Waiting for Oscar?: The Leading Ladies

To join the ranks of Julia Roberts, Hilary Swank, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Cate Blanchett, Keira Knightley, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger, and Kate Winslet, a leading lady has to command both serious movie roles, and a certain amount of graceful time in the celebrity limelight. Hollywood loves its leading ladies to be elegant in public, sexy on screen, and display great reverence come Oscar time. Which of the women yet to be nominated for an Academy Award have the best chance for the future?

1. Anne Hathaway – she’s best-known for “The Devil Wears Prada”, but jumping between “Brokeback Mountain” and “Becoming Jane” will likely see her picking up an Oscar nom before too long.

2. Sienna Miller – she’s playing enough small-scale interesting leading roles to get noticed, and a propensity for nudity does tend to reward actresses who show they will do anything for the craft.

3. Jennifer Garner – “Catch and Release”, “The Kingdom” and “Juno” have put her in the picture, as has becoming Mrs. Ben Affleck.

4. Scarlett Johansson – “Lost in Translation” and “Girl With a Pearl Earring” seemed to offer her a double Oscar nod possibility in 2003, but look out for “Mary, Queen of Scots” in 2009.

5. Cameron Diaz – “Being John Malkovich” and “Gangs of New York” showed the former model wanted to get rid of the looks to get the roles. Once the “Charlie’s Angels” / “Shrek” / light comedy period ends, will she seek out the award-friendly work again?

6. Kirsten Dunst – she walks the line between “Spider Man” blockbusters and interesting directors. Perhaps a worthy performance as a relief worker in the Middle East in “Sweet Relief” (2009) will attract Oscar attention?

7. Katherine Heigl – she’s in Hollywood’s glare at the moment thanks to “Grey’s Anatomy” on TV, and “Knocked Up” / “27 Dresses” in the cinemas. Can she attract the big roles?

8. Sandra Bullock – small roles in “Crash” and “Infamous” aside, there have been many a comedy and thriller starring Miss Bullock since she raced onto our screens in “Speed” in 1994.

9. Demi Moore – once a star always a star? She still looks great, and it’s a long time since “Striptease” and “GI Jane”. Maybe supporting roles in “Bobby” and “Mr. Brooks” are a sign of things to come? “Passion of Mind” is still her best performance.

10. Meg Ryan – British fans will remember her odd interview at the hands of Michael Parkinson. The ‘90s were kind to Meg, but maybe Diane English’s “The Women” will get her back on track?

Waiting for Oscar?: The Leading Men

If you’re a “leading man” in Hollywood, more often than not you flex your biceps, you’re the good guy, your eyes twinkle at appropriate moments, and you usually smile, save the world, and get the girl. Of the current crop, I would rate the following ten as having the best chance of getting into the Best Actor category at the Oscars:

1. Hugh Jackman – the “X-Men” series keeps him the limelight but could Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia” get him nominated? He has entertained in "Kate & Leopold", "Swordfish", and "Someone Like You", with recent roles, "The Fountain" and "The Prestige", becoming more ambitious.

2. Daniel Craig – playing 007 isn’t the only string to Bond’s bow, as Mr. Craig cuts his serious acting chops in his spare time, with roles in the likes of “Munich”, "Sylvia", "Enduring Love, and “Infamous”!

3. Christian Bale – all of his forthcoming movies are big-name projects, but can he better his brilliant performance in “American Psycho” or literally waste himself away for projects like “The Machinist”?

4. Gerard Butler – his rise through Hollywood has been meteoric since “Phantom of the Opera”. But "300" and "P.S. I Love You" aren't going to trouble the Oscar ballots. Will directors Frank Darabont and Brian De Palma be his big ticket?

5. Ryan Reynolds – perhaps the next big-name leading man? Being on Scarlett Johansson’s arm may help! Parts alongside Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock should keep him in the public eye.

6. Colin Farrell – he seems to want serious recognition, as weightier parts are replacing the action roles. Look out for “Dirt Music”. "Alexander" didn't quite connect, while "In Bruges", "The New World", and "Miami Vice" were aimed at vastly different audiences.

7. Eric Bana – you won’t believe the guy who played “Chopper” is the same star of “Munich” or “Lucky You”. He was known as a comic in Australia, and after some serious movie roles ("The Other Boleyn Girl" and "The Time Traveler's Wife") may go back to comedy in the form of Judd Apatow's "Funny People".

8. Aaron Eckhart – he has quietly put together a good career alongside many of Hollywood’s top leading ladies, ever since he stunned audiences in the controversial “In The Company of Men”. "Possession", "Your Friends and Neighbors", "Erin Brockovich", "The Pledge", "Thank You For Smoking", and "The Black Dahlia" should be seen ahead of the schmaltzy "No Reservations".

9. Ashton Kutcher – Mr. Demi Moore seems to be shedding his MTV Punk’d / “Dude Where’s My Car?” image in favour of worthy action (“The Guardian”) or mainstream comedy ("Guess Who" and "What Happens in Vegas"). Will “serious” follow?

10. Tobey Maguire – he may be “Spiderman”, but he’s been in plenty of Oscar-worthy movies. They include "Seabiscuit", "The Cider House Rules", "Wonder Boys", "Pleasantville", and "The Ice Storm".


Honourable Mention:

John Cusack

Ewan McGregor

Owen Wilson

Ben Affleck

Hugh Grant

Brendan Fraser

Bruce Willis

Waiting for Oscar?: An Overview

Question: Which of your favourite movie stars have been nominated for, or have won, an Oscar? How many of them haven’t? It’s hard to remember to be honest, so I’ve done all the counting for you! But right now I’m interested in the ones that haven’t, because if my theory holds any water, many of them will be added to the list of celebrated Academy stars in the near or distant future!

For every critic of the Oscars and how much they mean to the movie industry, I will happily concede that the Academy Awards (in part) are designed to congratulate the very system that spawned them. If Hollywood likes a particular star, they have every interest in that actor or actress winning awards so that they can pat themselves on the back that they were right to get behind a particular performer in the first place. You could argue that if the top directors and producers get a sudden liking for the “next big thing” then it may be a self-fulfilling prophecy that the superstar in question is nominated or wins an Oscar partly for his or her talent, but largely due to he or she appearing in the film with the best script, best co-stars, and biggest budget.

It’s VERY hard to get Oscar recognition if you’re a great actor in a movie that nobody has seen and there hasn’t been a marketing campaign to push to all the Oscar voters. It stands to reason! So my theory is this: in the next couple of years, or maybe decades, I think there is a pecking order of performers who will receive Oscar nominations and win the little golden guys because they are in the Hollywood system with people behind them who have every interest in them doing well. But that’s not the end of the theory!

The Oscars love to celebrate the new star who has appeared from nowhere as much as they love the old favourite who has been in the wilderness for five decades, only to return in glory or be finally noticed for a whole career’s worth of work. They also love those serious British types in supporting roles, those mysterious foreign stars who are very flamboyant on screen and sound great, even if you have to follow the subtitles to keep up with the story, or more importantly, those champions of the box office, the leading lady and leading man material who are already household names.

You know when you’re in the cinema watching a trailer for a future movie and you hear a deep and serious voiceover announcing a string of stars with the prefix “Academy Award winner ....” or “Academy Award nominee ....”? You’re meant to register this glorious ensemble cast as signifying an artistic and worthy production that may (or may not) be good enough to command critical or box office acclaim at a later date, but at the very least features a number of performers who have previously been recognised at the Oscars for something that was quite good! In other words, the cache of an actor or actress having been nominated or awarded an Academy Award is meant to sell the next film on the back of their earlier successes.

But do you know just how many of these stars are out there in the Hollywood universe? By my count 183 Actors / Supporting Actors and 207 Actresses / Supporting Actresses who are still working in Film and / or Television at the present time. If the Hollywood / English-speaking film industry is churning out somewhere in the region of 400 movies per year and there are 390 “Academy Award Nominee .....” / “Academy Award Winner ....” stars to fill them, then how special does a movie become when most of them have one or more Oscar-prefixed performers in them?

As you look back through Oscar history, you get a sense that certain stars were destined to receive nominations. With these trends in mind, I have come up with fifteen categories of performers. They are ranked according to what I think are their chances of being selected in any of the Academy Award acting categories in the years ahead. Of course, it all depends on what movies they star in, but Hollywood seems predicated to reward some stars over others. The categories are as follows:

1. The Leading Men - who would make "Best Actor" material?

2. The Leading Ladies - who would make "Best Actress" material?

3. Foreign Stars with Subtitles - which non-English speaking stars could be nominated?

4. The Multicultural Awards experience! - which non-white actors and actresses will make the Academy feel better about itself?

5. Pretty Boys Can Act, Can't They? - which Hollywood actors, better-known for their looks, could get an Oscar nomination?

6. Pretty Girls Can Act, Can't They? - which Hollywood actresses, better-known for their looks, could get an Oscar nomination?

7. Funny Man Goes Straight - which comedians could transform themselves into "serious" Oscar-calibre actors, following the likes of Robin Williams?

8. Indy Stars in the Mainstream! - which actors and actresses frequently gain notice for their talents in small / independent films, but could make it into the Supporting roles in bigger "Oscar" movies?

9. The British Invasion! - Oscar loves the Brits, so which of the current un-nominated crop could pick up a nomination for Best Supporting Actor?

10. From TV Star to Big Screen Wannabe - which performers are best-known for their television roles, but could be recognised by Oscar for their movie roles?

11. Old Timers Ready for Reward? - which long-time stars could finally gain some Oscar recognition?

12. Keep It In the Family: "Who's Your Daddy"? - which stars could gain Oscar acceptance because the Academy loves their family tree?

13. Serious Actors Please Get in Line for an Oscar! - which actors continually appear in "artistic" or "serious-minded" cinema, indicating their careers are geared more to plaudits than dollars?

14. Serious Actresses Please Get in Line for an Oscar! - which actresses continually appear in "artistic" or "serious-minded" cinema, indicating their careers are geared more to plaudits than dollars?

15. Did You Miss Your Chance? Are There Any Oscars left for ME?? - which stars may have seen their hopes of a nomination vanish in an earlier decade, or been ignored at the time for a decent role?

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