Kodi Smit-Mcphee - What Went Wrong

Deaf beats twink. Simple. Also Power of the Dog is likely to win BP Oscar, so this is a way to recognize CODA. (And he’s supposed to be excellent—haven’t seen it yet).

He’s not a deaf man who has supposedly paid his dues. That’s the story that’s warming hearts this year.

Oh, and Best Actress is the only category where the youngest nominee usually wins.

He's a kid. He could get nominated again.

ewwwww

That sucks because he is brilliant in this movie. Kid is so so talented.

No one commented so you did more than once? Lmaoooooooooooooo It’s so funny to me.

[quote] Deaf beats twink

I used to beat deaf.

He is very young and I think people believe he will have more chances

For all his other failings, OP, I’m sure that he wouldn’t say “suppose to be”.

Were you educated beyond 6th grade or did your single mother send you straight down the mines?

Plus he wasn’t the frontrunner. It was predicted for months Cotsur was gonna give him a run for his money!

Who?

^Nanny McPhee's son.

[quote] Plus he wasn’t the frontrunner.

Not according to Gold Derby - they have been pushing him for MONTHS - just last week, they published another article saying

"Why Kodi Smit-Mcphee Is Still The Front Runner"

I rank him third behind Kotsur and Hinds, after seeing all three movies. I’ve never seen an actor like Kotsur whose performance was almost entirely physical - really cool.

Yup. Kotsur has been my pick also unless Faist got nominated, which he didn’t.

[quote] I’ve never seen an actor like Kotsur whose performance was almost entirely physical - really cool.

Gold Derby is countering that by stating that Kodi Smit-Mcphee subtext in all his scenes is brilliant

Should add though Gold Derby concedes that Troy Kotsur had taken the lead in their rankings

They insist this is NOT OVER - that Kodi Smit-Mcphee can still win, if the judges at least watch the DVD

Whatever subtext that might have been by Kodi* doesn’t compare to even one scene of Ciaran Hinds and his old lovelorn eyes gazing at Judi Dench.

* I’d heard about a twist in the film and kept thinking it was going to be abuse/incest by Kiki Dunst. Not sure if the subtext was effective,

R18 I have no interest in watching the film, so what is this twist they keep talking about?

Kodi was great but not even the best out of those five nominees. The critics have been hyping him up like crazy, the way they did Kristen Stewart. It was all hype.

[quote]Deaf beats twink. Simple. Also Power of the Dog is likely to win BP Oscar, so this is a way to recognize CODA. (And he’s supposed to be excellent—haven’t seen it yet).

There's still time for him to Oscar-campaign; time for him to play hardball and remind everyone who's listening that he's half blind.

Young females are more likely to win than young males. Most Oscar votes are straight guys, that's why

Kodi just wasn’t all that. He was fine. Even some people not nominated were better than him

[quote] Kodi just wasn’t all that. He was fine.

But Kodi Supporters are screaming

BUT THE SUBTEXT - It was off the charts, they way he played the character

Kodi is straight?!

He worked with his "friend" Bryan Singer. He deserves nothing..

[quote]I rank him third behind Kotsur and Hinds, after seeing all three movies.

Totally agree. Kotsur gave one of the most memorable performances I've seen in a long time and Hinds was just plain lovable. McPhee is talented, but in terms of specific performances, he suffers in comparison only.

He seems very smug.

People forget that he was the "next big thing" with The Road 13 years ago, then again with Slow West 7 years ago, and now he's the "next big thing" again with another period piece that's essentially a Western, and I suspect a lot of people don't think of him as a hot new property anymore.

I like him a lot, but let's not pretend like he hasn't been around for a long time already.

Sorry, but Kotsur stunk. He did nothing we haven't seen any no name actor at Deaf West do. It's a bullshit diversity award. And he'll never work again.

The awards these days are about popularity and cultural trends.

Kotsur ticks all the diversity boxes which are the current fad

The Oscars have become the Your Overdue Awards.

Smith & Chastain say hello.

[quote]The Oscars have become the Your Overdue Awards.

um, no. Eight times no.

Anyone but Glenn is in the Academy's charter.

R30 and what did Kodi do that no one else could?

It was just a competent performance. Back in the day, there were hundreds of roles and performances like these a year. There still are in the cinemas of many other countries.

The only things interesting about Kofi are his odd looks and youth so as a gay guy into weird twinks I'm titillated and like to imagine his cock and taint.

Unfortunately CODA is the kind of sentimental crap the Academy slobbers over, Kotsur’s performance included. Think Green Book— movies that hint about BIG ISSUES (racism, deafness) but do so in an inoffensive and palatable way.

AMEN r36!

While it did have moments of sentimentality (and a really boring romance subplot that kept derailing it) I'm not sure CODA and The Green Book are apples to apples. Many many actual children of deaf parents have talked about how frank and realistic a depiction it was of their own experiences, and I don't know many movies that can say that.

Power of the Dog peaked quite early. Since then Kirsten Dunst has been overtaken in her category along with Kodi in his. If voting went a bit longer it would be in big danger of losing Best Picture with CODA quickly gaining momentum.

Drive My Car is going to get BP anyway.

Belfast should win Best Picture.

Kodi looked pissed he lost at the BAFTA last night - everyone was saying he had it in the bag - because if anyone would be fans of "Power of the Dog" it would be European Voters

So while Kodi shrugged at losing the SAG, he seemed pissed he lost the BAFTA

And with the latest controversy (director Jane Campion saying she has it tougher in life than Venus & Serena) - I was thinking CODA could win Best Picture - after Campion remark, it just increases CODA chances now

Lmao no controversial there

If Kodi is a shower with 8 or 9 inches, AND promises to get naked soon, in return for the Award, give him the award.

He looks like a bug.

If Power of the Dog loses BP, it won't be because of Campion's comment. Everyone agrees she mainly made a bad joke, was charmingly tipsy, and apologized for her gaffe sincerely. It may lose for being too "arty" (in which I would predict Belfast or CODA), but it's still my choice.

I agree it peaked early. Maybe they should have released it on Netflix a bit later.

What was Campion's joke?

The Portrait of a Lady.

I guess I'm in the minority, but I thought his performance was the major flaw of the film. Although I can't really define it, there was something very "modern" about his performance, appearance, speech, and body language. He was the one cast member who didn't seem credible as someone living in Montana in 1925. And also, to me, the fact that he's so physically unattractive was another big detriment to his casting. I don't think the character needed to be a beauty, but I really don't think he had to look like that.

[quote]there was something very "modern" about his performance

I rather thought that was the point of the character's affectations. He represented the future of being comfortable in your own version of masculinity instead of tortured, stuck in the past, and closeted like Benedict's character was.

"He was suppose to"

Oh, dear!

GAY! There's your answer.

Straights playing gays isn't the award lockdown it used to be, thankfully.

What straight guys won Oscars for playing gay people?

William Hurt.

That's all I can think of.

Tom Hanks, Jared Leto

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sean Penn

Rami Malek, Christopher Plummer, Mahershala Ali

and- one *could* argue- Joel Grey, as the Emcee has been seen as gay and Joel was straight when he won it.

R53 Tell me about it.

r57, Rami Malek? I’ve heard otherwise.

He is unusual looking and looks awkward on camera. I don't think his performance was anything awards-worthy.

[quote]I rather thought that was the point of the character's affectations. He represented the future of being comfortable in your own version of masculinity instead of tortured, stuck in the past, and closeted like Benedict's character was.

Interesting, but it wasn't his gay affectations that I found too modern, it was his speech and body language in general. To me he seemed like some gay teenager you might find in some big, midwestern city in the present day, not like a kid from rural Montana.

[quote]He is unusual looking and looks awkward on camera.

To put it mildly. And I guess some people think he was "acting" all of that.

He looks like the latest gimmick hire for fashion model. I love these types even though I recognize they are the opposite of the truly handsome.

I wonder if the director specifically cast a young man with a very odd, unattractive look rather than someone closer to a pretty boy? I'm thinking yes.

He looks too "European" to be a born and bred mid westerner

It's so cool that Datalounge has brought together so many eldergays who lived back in the days of the old west and can tell us all how people acted and looked then.

That's a rather flip and silly comment, R66. Of course I don't know for sure how people looked, acted, and spoke in Montana in 1925. But the fact remains that, for whatever reasons, Kodi was the only actor in the movie who struck me as not fitting the period, so there must be a reason for that.

Kodi and Claire are playing dustbowl white trash and they nailed the look if you want my two cents.

Gold Derby has been pushing for Kodi Smit-Mcphee since last September - and they still haven't given up for him to win the Oscar

as they have awarded Kodi the Gold Debry Best Supporting Actor award (over Kotsur) & hoping that will sway some Oscar voters who are currently voting,

In one of Gold Derby latest articles they are suggesting that Kotsur & Ciaran Hinds (Belfast) could split the vote and allow Smit-Mcphee to come up the middle

They are NOT giving up on lobbying Oscar voters to vote for Smit-Mcphee

Gold Derby is a joke. The articles are so stupid most of the time.

[quote]it wasn't his gay affectations that I found too modern, it was his speech and body language in general. To me he seemed like some gay teenager you might find in some big, midwestern city in the present day, not like a kid from rural Montana.

Fair point R61, I get what you're trying to say and see where you're coming from. I guess it wasn't that distracting to me. I liked the sharp contrasts between him and Benedict but I can see how they were too jarring for others.

Kodi won't win because he is not attractive enough to play a gay character (ditto Cumberbatch).

We like our gays good looking.

I just watched Belfast and I cannot for the life of me understand how either Hinds or Dench snagged a nomination for those underwritten, lackluster roles, especially Dench. And when those who voted actually had to sit through two other supporting performances in the same film that were so much more deserving, Balfe especially. One could argue that the parents were leads, but really, it was the boy's story (and he was better than anyone in the cast), so everyone else could easily be considered supporting.

I didn't love the film. Lots of holes in the script. But it looked beautiful.

The kid is the only one who deserved a nomination in Belfast. Hinds did give a very endearing performance though.

I find Kodi rather Ethereal...which of course is not very Australian. We have a saying 'Football, meat pies and Holden cars'. He's not Butch and bogan enough.

Kodi's father is a real bogan and stage father. He is also and actor.

I remember seeing an interview with him years ago and he gave off creepy vibes.

So again what went wrong?

Mike Faist is the best thing in WSS. If he had been cast as Tony it might have been a better film.

Now on Gold Derby - not a single Expert is saying Kodi will win - a few days ago he still had three experts pulling for him. Now those three have switched their vote to back Kotsur

Again - what went wrong with Kodi Smit-Mcphee Oscar campaign. This was suppose to be in the bag.

The Academy does not award young male actors, so that was always going to be a strike against KSM. CODA and Kotsur’s role of gruff fisherman dad is exactly the kind of slop the Academy slurps up. They were never going to give it to the weird looking fey guy in that gay western.

CODA had a lot of funny lines and situations. I thought I would hate it but I really liked it. I thought Marlee Matlin and Emilia Jones also deserved nominations.

This is been a terrible year for movies. It’s ironic that Spider-Man is better than many of these nominated movies. The power of the dog is crap. CODA is the best pick in the litter.

Coda is shit on a shit stick with a side of shitslaw.

r84, that shit on a shit stick with a side of shitslaw is going to win Best Picture, unfortunately.

2nd worst movie of the year, right behind Being the Ricardos.

[quote] They were never going to give it to the weird looking fey guy in that gay western.

Then explain Jared Leo Oscar win

He looks a bit freaky and has a weird name.

Film critic writes that in any other year, would win

"In any other year, Kodi Smit-McPhee, 25, would be covered in Oscar glory for playing Peter, the androgynous medical student who locks horns with the bullying cowboy played by Benedict Cumberbatch. But nothing prepares you for the quietly devastating performance Smit-McPhee delivers here.

Kotsur is average in a bad TV movie. Were it not for the deaf angle, the film would get no attention? It's maudlin, trite, and cliched as hell. And yes, both Kotsur and CODA will win, defeating THE POWER OF THE DOG and DRIVE MY CAR, two brilliant films that will be ignored.

R86 Hell. I'd rank it one behind Being the Ricardos, another POS.

r74 Agree...just don't get it.

Drive My Car is a boring POS.

R93 it really would have been punched up with more car chases and explosions, but I do hope you've found solace in action-packed films more your speed, such as the Cheaper By the Dozen remake or that new Ana De Armas/ Ben Affleck vehicle.

Is the gay western "Power Of The Dog" going to go the way of the last gay western "Brokeback Mountain"? All the Oscar momentum is gone except for directing.

Kodi just showed up in all aqua - shirt, jacket, pants and shoes all in the color of aqua

So now that Kodi has now lost the Oscar - what went wrong

he's not deaf

There are no fags in the wild west.

What r98 said! Oscars and their sentimental politically correct bullshit. Kodi gave the better performance.

Also, ABC’s telecast this year is trash! I hope the ratings are abysmal!

R99 is not Sam Elliott. It's Matt Damon.

R100, yawn, yet another troll. Whining about politically correctness is so Sean Hannity of you

There are no “big things” any more.

Fuck you r102! I’m as liberal as they come but I don’t support giving the Oscar to someone with a handicap who can give a touching speech that will make people cry sappy tears over someone who gave a far better performance.

R100/104, you seem to think the Oscars are supposed to reflect your own personal opinions. You may not think Troy Kotsur gave the best performance but there are plenty who think he did.

Yeah!

The Marlee Matlin trick. Gotta get the deaf actor up there to the podium so everyone can cry.

[quote] Yeah!

Yay!

Squee.

Adorbz.

[quote] The Marlee Matlin trick. Gotta get the deaf actor up there to the podium so everyone can cry.

I knew how to make Marlee Matlin cry. Coincidentally it involved a slap.

The nominations themselves and the final outcome are indicative of the fact that most Academy members do not watch the films. CODA was a film I enjoyed and I honestly thought Maitlin deserved a Supporting Actress nomination. The film ultimately triumphed as Best Picture so why wasn’t there a nom for Maitlin and where was the nomination for Best Director?

Similarly, why 12 nominations for The Power of The Dog with only one win? And the tell-tale sign here that members didn’t actually watch the film - aside from the poor showing on the night - was the nomination for Plemons, who is perfectly fine in the film but in a very limited role playing a character who pretty much disappears midway through the film. You wouldn’t consider the performance for a nomination - and nobody was - on a 1st viewing alone. (Plemons is a fine enough actor but there were definitely more worthy nominees.)

And then there’s the case of Denis Villeneuve. Dune wins 6 Oscar plus a Best Picture nomination and every winner praises Villeneuve to the heavens but there was no Best Director nomination. Are we to understand that Academy members know so little about filmmaking that they think the most honoured film of the night directed itself? They don’t watch the films.

When I was listening to Maron’s podcast, the minute I heard Sam Elliott dog Campion’s film I knew that the film’s awards potential would ebb away - I could feel it. And suddenly Academy members thought it was all right to dismiss The Power of The Dog and their attention turned to CODA which was much easier to consume (though if you like cinema The Power of The Dog is a great watch, I’ve watched it 3x) and something they could get on board with. I don’t begrudge CODA’s win but where was the support for it in other categories? Where was the nomination for Emilia Jones?

Academy members mostly pay attention to campaigns and barely watch the films.

What the fuck are you on about, R110? Not a single point you attempted is valid.

Clearly actors watched the films if they nominated Plemons and Kotsur. Smit-McPhee was the frontrunner for nearly all of Oscar season up until the nominations came out. Plemons wasn't even in the conversation. So clearly the actors branch of the Academy saw something in his performance that they singled him out. And they clearly didn't see anything in Matlin's (rightly so).

Several films nominated for Best Picture do not have a corresponding Directing nomination, and films have previously won Best Picture without their directors being nominated. And with the category opened to 10 films instead of five, it's going to happen more often. Coda won for one reason and one reason only- People like to feel good about themselves in Hollywood. They like to show how liberal and forward thinking they are (with the least effort possible). This was Hollywood's way of saying- Look how diverse we are! See, we're not all selfish monsters! Meanwhile the film was execrable and Troy Kotsur was not even deserving of a nomination, let alone an award. Not that The Power of the Dog was any great shakes, and this was one of the worst years for film ever, but POTD had some artistry to it. It's a film that you could understand winning Best Picture. Anyone could have made Coda. And anyone did.

Many films have won several technical awards without a corresponding directing nomination. What Dune did is not unheard of at all. The Matrix won four Oscars, every one it was nominated for. Terminator 2 also won 4 technical awards (nominated for 6, none above the line). Memoirs of a Geisha was also nominated for 6 technical awards, winning three. Roger Rabbit won 4 Oscars, including Editing. And there are others. None of which were nominated for Picture or Director.

You have no idea how nominations for Oscars are selected.

Had you said that no one watches the documentaries, foreign films, or any of the short films, I'd be right there with you- ONCE they are selected for nominations, that is. There are actual committees for those categories who volunteer to watch all the films submitted and vote on their inclusion for nominations. But once they make that final five... A tiny percentage of voters actually watches them. I am a voter and I can tell you I rarely watch any of the short films. I just don't care. Do I vote for them? Sometimes, yes. If I know the person involved I'll take a look at their film, but not all of them. And I know this is the practice of many other voters, just as I know some voters give their ballots to their wives or kids to fill out, some only vote politically/strategically, some even do their own version of throwing a dart at the category.

And you can take this to the bank- the short with the most intriguing title almost always wins. If you see a short nominated with a goofy title, predict it. People just check off that title on their ballot without watching. No one has time to watch these things.

CODA came along.

[quote]Why 12 nominations for The Power of The Dog with only one win?

I guess you somehow missed this fact, but throughout the history of the Academy Awards, there have been MANY cases of films receiving multiple nominations but very few wins, or NO wins. And if you can't figure out why or how that happens frequently, I certainly can't explain it to you.

People admired Power of the Dog. They loved CODA.

When I was in high school I loved Chris Rock’s comedy album Bigger and Blacker. I think Wanda appeared in a few of the skits.

Next year an actor with a dead career will present Best Actress.

lol Yes, he does, R45. But Rami Malek won an Oscar, so there's still hope for Kodi.

I'm sorry but who is this person? Maybe that's why he didn't win.

R110 agree with you about Plemons. I like the guy, but I don’t understand why he was nominated for best supporting actor. He was fine, but nothing remarkable. Smit-Mcphee, Benedict, and Kirsten, yes. Plemons, no.

Someone needs to dig up the dirt that its a FAKE diagnosis. But I suppose she has a little bit of loss at the edges from all the hair work over the decades.

[quote]Someone needs to dig up the dirt that its a FAKE diagnosis.

That would be REALLY interesting, but I'm guessing almost impossible to do.

r120 for the win! I work with a woman to whom exactly that happened, and she always wears a wig.

His name is spelled KODI for that alone he should’ve won.

The dude has movies lined up for the next two years. He won a major career.

He'll have his time. He's a great actor. I really wanted him and Benedict Cumberbatch to win. I thought their performances were compelling and had so much depth.

[quote]Smit-Mcphee, Benedict, and Kirsten, yes. Plemons, no.

I'll repeat what I said before he lost the award: I think the casting of that Kodi guy was one of the biggest flaws of the movie, because (1) there was something very "modern" about him that didn't make him believable as someone living in Montana in 1925, and (2) he is so odd looking that it was a distraction throughout the movie. I could see him doing a good job as some oddball character in a movie set in the present day, but I really didn't like him in THE POWER OF THE DOG.

[quote] It's a film (Power of the Dog) that you could understand winning Best Picture.

Actually according to Oscar voters (in the secret ballot posts) hated the film. didn't understand it and found it derivative

Because of the preferential voting for Best Picture, Dog got some 10th place votes

CODA was able to win, because they got 1, 2 & 3 place votes, and if you get a majority of those, you win.

[quote] Had you said that no one watches the documentaries, foreign films, or any of the short films,

actually those categories are NOT voted on by the majority of the Academy Membership - for the reason most voters DON'T watch them

A selected panel of voters are assembled into a screening room to watch documentaries, foreign films, & short films

and the panel is the one that votes for those awards - NOT the entire membership

[quote] actually those categories are NOT voted on by the majority of the Academy Membership - for the reason most voters DON'T watch them. A selected panel of voters are assembled into a screening room to watch documentaries, foreign films, & short films and the panel is the one that votes for those awards - NOT the entire membership

You have NO IDEA what you're talking about. The entire body votes on these awards. As I said in previous post (from which you quoted) there are committees to help select the nominees as opposed to leaving it up to the entire branch. And the "majority of the Academy Membership" (whatever that means, but I assume you're saying the general voting body) does not vote to determine any of the nominees outside of Best Picture. Each branch gets to select their choices for nominees. (Actors select actors, Directors select directors, etc.) The only category everyone votes on from the get-go is to select the nominees for Best Picture. If you're in one of those categories that's sort of a no-mans land (i.e. PR/marketing branch) the ONLY thing you get to vote on is Best Picture (to determine the nominees). But once the nominees have been determined and the ballots for winners are ready, every AMPAS member gets to vote in every category to determine winners.

From Academy Awards Website

Foreign Film

"Final voting for the winner is restricted to active and life Academy members who have attended exhibitions of all five nominated films."

Documentary Feature

"Final voting shall be restricted to active and life members of the Academy who have viewed all of the nominated documentaries"

Animated & Live Action Short

"Final voting for the Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film awards shall be restricted to active and life members of the Academy who have viewed all of the nominated short films"

which is a panel of judges NOT the entire membership

Link to Oscar Website

[quote] You have NO IDEA what you're talking about.

So R129 - I expect an apology

Yes, and you know what that means? It means you have to declare that you saw all five films. How do you do that? By voting. It says on the ballot (as a disclaimer, and I'm paraphrasing) By voting you're saying you watched all five nominees in the category.

I'm not sure you quite understand the difference between determining the nominees and voting on the winners.

I vote. I know what I'm talking about. You'll be waiting a long time for that apology.

R132 - so what you are saying is that you lied on your ballot - by saying you watched the films

So if you lied about that, than nothing you write here has any credibility

As you have admitted that you are a liar

Let me break it down further and more slowly for you.

Committees for those categories determine which films will be nominated by volunteering to watch the films selected to be eligible for nominations. For some of those categories, they actively solicit Academy members who maybe have time on their hands and want to volunteer but you must watch every eligible film. I have never volunteered for it in the 14 years I've been a member. However, I have voted to determine the winners of all of those categories every single year once those committees have selected the five nominees for the categories.

R134 everything you wrote comes from an admitted liar

R133, you're a moron. I've explained it in great detail til I'm blue in the face. Believe me, don't believe me, I don't fucking care. Just stop boring me.

R136 and you also admitted that you lied, so nothing you write has any credibility

OP Silence is golden

Indeed, R138, but some people never learn.

[quote]Final voting for the winner is restricted to active and life Academy members who have attended exhibitions of all five nominated films."

That certainly does SOUND like it means that final voting for awards in those categories is limited to a committee that has been chosen to view and vote on the films, but don't think that's what it ACTUALLY means. My understanding has always been that all Academy members vote for the winners in ALL categories -- and how the nomination process works in each category is a separate issue. It should be relatively easy to determine the truth, but since what we have here are two people INSISTING that their very different information is correct, I guess we'll have to go elsewhere for that.

It's that name, and the fact that he looks like some sort of insect.

So again what went wrong?

OP is either the publicist for this spindly, fugly twink, or has a pathological fetish for him and his portrayal of an early-20th century frontier version of Morrissey.

These exaggerated claims about all of the hypothetical awards he was "supposed to be nominated for" is laughable.

He doesn't have the necessary combination of talent and looks. Ask Michael Cera how important looks are.

He gave the supporting actor performance of the year.

[quote] He gave the supporting actor performance of the year.

then why didn't he win?

Kodi didn't win because they could give it to a deafee. Deafee trumps best performance, esp. best performance that's also fr a youngster.

R147 so kodi should have won?

R144 Ask Michael Cera what talent is or a voice that's dropped. He looks fine now btw in that Amy Schumer thing.

R149 Nope, btw.

Who won? I've already forgotten.

The slap sort of shut everything out. Thanks Jada you cunt, though it was nice to watch you being murdered the other night in Scream 2 which I hadn't seen since its first release. She filmmakers could have cut the budget by saving on special effects and doing Jada in for real instead of for reel.

R151 Maybe caring about award shows a little too much - just sayin'.

He didn't present hole.

R153-Wanna bet?

R153 He does take direction well.

He refused to go nude

AGREE r147!

R148 Sometimes better not to have won. If he can display the goods again he will be recognized.

He's in the new Elvis movie.

R158 I'd recognize him if he displayed the good again.