supporting performances

Here's a collection of great supporting performances that weren't acknowledged with awards, nominations or fanfare. Mostly we are talking about women here.

1988 - Betty Buckley in Another Woman. Buckley's one scene as Ian Holm's ex-wife who disturbs a party with her intense appearance is some seriously grand acting. The whole cast is incredible - one of Woody's most balanced ensembles. Outstanding supporting work from Gene Hackman, Martha Plimpton, John Houseman and more.

1989 - Laura San Giacomo in Sex, Lies and Videotape. Giacomo's balls-out sexy, nasty and smart performance as Cynthia, the uninhibited sister in Soderbergh's breakthrough put her on the map. Andie MacDowell, James Spader and Giacomo all should have been nominated for Oscars, but the movie is (and was) too in touch with intimacy and sexuality to connect to a conservative Academy.

1990 - 5 excellent actresses were nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1990 (Annette Bening in The Grifters, Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas, Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost, Diane Ladd in Wild at Heart, Mary McDonnell in Dances with Wolves. Goldberg gets a lot of flack from snobs for her win, but this was a tough choice and Whoopi IS comedy gold in Ghost. That being said, there were at least 5 other women who also deserved attention in 90.

Glenn Close in Reversal of Fortune

Dianne Wiest in Edward Scissorhands (If it were up to me, there would be a Dianne Wiest holiday. We could call it Supporting Actress Day!)

Jennifer Jason Leigh in Last Exit to Brooklyn

Helena Bonham-Carter in Hamlet

Shirley MacLaine in Postcards from the Edge (although this performance could have just as easily been considered leading)

and Madonna in Dick Tracy (seriously).

1991 - Judy Davis wasn't nominated for her fascinating, weird and deeply contrasting performances in Barton Fink and Naked Lunch.

1992 - Category confusion; Helena Bonham-Carter really ISN'T supporting in Howards End. But she isn't leading either, is she? Either way, there needs to be some way to acknowledge her beautiful performance. I feel much the same way about Anthony Hopkins in this rich film.

*Sydney Pollack is unflinchingly real and actually a tad-bit scary in Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives. Judy Davis gets all the funny lines and deservedly was nominated, but Pollock's work is also worth noting.

1993 - '93 is another case where the Academy choose 5 super solid performances but they could have just as easily picked 5 others. The nominees were Anna Paquin in The Piano, Rosie Perez in Fearless, Emma Thompson in In the Name of the Father (honestly, this nom is weird and unwarranted), Holly Hunter in The Firm and Winona Ryder in The Age of Innocence.

UNNOMINATED; Joan Cusack in Addams Family Values. One of the funniest performances ever. Julianne Moore, Madelaine Stowe, Anne Archer, Andie MacDowell and Jennifer Jason Leigh are all remarkable in Short Cuts. Isabella Rossellini is fearless in Fearless.

1994 - Robin Wright Penn in Forrest Gump. She has never been nominated. Her snub in 94 was downright retarded.

1995 - Chloe Sevigny in Kids. Thank God for Chloe.

1996 - Parker Posey and Catherine O'Hara in Waiting for Guffman. One of these days O'Hara will get nominated.

1997 - Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen (or is she leading?) and Christina Ricci in The Ice Storm. STORM received zero nominations. In supporting actor, Jude Law was snubbed for Gattaca - great movie, great performance.

1998 - Jane Adams and Dylan Baker in Happiness. Lisa Kudrow in The Opposite of Sex (best supporting performance of the year), Catherine Keener in Your Friends and Neighbors.

1999 - Cameron Diaz and John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. Maybe Julianne Moore for Magnolia? I need to see that flick again. Does it hold up?

2000 - JENNIFER CONNELLY in Requiem for a Dream. The Academy made up for this ridiculous slight by awarding her the following year for A Beautiful Mind. Guessing her snub has something to do with prudishness. She would certainly have been the first nominee who got fucked by a dildo onscreen, unless we choose to forget that famous Greer Garson scene in Mrs. Miniver.

2001 - Emily Watson in Gosford Park. Mirren and Smith were nominated. All three are great, but Watson was best. BIg fan of Kristin Scott-Thomas in the same flick. Barbara Hershey is fascinating in Lantana. I think everyone would agree the most traumatic event in 2001 was Naomi Watts's Best Actress snub for Mulholland Drive.

2002 - INSANE that Patricia Clarkson and Dennis Quaid weren't nominated for Far From Heaven. Far From Heaven should have swept the awards - Picture, Actress, both supporting, Director, Screenplay, Score, Cinematography. Great work by Cherry Jones in Signs, but not enough material for a nomination.

2003 - Melissa Leo kicked ass in 21 Grams. Hope Davis was terrific in American Splendor and The Secret Lives of Dentists (but both really are leads). Catherine O'Hara wonderful in A Mighty Wind,

2004 - Naomi Watts is special in I Heart Huckabees. Blanchett and Huston delectable in The Life Aquatic. Streep campy fun in Manchurian. I adore Bryce Dallas Howard and all the lovely theatre ladies (Weaver, Jones, Atkinson) from The Village.

2005 - The silly year when Crash triumphed over BB MTN for Best Picture and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for Walk the Line (I like the idea of nominating her for Election, but nothing else). My favorite leading female performance of '05 was Naomi Watts in King Kong. Maria Bello should have been nominated (and won) for A History of Violence in supporting. I wouldn't object to a Diane Keaton nomination for The Family Stone. She is bound to be nominated again the next decade, based on her 1 nomination per decade work ethic thus far - 77 Annie Hall 81 Reds 95 Marvin's Room 03 Something's Gotta Give. Looking forward.

2006 - A movie called FAILURE TO LAUNCH was actually greenlit and released. Great supporting perfs from Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada, Toni Collette in Little Miss Sunshine and those chicks from Pan's Labyrinth,

2007 - Kelly MacDonald in No Country for Old Men, Laura Linney in The Nanny Diaries, Susan Sarandon in In the Valley of Elah, Jennifer Garner in Juno.

2008 - Tilda Swinton in Burn After Reading ("You're so coarse.") and in that Brad Pitt/David Fincher bore.

TOP TEN FILMS OF 2009

My TOP TEN films released in 2009.

1. AVATAR

2. INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

3. THE FANTASTIC MR FOX

4. A SERIOUS MAN

5. UP IN THE AIR

6. THE HURT LOCKER

7. UP

8. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

9. PRECIOUS

10.A SINGLE MAN

i live for this shit

Unoffical Break Down of NYFCC Awards Votes tallies.

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/movies/oscar_watch_ny_la_critics_boost_D2dyUFQdy2RlIe1IazdQSO

Complete, unofficial vote tallies for the leaders in each category are below. Note that in the first ballot, members present (21) and proxies (8) voted for a single choice. In the second ballot, members present and proxies vote on a weighted ballot with up to three choices, but the winner must appear on a majority of ballots. This is also true of the third ballot, which does not allow proxy votes nor the introduction of new contender. If there is still no winner, a simple majority determines the outcome of the fourth ballot.

BEST ACTRESS

First ballot: Meryl Streep, 5; Tilda Swinton, 5; Charlotte Gainsbourg, 4.

Second ballot: Streep, 31; Swinton, 29; Carey Mulligan, 24

SUPPORTING ACTOR

First ballot: Christophe Waltz 11, Christian McKay 5, Anthony Mackie 3, Peter Capaldi, 3

Second ballot: Waltz 39, McKay 31, Capaldi, 26

Third ballot: Waltz 36, McKay 25, Capaldi, 13

BEST DIRECTOR

First ballot: Kathryn Bigelow 11, Jason Reitman 3, Wes Anderson 2, Oliver Assayas, 2

Second ballot: Bigelow 56, Anderson 15, Tarantino, 13

BEST PICTURE

First Ballot: Hurt Locker 8, Up in the Air 5, Fantastic Mr. Fox, 3

Second Ballot: Hurt Locker 42, Up in the Air 25, Fantastic Mr. Fox 16

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

First and only ballot: Fantastic Mr. Fox 14, Up 8, Coraline, 3

BEST DOCUMENTARY

First ballot: Beaches of Agnes 5, The Cove 4, Anvil, 3

Second ballot: Anvil 26, Tyson 25, Time and the City, 20

Third ballot: Anvil 29, Time and the City 22, Tyson 14

Fourth ballot: Time and the City 28, Anvil 27, Tyson, 16

CINEMATOGRAPHY

First Ballot: White Ribbon 5, Hurt Locker 3, A Serious Man 3

Second ballot: White Ribbon 32, Serious Man 20, Avatar 17

Third ballot: White Ribbon 30, Avatar 21, Serious Man 18

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

First ballot: Mo’Nique 13, Vera Farmiga 3, Samantha Morton 2, Anna Kendrick 2, Maggie Gyllenhaal, 2

Second ballot: Mo’Nique 49, Farmiga, 26, Kendrick 21

SCREENPLAY

First ballot: In the Loop 6, Up in the Air 6, A Serious Man 5

Second ballot: Up in the Air 33, In the Loop 31, A Serious Man 24

Third ballot (voided): Up in the Air 31, In the Loop 30, Inglourious Basterds 22

Third ballot (re-vote): In the Loop 29, Up in the Air 28, Inglourious Basterds, 19

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

First ballot: Summer Hours 6, White Ribbon 3, Everlasting Moments 3

Second ballot: Summer Hours 32, Broken Embraces 21, Everlasting Moments 15

BEST ACTOR

First ballot: George Clooney 8, Jeff Bridges 5, Jeremy Renner 3

Second ballot: Clooney 38, Bridges 31, Renner 27

Third ballot: Clooney 38, Bridges 29, Renner 18

Oscar Nomination Predictions (12/13/10)

I think this is my first real stab at Oscar predix. It's really hard to believe some of these flicks will actually be nominated for Best Picture, but it's difficult to anticipate how this new voting process will really work out.

Picture

AN EDUCATION

AVATAR

THE HURT LOCKER

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

JULIE AND JULIA

THE MESSENGER

NINE

PRECIOUS

UP

UP IN THE AIR

The next most likely nominees appear to be Star Trek, Sherlock Holmes, A Serious Man, A Single Man, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, (500) Days of Summer. But my choices currently sound a little more right, huh?

Actress

Sandra Bullock

Helen Mirren

Carey Mulligan

Gabourey Sidibe

Meryl Streep

There's not much playroom here. Marion Cotilliard for her supporting performance in Nine, Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria, Abbie Cornish in Bright Star, Zoeey Deschanel in (500) Days.

Actor

Jeff Bridges

George Clooney

Colin Firth

Morgan Freeman

Jeremy Renner

A few other low-key prospects like Daniel Day-Lewis, Matt Damon, Ben Foster lingering but not really.

Supporting Actress

Penelope Cruz

Judi Dench

Anna Kendrick

Monique

Julianne Moore

Large list of backups. Melanie Laurent DESERVES to be nominated for Inglorious, The whole cast of Nine, Mariah Carey, Sigourney Weaver, VERA FARMIGA, Paula Patton, Samantha Morton.

Supporting Actor

Woody Harrelson

Jude Law

Christopher Plummer

Stanley Tucci

Christoph Wentz

Random other possibilities like Christian McKay, Anthony Mackie, Matt Damon, Alfred Molina. Who cares? I'm hoping Christoph Wentz stays the clear front runner.

Director

Kathryn Bigelow

James Cameron

Lee Daniels

Michael Haneke

Quentin Tarantino

This list could go on forever. Tricky year. This will be hard to predict.

NYFCC predix

Didn't do so well with my LAFC predix, but what the hell - I'm gonna take a stab at the NYFCC, which are announced tomorrow. Sometimes they publicize runners-up and sometimes not.

Picture: A SERIOUS MAN 2. AVATAR

Actress: Carey Mulligan in An Education 2. Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia

Actor: Colin Firth in A Single Man 2. George Clooney in Up in the Air

Supporting Actress: Julianne Moore in A Single Man 2. Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air

Supporting Actor: Christoph Wentz in Inglorious Basterds 2. Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones/Julie and Julia

Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker 2. Quentin Tarantino for Inglorious Basterds

Screenplay: Up in the Air 2. A Serious Man

Also, start looking out for James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow to go head-to-head for Best Director at the Oscars. I think it's worth noting that they used to be married, and this is sure to be a fun human-interest story for many blogs and boring people.

Golden Globe nominations later this week.

LAFC predix

The LAFC announces it's winners and runners-up tomorrow.

My last minute go-for-broke predix here:

Picture: AVATAR 2. Inglorious Basterds

Actress: Meryl Streep 2. Carey Mulligan

Actor: Colin Firth 2. Morgan Freeman

Supporting Actress: Monique 2. Julianne Moore

Supporting Actor: Christoph Wentz 2. Christopher Plummer

Director: James Cameron 2. Quentin Tarantino

Screenplay: (500) Days of Summer 2. A Serious Man

Avatar for the win?

AVATAR was heavily screened by critics last night and it seems people are pretty freaking stoked. The Oscar prediction sites are all a twitter and seem convinced that not only is Avatar a definite nominee for Best Picture but a major frontrunner.

The INVICTUS reviews are also very strong.

Still really hard to predict 10 nominees.

Avatar, Invictus, Precious, Up in the Air - safe bets

Up, Inglorious Basterds, An Education, The Hurt Locker - good bets

Star Trek, Julie and Julia, A Serious Man, Nine, The Lovely Bones, The Messenger (seems to be sneaking up) - contenders

Can you think of any other possibilities?

Predix as of 12/5/09

Most likely Oscar nominees (as of 12/5/09). Will be interesting to see how Nine, The Lovely Bones and Avatar land over the next week or so...could be some significant changes. No matter how you look at it Best Picture feels real thin. There are some really outstanding performances in play this year, and it's exciting to think we could finally watch Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore collect awards. The NY and LA critics awards are announced this week. Look out for them to pull some interesting surprise choices.

Best Picture

1. Up in the Air

2. Precious

3. Invictus

4. The Hurt Locker

5. Nine

6. Up

7. Inglorious Basterds

8. Avatar

9. Star Trek

10. An Education

11. Julie and Julia

Best Actress

1. Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia OR It's Complicated

2. Gabourey Sidibe in Precious

3. Helen Mirren in The Last Station

4. Carey Mulligan in An Education

5. Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side

6. Marion Cotilliard in Nine

Best Actor

1. George Clooney in Up in the Air

2. Morgan Freeman in Invictus

3. Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart

4. Colin Firth in A Single Man

5. Daniel Day Lewis in Nine

6. Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

Best Supporting Actress

1. Monique in Precious

2. Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air

3. Julianne Moore in A Single Man

4. Judi Dench in Nine

5. Penelope Cruz in Nine

6. Mariah Carey in Precious

Best Supporting Actor

1. Christop Wentz in Inglorious Basterds

2. Stanley Tucci in Julie and Julia OR The Lovely Bones

3. Christopher Plummer in The Last Station

4. Matt Damon in Invictus

5. Woody Harrelson in The Messenger

6. Alfred Molina in An Education

Most nominations

most nominated LIVING/functioning actors:

1.

Meryl Streep - 15 (should go to 16 this yr!)

2.

Jack Nicholson - 12

3.

Al Pacino - 8

Peter O'Toole - 8

5.

Jane Fonda - 7

Dustin Hoffman - 7

7.

Michael Caine - 6

Robert DeNiro

Jessica Lange

Maggie Smith

Ellen Burstyn

Judi Dench

Robert Duvall

Vanessa Redgrave

Sissy Spacek

Kate Winslet

17.

Tom Hanks - 5

Sean Penn

Denzel Washington

Cate Blanchett

Shirley MacLaine

Sean Penn

Susan Sarandon

Glenn Close

Albert Finney

26.

Anthony Hopkins - 4

Emma Thompson

Daniel Day-Lewis

Jeff Bridges

Warren Beatty

Robin Williams

Jon Voight

Diane Keaton

Julianne Moore

Holly Hunter

36.

Marisa Tomei - 3

Tommy Lee Jones

Johnny Depp

Leonardo DiCaprio

Ben Kingsley

Russell Crowe

Geoffrey Rush

Tom Cruise

Dianne Wiest

Anjelica Huston

Julia Roberts

Joan Allen

Laura Linney

Renee Zellwger

Helen Mirren

Frances McDormand

Annette Bening

Kathy Bates

Best of 2000-2009

FILM:

Requiem for a Dream

Mulholland Drive

About Schmidt

There Will Be Blood

Far From Heaven

Inglorious Basterds

Brokeback Mountain

The Squid and the Whale

United 93

Pan's Labyrinth

Little Children

Lots of honorable mentions: Amelie, Wet Hot American Summer, Gosford Park, Up in the Air, City of God, The Departed, No Country for Old Men, LOTR trilogy, Letters from Iwo Jima, Chicago, Lost in Translation, Moulin Rouge, In the Mood for Love, Munich, Memento, The Hours, Dancer in the Dark, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, A History of Violence, Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2, Before Sunset, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, You Can Count on Me, Ratatouille, Michael Clayton, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Amores Perros, 25th Hour, Waltz with Bashir, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Punch Drunk Love, In America, In the Bedroom, etc etc.

Actress:

Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream

Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive

Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven

Charlize Theron in Monster

Annette Bening in Being Julia

Helen Mirren in The Queen

Kate Winslet in Little Children

Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake

Sissy Spacek in In the Bedroom

plus Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet in most of their 00's films.

Actor:

Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt

Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain

Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Sean Penn in Milk

John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland

Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote

Tom Hanks in Cast Away

Nicolas Cage in Adaptation

Supporting Actress:

Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for a Dream

Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton

Meryl Streep in Adaptation

Patricia Clarkson in Far from Heaven

Virgina Madsen in Sideways

Cate Blanchett in The Aviator

Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There

Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Helen Mirren in Gosford Park

Holly Hunter in Thirteen

Supporting Actor

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Christop Wentz in Inglorious Basterds

Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men

Dennis Quaid in Far From Heaven

William Hurt in A History of Violence

Chris Cooper in Adaptation

Benicio del Toro in Traffic

Paul Giamatti in Cinderella Man

Jackie Earl Haley in Little Children

Jim Broadbent in Iris