Makeup) [quote]- Kate Winslet (TITANIC, record-tying 11 nominations) [quote]- Helena Bonham Carter (WINGS OF THE DOVE, other nominations include Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, COstumes).

Only Hunt and Winslet were in Best Picture nominees, and TITANIC (#1) and AS GOOD AS IT GETS (#6) were the only two in the year's Top Ten grossing movies, and AGAIG was the year's highest-grossing comedy.

Off the bat, that gives them an advantage. However, I don't believe Winslet was runner-up. TITANIC was a marvel for its production, not its acting. I think Dench was runner-up, but as I stated above, Hunt already had a great advantage over her. (Remember, Oscars look for more than just acting.)

Also, AGAIG was nominated for 7 Oscars -- Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Score, Editing -- 5 of them biggies. In the end, it ended up winning two -- Actor and Actress. I honestly don't think they oculd've rewarded one without the other. Nicholson and Hunt complemented each other, and it was a testament to Hunt's talent that she was able to keep her own against a HOllywood giant and legend.

In conclusion, Hunt edged out Dench in the end because 1)she starred in the sixth grossing movie of the year, 2)she starred in the year's highest grossing comedy, 3)She was in a Best Picture nominee, 4)She held her own against Nicholson, and 5)and they had to reward the movie something but they couldn't award Nicholson without also awarding Hunt.

by Anonymousreply 222August 29, 2014 3:12 PM

Dustin Hoffman should've won for TOOTSIE but not for RAIN MAN, which was just a repeat of the same tick and affect ad nauseum.

by Anonymousreply 223August 29, 2014 3:37 PM

1988, arguably one of the best years for movie comedy in the past 30 years (and some of the dramas were no slouch, either), gave us [italic]Who Framed Roger Rabbit[/italic], [italic]A Fish Called Wanda[/italic], the first [italic]Naked Gun[/italic] movie, [italic]Hairspray[/italic], [italic]Coming to America[/italic], [italic]Mississippi Burning[/italic], [italic]Big[/italic], [italic]Beetlejuice[/italic], [italic]Dirty Rotten Scoundrels[/italic], [italic]Gorillas in the Mist[/italic], [italic]The Land Before Time[/italic] (the first one was actually pretty good, but you can skip the sequels), [italic]Stand and Deliver[/italic] and [italic]Working Girl[/italic], but what did they give the Oscar to? [italic]Rain Man[/italic]. Ahem. How fitting for the year Snow White and Rob Lowe danced together at the Oscar ceremony.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 224August 29, 2014 4:51 PM

R218 Would have to agree. It's been on cable a lot lately and I watch bits and pieces. Of course I've seen it entirely years ago. The whole tone of the film is uneven. I think Nicholson won for more of a career Oscar than anything. Duvall and Fonda were truly robbed. Hunt is effective and good in certain scenes but the coming and going of the accent bothered me. And the film slows to a crawl when they go on the road trip.

by Anonymousreply 225August 29, 2014 5:25 PM

What I hated most about As Good as It Gets was the utter phoniness of the artificial New York City sets and depiction of contemporary working class life in New York City.

by Anonymousreply 226August 29, 2014 11:08 PM

I prefer Helen Hayes' turn in "Airport" to Meryl's in "Iron Lady."

by Anonymousreply 227August 29, 2014 11:28 PM

I always hated that about AS GOOD IT GETS, too, R226. When they filmed on location, you could tell, but when they were using sets in LA it was very distracting.

by Anonymousreply 228September 1, 2014 6:20 PM

Kim Basinger

by Anonymousreply 229August 17, 2019 11:42 PM

Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity. Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster held the film together yet those two weak performances won??

by Anonymousreply 230August 20, 2019 5:53 PM

Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity. Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster held the film together yet those two weak performances won??

by Anonymousreply 231August 20, 2019 5:53 PM

Recently, Regina King for IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK. She's a great actress and has won a couple deserved Emmys, but that performance was not at all Oscar-worthy -- or award worthy, in general. It wasn't bad or horrible, just serviceable. It's one of those wins that people in the future will look back and ask "How the hell did she win for that?!" because they won't have context.

by Anonymousreply 232August 20, 2019 6:03 PM

The Academy Awards were founded by the Hollywood studios, as a secondary marketing campaign for movies already released. It's not the Nobel Prize.

Helen Hunt probably wins the Least Worthy Performance ever so honored.

But Helen Hayes *is* a great, great actress, perfectly great in both her winning roles.

by Anonymousreply 233August 20, 2019 6:06 PM

Helen Hunt owns this thread.

by Anonymousreply 234August 20, 2019 6:20 PM

Kitty Foyle: They marry, she gets the cold shoulder from his snooty family, she returns to New York, gives birth, the baby DIES.

by Anonymousreply 235August 20, 2019 6:44 PM

Another Norma Shearer fan here, and I can't explain why. She's pretty good in one of her last films, "Escape," with Robert Taylor and Conrad Veidt. Evil Nazis vs. courageous Americans. (If you look at her pre- and post- "The Women" films you realize that her Mary Haines is plump, bordering on chubby. )

Escape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FhC1XcFg68

by Anonymousreply 236August 20, 2019 7:00 PM

Alan Arkin for "Little Miss Sunshine".

I don't blame Eddie Murphy for walking out.

by Anonymousreply 237August 20, 2019 8:03 PM

r242, I feel that way about both Supporting wins this past year -- Regina King and Mahershala Ali both give competent performances, but nothing so spectacularly great that they deserved awards; for me, it was particularly frustrating regarding Ali, who had so recently won a previous Oscar for a superior performance (plus the fact that he was committing category fraud to win the second Oscar).

by Anonymousreply 238August 20, 2019 8:11 PM

R238, Totally agree that Ali's performance was Leading and not Supporting.

by Anonymousreply 239August 20, 2019 10:43 PM
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