Though, as I've mentioned, I thought the documentary Three Identical Strangers was tremendous and that I was extremely surprised it didn't get an Oscar nomination, I'm not someone who talked about how the Academy "snubbed" anyone. That's because five other people or films were nominated in a category that voters thought were better, and if you added the "snubbed" person in, then you'd have to drop one of those already nominated out. So, when someone says that so-and-so were "snubbed" I always ask which of the nominees they'd drop as undeserving. Most of the time there's no answer.
So, I'm not going to talk about the Oscar nominees and who I think is most deserving, or who got screwed and was left out. What I will reference, though, is the oddity of Oscar categories -- in particular Best Supporting Actor or Actress. It's a category that I think the Motion Picture Academy has to address and figure out how to get it right. It's most uncertain than the NFL rule for what officially makes a catch.
The category has long had its uncertainties. The most notable may be when George Burns won a Best Supporting Oscar for The Sunshine Boys. It was certainly lovely to see him win, but there is no way on earth that it was a supporting role. The movie -- and Neil Simon play before it -- is about the two old vaudeville actors. And he and Walter Matthau had equal parts.
That's the case, too, in the wonderful movie Green Book. Viggo Mortensen got a nomination as Best Actor, while Mahershala Ali was nominated as Best Supporting Actors. The movie is about the relationship that the two men had on their trip together through the South. Neither supported the other -- they were complementary.
But perhaps more odd is The Favourite. The film is about the battle between two aspirants for the Queen's favourite. The Queen is almost a secondary character, reactive to the two women trying to one-up each other and gain the most important position in court.
And yet, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz who played the two competing women have been nominated as Best Supporting Actress. And Olivia Colman as Queen Anne is nominated as Best Actress. (Side note: for fans of the Netflix series, The Crown, Olivia Colman has been signed to play another Queen, taking over the role of Queen Elizabeth from Clair Foy.)
As it happens, the British have done the same with The Favourite, and their BAFTA Awards mirror those of the Oscars. I suspect that no one wanted three nominees in the same categories, and further the film didn't want all "Supporting" nominees and no Best Actress. And I think it's generally up to the movie producers to decide which category they want to nominate actors and actresses in. Why it broke down this way, I have no idea. Perhaps they thought Ms. Stone and Ms. Weisz would have better chances to win in the Supporting categories. And, as I said, they didn't want a movie with no "lead."
I'm sure there are some who can do their best to justify the breakdown for The Favourite. I will only say that the movie is called "The Favourite." It is about who will be the "Favourite." That's why they called it The Favourite.
And no, I don't expect this to change. But then, as readers of these pages have long-since figured out, that doesn't tend to stop my opining on such things...
So, I'm not going to talk about the Oscar nominees and who I think is most deserving, or who got screwed and was left out. What I will reference, though, is the oddity of Oscar categories -- in particular Best Supporting Actor or Actress. It's a category that I think the Motion Picture Academy has to address and figure out how to get it right. It's most uncertain than the NFL rule for what officially makes a catch.
The category has long had its uncertainties. The most notable may be when George Burns won a Best Supporting Oscar for The Sunshine Boys. It was certainly lovely to see him win, but there is no way on earth that it was a supporting role. The movie -- and Neil Simon play before it -- is about the two old vaudeville actors. And he and Walter Matthau had equal parts.
That's the case, too, in the wonderful movie Green Book. Viggo Mortensen got a nomination as Best Actor, while Mahershala Ali was nominated as Best Supporting Actors. The movie is about the relationship that the two men had on their trip together through the South. Neither supported the other -- they were complementary.
But perhaps more odd is The Favourite. The film is about the battle between two aspirants for the Queen's favourite. The Queen is almost a secondary character, reactive to the two women trying to one-up each other and gain the most important position in court.
And yet, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz who played the two competing women have been nominated as Best Supporting Actress. And Olivia Colman as Queen Anne is nominated as Best Actress. (Side note: for fans of the Netflix series, The Crown, Olivia Colman has been signed to play another Queen, taking over the role of Queen Elizabeth from Clair Foy.)
As it happens, the British have done the same with The Favourite, and their BAFTA Awards mirror those of the Oscars. I suspect that no one wanted three nominees in the same categories, and further the film didn't want all "Supporting" nominees and no Best Actress. And I think it's generally up to the movie producers to decide which category they want to nominate actors and actresses in. Why it broke down this way, I have no idea. Perhaps they thought Ms. Stone and Ms. Weisz would have better chances to win in the Supporting categories. And, as I said, they didn't want a movie with no "lead."
I'm sure there are some who can do their best to justify the breakdown for The Favourite. I will only say that the movie is called "The Favourite." It is about who will be the "Favourite." That's why they called it The Favourite.
And no, I don't expect this to change. But then, as readers of these pages have long-since figured out, that doesn't tend to stop my opining on such things...
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