Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

Precious Doll wrote:

Jefforey Smith wrote:Mark Rylance takes the BAFTA in this category, making him a more visible presence. Notwithstanding, Stallone might take this category Oscar night based on sentiment/Lifetime Achievement mentalities.

Yeah, Stallone for virtually a whole career of making crap.

I agree with that. I give him credit for being smart and persistent enough to be able to revive his career in recent years, but in terms of artistic merit, I hate seeing him anywhere near the Oscar.

Big Magilla wrote:Mark Rylance's award was accepted by Steven Spielberg as Rylance was allegedly appearing on Broadway, but the IBDb. shows Rylance's last appearance was in the revival of Twelfth Night which closed in 2014. Where was he, really?

Off-Broadway.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/theat ... -fish.html

Mark Rylance's award was accepted by Steven Spielberg as Rylance was allegedly appearing on Broadway, but the IBDb. shows Rylance's last appearance was in the revival of Twelfth Night which closed in 2014. Where was he, really?

Jefforey Smith wrote:Mark Rylance takes the BAFTA in this category, making him a more visible presence. Notwithstanding, Stallone might take this category Oscar night based on sentiment/Lifetime Achievement mentalities.

Yeah, Stallone for virtually a whole career of making crap.

Mark Rylance takes the BAFTA in this category, making him a more visible presence. Notwithstanding, Stallone might take this category Oscar night based on sentiment/Lifetime Achievement mentalities.

Somehow this category, which was teeming with life pre-nominations, has become lethargic and -- if Stallone wins -- will end up the dullest choice on the year. I guess Rylance and Bale (because of his film's prominence) were always going to be nominees, but I think I'd feel a ton better about the category with wholesale replacement: Elba, Dano, Tremblay, Keaton and Del Toro (all of whom have won or been nominated somewhere) would make a far more exciting slate...not to mention I'd have no idea who might win from that group.

I have to echo Italiano, that if the predicted batch of DiCaprio, Stallone and Vikander all win, it'll be as underwhelming a group of winning performances as we've seen in some time (Brie Larson will be the best by a country mile).

I acknowledge Stallone's standing ovation at the Globes, but I can remember, way back, Fred Astaire getting the same at the '74 Globes (and maybe Lauren Bacall as well? I can't specifically recall, but it seems like it must have happened), so it's not necessarily meaningful -- people might, from nostalgia, salute such a person in the case of a win, but not necessarily be inclined to vote their way. And I agree, it's weird the way what seem signs of weakness -- omissions from SAG and BAFTA -- are somehow being sold as plusses. I guess Stallone's biggest advantage is the lack of coalescing around any one candidate, but maybe that just makes the category a total jump ball -- five candidates about whom no voters are ecstatic, not four plus Stallone.

I'd rate Tom Hardy least likely to win, but, then, I'm less enthusiastic about his performance than many here seem to be. If he wins, it's residual pull from a strong best picture/actor contender, plus, as BJ notes, a big year all around.

Everyone else here seems to be starting with "of course Christian Bale won't win", but I wonder about that. Had he NOT won five years ago, I think he'd be a truly hot contender -- a showy performance in a film right in the thick of the best picture race. And he did have that additional nomination in 2013, so it's not a back-to-back win. I'm not ready to predict him, but I can't say I'd be shocked if his name was called out.

I think Sabin kind of nailed how I feel about Mark Ruffalo: on career profile/film prominence, he seems a solid choice...but I can't say I was wowed by his performance (by me, it's the least impressive of his three in the past six years). However, people liked him enough to nominate him (and not my choice, Keaton), so maybe they'll like him enough to give him the win.

And then there's critics' guy Mark Rylance, who back in December seemed he might run away with it. Hard to tell if he's a Klaus-Maria Brandauer -- the most respectable choice in the group, but not an exciting enough pick to win in the end. Bridge of Spies was fairly popular, especially with the age group that dominates the Oscars, and he might still pull through.

All of which is to say, it could be Stallone on inertia, but, if it's not Stallone, it could be about anybody.

criddic3 wrote:

flipp525 wrote:

criddic3 wrote:[Basinger] has not been near an Oscar role since.

Not necessarily true. I think Jeff Bridges was closer to a nomination for The Door in the Floor (a film based on the first third of Oscar winner John Irving's A Widow for One Year), but I do recall Kim Basinger getting at least some buzz for her performance in the same film. Even around these parts.

Any buzz she got for that film was very short-lived. I think talk about 8 Mile lasted longer, but it wasn't realistic. All the other titles being mentioned like Charlie St. Cloud and I Dreamed of Africa were met with disappointing reviews and fairly weak box-office. The Door in the Floor was met with decent reviews, but made a mere $3 million at the box-office. Even as a limited release, that isn't very good. Granted, Bridges did get an Independent Spirit Award nomination. My point was that Basinger herself has stated she isn't very good at picking the best scripts, and even turned down L.A. Confidential 3 times before she was convinced to take the role. This is evidenced by her 7 career Razzie nominations for Worst Actress.

Okay, that's fine and good. I'm still right, though. You said that she hasn't been near an "Oscar role" since her win and, as Tripp and I have pointed out to you, she has.

flipp525 wrote:

criddic3 wrote:[Basinger] has not been near an Oscar role since.

Not necessarily true. I think Jeff Bridges was closer to a nomination for The Door in the Floor (a film based on the first third of Oscar winner John Irving's A Widow for One Year), but I do recall Kim Basinger getting at least some buzz for her performance in the same film. Even around these parts.

Any buzz she got for that film was very short-lived. I think talk about 8 Mile lasted longer, but it wasn't realistic. All the other titles being mentioned like Charlie St. Cloud and I Dreamed of Africa were met with disappointing reviews and fairly weak box-office. The Door in the Floor was met with decent reviews, but made a mere $3 million at the box-office. Even as a limited release, that isn't very good. Granted, Bridges did get an Independent Spirit Award nomination. My point was that Basinger herself has stated she isn't very good at picking the best scripts, and even turned down L.A. Confidential 3 times before she was convinced to take the role. This is evidenced by her 7 career Razzie nominations for Worst Actress.

flipp525 wrote:

criddic3 wrote:[Basinger] has not been near an Oscar role since.

Not necessarily true. I think Jeff Bridges was closer to a nomination for The Door in the Floor (a film based on the first third of Oscar winner John Irving's A Widow for One Year), but I do recall Kim Basinger getting at least some buzz for her performance in the same film. Even around these parts.

And now that I'm thinking about it, that film would've been such a better place for Bridges to get his Oscar than for the rote Crazy Heart.

I love that movie, and both of them in it. Such a lovely piece. I agree whole-heartedly about Bridges!

Even if she hasn't reentered the Oscar arena, Basinger's sparse post-Oscar lineup hasn't been horribly shabby: mostly interesting mainstream fare like 8 Mile and indie fare like Charlie St. Cloud, Door in the Floor, I Dreamed of Africa, The Infomers, that we at least interesting on paper. Certainly you can hold her career up above Cuba Gooding Jr. or The Expendables 4.

criddic3 wrote:[Basinger] has not been near an Oscar role since.

Not necessarily true. I think Jeff Bridges was closer to a nomination for The Door in the Floor (a film based on the first third of Oscar winner John Irving's A Widow for One Year), but I do recall Kim Basinger getting at least some buzz for her performance in the same film. Even around these parts.

And now that I'm thinking about it, that film would've been such a better place for Bridges to get his Oscar than for the rote Crazy Heart.

True, but Kim Basinger didn't make another movie after L.A. Confidential for three years, unlike Stallone he keeps on making crap while making an occasional decent film every ten years or so. Rocky Balboa in 2006 was another one he was lauded for.

Big Magilla wrote: The fact that Stallone would make a statement that he hasn't been proud of his recent work and then go back and make another piece of crap after being lauded for finally making something halfway decent kind of makes him appear disingenuous

Stallone did the same thing when he was promoting Cop Land in '97. Talk of an Oscar nomination faded quickly that year, but despite good reviews he returned to making his usual fare. I think acknowledging bad choices won't hurt him. Kim Basinger said similar things her past film choices and she still won the Oscar. She has not been near an Oscar role since.

flipp525 wrote:Mark Rylance would seem to be the classic supporting actor choice. He turns in a strong character performance in Bridge of Spies and is already a well-regarded British thespian (who has almost as many Tony awards as Audra MacDonald does at this point). As mentioned here, the early steam just ran out for him. BAFTAs is a strong venue for him to place and could resurrect his chances. Was it Reza who declared him the outright winner of this category some months ago? I think that was always a bit of a shaky bet.

Yes, I'm guilty of having cast Rylance's win in stone. I actually cast my prediction while Rylance was still shooting Bridge and mentioned it later when I reviewed the film here. Who knew Stallone would rise from the ashes this year.

You know, I still think Rylance will prevail. He is quite well known actually moreso for his stage roles, of course, which have won him three Tonys in the United States. Plus the PBS Wolf Hall must have been seen by a number of Academy members. Spielberg has cast him in his next as well.

Let's see

This is probably the most interesting category this year. If The Revenant sweeps (unlikey, but you never know) I see Tom Hardy as Stallone´s spoiler.

I did say that there was no Melvyn Douglas in the race. I've previously said that Mark Rylance is not known to most Academy members, although many may have seen him in Wolf Hall on PBS which a good number of them do watch.

Stallone has two previous nominations to his credit for writing and acting in the original Rocky. Burt Reynolds had no previous nominations to his credit and while his mid-career may have mirrored Reynolds', his overall career has been more like Rooney's, an actor much admired in his early days who later made a lot of films he wasn't proud of to earn a buck.

The fact that Stallone would make a statement that he hasn't been proud of his recent work and then go back and make another piece of crap after being lauded for finally making something halfway decent kind of makes him appear disingenuous, which could hurt his chances. I just don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if he won, nor would I be surprised if he lost.