Fall Predictions: Best Supporting Actress

While Best Supporting Actor still remains a mystery past Simmons and Norton (having now seen Foxcatcher, I'm not so certain of Ruffalo's place among the final five. But he could still get in due to a lack of competition), Best Supporting Actress is definitely starting to take shape a little more firmly. And unlike Best Actress which seems to also have fewer viable options, this category has about 8 actresses that could all conceivably find themselves with nominations. It has always been a category to welcome newer, younger actresses (see last year's Lupita Nyong'o) alongside more seasoned actresses and this year's contenders are no different. There are some actresses looking for their first nominations and it wouldn't be the Oscars without Meryl Streep looking for a nom...

But the biggest breakout story of the year may just be an actress that has already been working for more than 25 years and in a film that was 11 years in the making. Most of the praise for Linklater's decade-spanning film has focused on Patricia Arquette's nurturing and grounded performance as Olivia, the mother of two children. The film may be called Boyhood but it's as just much about her own growth and maturity from a young, single mother trying to raise children while finishing her degree, to become a woman that has lived through hard times (her choice in men is a little questionable) and come out wiser for it all. It's even more fascinating watching Arquette age onscreen as we begin to see the progression of an actress coming into her own as a woman. And her speech towards the end of the film is perhaps the film's most poignant moment. There had been debate early in the summer about which category to place her in, but in Supporting she is guaranteed a nomination and even a possible win.

That Jessica Chastain is mentioned again for Oscar consideration is no surprise, she's been nominated twice before (Best Supporting Actress for 2011's The Help and Best Actress for 2012's Zero Dark Thirty). Nor is it a surprise that the actress will once again be competing with herself for a nomination from multiple performances in the same year. Her breakthrough year in 2011 consisted of 5 different films (I still say her best work that year was in Take Shelter) and this year, again, she has work in 4 different films to contend, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, Miss Julie (which is receiving a week-qualifying run), Interstellar, and the film that is most likely to bring about a nomination, A Most Violent Year. There's been controversy about the fact that Chastain has been prohibited from campaigning for J.C. Chandor's 80s-set film until December, due to her contract for Nolan's Interstellar, but it is really the only performance that has an actual chance to bring her another nomination and the publicity just may help her in scoring the nomination for Chandor's film. The Academy seems to be a fan or her work. It seems like a safe bet to see her name among the 5 nominees.

Even though Keira Knightley has been nominated once before for an Oscar (Best Actress for 2005's Pride and Prejudice), I was beginning to think the Academy wasn't quite as enamored with her work as I thought, after passing over her Oscar-worthy performances in A Dangerous Method and Anna Karenina. But it seems that she may once again be in their favor again this year for her work in The Imitation Game. Knightley is having a fantastic year as well with her amazing work in the musical Begin Again (which should hopefully bring her a Golden Globe nomination) and her strong comedic performance in the indie comedy Laggies. Her work in both will be a strong case to bring her one of those nominations that represents a good year for an actor. And the Oscar-bait, period-set, biopic about the man that cracked the Enigma code to defeat the Germans in WWII, seems like just the sort of film the Academy gravitates toward. It seems like a reasonable assumption that Knightley, as the only woman in the film apart of the code breaking team, will finally score her second nomination this year.

Since her Golden Globe-nominated breakout in 2010's Easy A, Emma Stone has been a big, young star. The Academy, always quick to acknowledge stars of the moment, seems to recognize when it's someone's "time" and right now seems right for Stone for her work in Birdman, a film that has the potential to score multiple nominations. In my Year In Advance predictions, I assumed that a nomination would be coming her way this year. I just got the category and film wrong. Her work in Birdman is strong (I've previously written about it over at The Film Experience) and her first nomination seems like a done deal.

There are a couple of actresses looking to fill that final 5th spot. Laura Dern hasn't received a nomination since her Best Actress nomination for Rambling Rose over 20 years ago and she's a strong competitor for her role in Wild. And her appearance in the successful The Fault in Our Stars this summer could also booster her visibility. The late-breaking Martin Luther King, Jr film Selma just showed this past week at the AFI Festival and its performance from Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King could be a threat to break into the race. But I think the last nomination will come from a film that still hasn't been seen but has had Oscar buzz surrounding it before cameras even starting rolling, the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's fairy tale musical Into the Woods. Oscar-nominee Anna Kendrick as Cinderella (in an actual supporting role) could find her way here, but you can never bet against Oscar's favorite actress Meryl Streep. In what would be her 19th nomination, Streep is a reliable mainstay and her role as the Witch (which at one point was considered lead, but moved to supporting), previously played by Bernadette Peters, Vanessa Williams, and Donna Murphy on stage, has always been a favorite from the show. To not include Streep among the eventual Oscar nominees, even sit unseen, seems like a mistake.  

My Predictions

Patricia Arquette Boyhood

Jessica Chastain A Most Violent Year

Keira Knightley The Imitation Game

Emma Stone Birdman

Meryl Streep Into the Woods

My Favorite Best Supporting Actress Performances (I've what I've seen so far)

Julianne Moore Maps to the Stars

Rene Russo Nightcrawler

Tilda Swinton Snowpiercer

Uma Thurman Nymphomaniac Vol I

Marisa Tomei Love Is Strange

Early Fall Predictions: Best Supporting Actor

With only two more months to go before the end of the year and only a handful of films still to be screened, the Best Supporting Actor category is still very much anyone's game. But as exciting as that seems, in theory, I found myself struggling to even fill out my own picks of favorite performances from this year. Certainly there must be some great performance that I'm overlooking. But for now, what people have decided as our options for the 5 slots aren't really inspiring much excitement in me...

One thing we know for sure, J.K. Simmons will be nominated (and possibly win) for Whiplash. Playing a hot-headed jazz instructor with a short-fuse, character actor Simmons is a foul-mouthed spitfire. I had such anxiety watching this film as if I was being yelled at and ridiculed by him personally. Although I was never taken with the character and don't feel Simmons gets to play much in this other than to be a gigantic screaming asshole, which he more than delivers. But it's just the type of showy turn from a respected actor that the Academy couldn't possibly overlook. I loved the actual film (and especially Miles Teller's performance) and won't begrudge Simmons his moment, but I did want more from him and never found his insults (especially his endless homophobic slurs) as shockingly funny as it seemed others did. The film was already a hit at Sundance and is it continues to open in more locations, I think the support for Simmons will geo even more.  

It's also a pretty safe bet to include two-time Oscar nominee Edward Norton for his performance as difficult theatre actor, Mike Shiner, in Birdman. Norton, playing on his own reputation as a prickly performer that clashes with his directors, is absolutely hilarious in the role. As the ultimate serious actor, Norton completely commits to the role, not afraid to show the pettiness of Shiner, relishing in how unlikable he can be. But then in quieter moments, (his rooftop scenes with Emma Stone crackle with silent, pulsating energy) he gets to show a gentler side that save the character from being a one-dimensional jerk. Norton hasn't been nominated in over 15 years (and not in this category since his film debut in 1996), but Birdman is already a hit with critics and has potential to hit big with the Academy. It seems that a nomination for Norton is definitely secure.

This summer when Richard Linklater's 12-years-in-the-making Boyhood was released, it seemed that the early Oscar buzz for an acting nomination was only on Patricia Arquette. But as the months have passed, former nominee Ethan Hawke (nominated in 2001 in this category for Training Day) began his slow burn and his name started coming up as often in regards to awards talk. And now he's already gained an acting nomination from the Gotham Independent Film Awards for his work as Mason, Sr. Hawke has steadily built a strong reputation within the film community over the years, even branching out from acting and garnering 2 screenplay nominations for his work on the two beloved Before Sunrise sequels. Even the people who didn't necessarily love the movie still admired the commitment it took to complete. Honoring Hawke here could be seen as a way of honoring the movie itself and his 12 year dedication to his performance.

After Foxcatcher finally made its debut at Cannes this past May, proving that the delay was worth it, the debate began on how Steve Carell and Channing Tatum would be campaigned for Oscars. It seems that, for now, both men will go lead. But there was no question that Oscar-nominee, Mark Ruffalo, playing real-life murder victim and Olympic wrestler David Schultz, would always be in the supporting category. And it looks like Ruffalo is most likely scoring his second Oscar nominations for his work in the film. However, if things start to shift and Carell feels he could win in Supporting, Ruffalo's chances of a nomination get a little bit tougher. Ruffalo has had some other well-received, high-profile work this year in Begin Again and an Emmy nomination for HBO's The Normal Heart. A nomination could be seen as reward for a successful year, which could also weigh heavily on receiving the nom.

But what to make of the 5th position? Right now everyone from Tyler Perry in Gone Girl to Robert Duvall in The Judge (I'm very surprised people are still holding on to that one considering how poorly received the film was critically and financially) to Josh Brolin in Inherent Vice (he has the best chance of a nomination from the movie, but it's not the contender I think we initially thought it was) to Tim Roth and Tom Wilkinson from the unseen Selma have all been mentioned. But I have a hunch that the 5th nominee, like in the Best Actor line-up, will come from Angelina Jolie's Unbroken. But with all the names that could potentially breakout (Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, Jai Courtney, Finn Wittrock), my feeling is that Japanese pop star Miyavi playing an officer in the POW camp that Jack O'Connell is held prisoner and the main antagonist of the hero has the kind of baity part that wins awards attention.

My Predictions

Ethan Hawke Boyhood

Miyavi Unbroken

Edward Norton Birdman

Mark Ruffalo Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons Whiplash

My Favorite Best Supporting Actor Performances (of what I've seen so far)

Ben Mendelsohn Starred Up

Bill Nighy Pride

Edward Norton Birdman

Christophe Paou Strangers by the Lake

Sam Rockwell Laggies

Early Fall Predictions: Best Actress

Doesn't it seem like every year brings the same story about the Best Actress category? Mainly, the lack of major contenders and a category that almost every year seems to be deemed "weak". I'm sorry to say that after Cate Blanchett's impassioned speech about more leading roles for woman (they do make money! The world is round, people!), that it doesn't seem like the studios were paying attention. Well, compared to the many Best Actor hopefuls that get mentioned (and have a possibility of getting in), the Actresses don't ever seem to get the same attention. There's already been some great performances from some talented women this year, but they seem to be pretty much ignored as we head into Oscar movie season. And sadly I don't have any inspired choices of who will emerge as the final 5 nominees. In fact, my choices for who I will believe will make it in pretty much aligns with what everyone else seems to agree. Let's just hope we have some shake-ups as the season progresses otherwise it's gonna be a long, predictable couple of months.

Let's first start off with the two sure things. One a four time nominee that has never won before and the other a previous winner that hasn't had the most stellar career post-win.

In a just world, Julianne Moore would by all accounts already be a two-time winner (for Boogie Nights and Far From Heaven), but the Academy passed her over in favor of others all the previous times she was nominated. And she hasn't even received a nomination (despite some traction for her work in The Kids Are All Right and A Single Man) since her double nominations of 2002, showing signs that perhaps the Academy had cooled in their affection for her. But after winning the Best Actress prize at Cannes for her go-for-broke performance in the messy/whackadoo Maps to the Stars (which will now receive a Oscar-qualifying run, but is way too out-there for be a serious contender), the buzz on Moore began. Then, almost out of nowhere, she became the front-runner for not only a nomination, but to win the whole damn thing with her film that debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, Still Alice. Moore plays a linguistics professors that finds she's in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Word out of the festival was stellar and it may be too soon to get our hopes up of finally being able to say Academy Award winner Julianne Moore, but a nomination seems pretty secured.

Let the 2014 Reesurgence begin! After winning the Best Actress Oscar for 2005's Walk the Line, Reese Witherspoon's career, littered with well-meaning prestige films that didn't pan out and just plain awful romantic comedies (let us never speak of This Means War ever again), hasn't exactly inspired audiences, let alone the Academy. But starting with a small turn in last year's Mud, Witherspoon seems to be getting her footing again and with this fall's Wild (which she also produced), Witherspoon's journey to become a respected actress again seems to have come full circle. Playing Cheryl Strayed, the real-life woman that walked the Pacific Crest Trail (and wrote the book that the film is based on) to find herself. Witherspoon is said to give an amazing performance having already gained acclaim when the film showed in Toronto. And the film's director, Jean-Marc Vallée, certainly knows a thing or two about reviving the career of a floundering star, he directed last year's Dallas Buyers Club with Matthew McConaughey which won the actor the Best Actor Oscar and solidified the great McConaissance.

After reading the best-selling novel Gone Girl, I knew that whoever took on the part of Amy Dunne in the film adaptation would be sure to get some awards attention - the role is too juicy not to. Director David Fincher, after passing on bigger name stars, went with the relatively unknown Rosamund Pike, and, sure enough, Pike's star has risen and Oscar talk has begun. Pike, who has excelled in other films in supporting roles (her work as a not-as-dumb-as-she-seems blonde in An Education is a subtle delight), but I was lukewarm to her actual performance and to the film in general. But the film is already a huge hit and has inspired countless internet articles debating the notion of the "cool girl" and whether or not the film is misogynist. People are going to be talking about it for a long time and I think it'll be too big for the Academy not to include her in the Best Actress category.

After winning an acting award at Sundance for her performance in Like Crazy, big things were expected for new "It" girl, Felicity Jones. But critics and awards committees weren't exactly crazy for the film and it ended up being pretty much a non-starter. Jones has worked steadily since but hasn't exactly lit the world on fire. However with this fall's The Theory of Everything, opposite Best Actor hopeful Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking, Jones plays Hawking's first wife Jane, who met Hawking during university and stuck by him throughout his illness. The film is actually based on the memoir that Jane wrote, making her side of the story just as compelling as the well-known genius's and the Academy has always had a soft spot for the long-suffering wife role. Most of the early praise seems to be for Redmayne's physical transformation, but Jones seems like a safe bet for a nom alongside him for her steadfast performance.

The fifth spot seems to be a bit up in the air. There's two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain for her work in the 80's set mob thriller A Most Violent Year. She could easily make the fifth spot as she also has the indie drama The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby which has admirers and the sure-to-be-big Nolan blockbuster Interstellar out at the same time to raise her profile. Her best shot seems to be AMVY, but votes may split over her other films. Another outside possibility is Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard in Belgium's Best Foreign Language Film entry Two Days, One Night, which she is (once again) brilliant in. But for some reason, the Academy seems reluctant to give the actress a second nomination and this film may be too small and too foreign to make an impact.

So I'm giving the fifth spot to an Academy favorite (she's already received 5 prior nominations without a win), with a film that people have already seemed to have lost faith in, sight unseen. But I still feel that Amy Adams in Tim Burton's Big Eyes, as the real-life painter of creepy/kitschy children with crazy huge peepers, could still make her way in. People are saying the film must not be very good since it's completed and hasn't been viewed at any film festivals, but with Harvey Weinstein behind it, I think he'll be pushing Adams big time in Dec. Adams is clearly liked by the Academy, so for now I'm still giving her the nom. Although a win doesn't seem as likely as it once did, since it seems that Julianne Moore may have come in to take over her overdue-for-a-win story arc...we shall see.

My Predictions

Amy Adams Big Eyes

Felicity Jones The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore Still Alice

Rosamund Pike Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon Wild

My Favorite Best Actress Performances (of what I've seen so far this year)

Marion Cotillard The Immigrant

Marion Cotillard Two Days, One Night

Scarlett Johansson Under the Skin

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Belle

Mia Wasikowska Tracks

Early Fall Predictions: Best Actor

Now that we are actually in Oscar Movie Season (the leaves are changing and adult dramas are back in the theaters again - rejoice!), I thought it would be a good time to reevaluate my predictions. That sidebar with my year in advance predictions was starting to look a little dated. (Sorry, Chadwick Boseman. I thought you were great in Get On Up - probably the best part of the entire movie - but a Best Actor nomination just is not going to happen.) And now that we've had the main film festivals (Toronto, Telluride, Venice, and New York) it seems that most of the major players have been viewed, with the top men fighting their way to the 5 spots in Best Actor.

It appears that two actors that are almost guaranteed nominations are a couple of Brits in a couple of baity biopics. Eddie Redmayne, who is already a Tony award winner and gained a little awards traction (or at least talk) a couple years ago when he played Marius in the Oscar-winning Les Misérables, seems to have taken the early frontrunner status for his transformative work as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Playing the real-life physicist allows him to not only tackle the mimicry of a well-known figure but he also physically challenges himself as he shows the progression Hawking's body underwent as his disease left him almost entirely paralyzed. It's the sort of performance that Oscar will find hard to ignore and could bring a possible win.

Taking on another important British figure, although one not as well known, the internet's favorite actor (that bears a striking resemblance to a certain aquatic creature), Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, the genius that successfully cracked the Enigma code, a huge step in the Allies winning WWII. But if that wasn't baity enough, Turing was later put to trial for his homosexuality, persecuted by the country that once celebrated him as a savior. Cumberbatch has been the next big thing for awhile. Although things didn't pan out for a nomination last year for the virtually forgotten The Fifth Estate, that there was talk at all for him just shows that people are eager to see him nominated. (His recent Emmy win for the beloved Sherlock certainly helps as well.) And with strong reviews for his performance, it seems he'll be making his way to a first nomination.

Another strong possibility is something of a comeback story. Michael Keaton, whose recent career hasn't exactly been as strong as it was back in his heyday of the late 80's and early 90's (Sorry, I never saw Need for Speed or the Robocop remake), seems to have found a role that could bring the veteran his first nomination. Starring in Oscar-nominated writer/director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's first foray into comedy (but it's a dark comedy), Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, an actor once known for playing a superhero now trying to mount a career-comeback on Broadway. Much has already been said about the parallels between the character and the former Batman's story (in fact, that's been most of what the early press has been about). But word is Keaton hits it out of the park with a nomination almost sure to follow.

Steve Carell may be best known as a comedian, but it seems that his against-type performance in Foxcatcher, in which the star wore a prosthetic nose (well, it worked for Nicole Kidman) and plays the real-life millionaire and murderer John du Pont, might just find his way to an Oscar nomination. That is if he doesn't lose his spot to his costar Channing Tatum said to give the performance of his career in the film. Both have had strong praise and buzz since the film debuted at Cannes back in May, but for now I'm giving the edge to Carell to secure a spot on the list. Both actors are stepping outside their comfort zone, but seeing funny man Carell play a chilling killer seems like the sort of game-changing performance the Academy would recognize.

For my fifth choice, I'm gonna go out on limb here with a film that has yet to be screened at festivals, with a relative unknown actor that's a little younger than Oscar is used to honoring. But after seeing Jack O'Connell in Starred Up this year, he has definitely emerged as a charismatic and talented actor, that seems capable of great things. With his performance in the Angelina Jolie-helmed Unbroken, playing an actual person (Louis Zamperini), who was a Olympian, WWII soldier, survived not only a plane crash but a raft stranded at sea for 47 days and a Japanese POW camp, I just have a hunch that it's a performance that will be too big to ignore. And the other names being tossed around right now (Joaquin Phoenix in Inherent Vice is too weird, Timothy Spall in Mr. Turner seems too stuffy, Ralph Fiennes in Grand Budapest Hotel seems so long ago, and Ben Affleck in Gone Girl is just...no), they don't stand out the way O'Connell does. I think we're looking at an interesting year with some surprises and right now it's looking like a Best Actor category made up entirely of first time nominees.

My Predictions

Steve Carell Foxcatcher

Benedict Cumberbatch The Imitation Game

Michael Keaton Birdman

Jack O'Connell Unbroken

Eddie Redmayne The Theory of Everything

My Favorite Best Actor Performances (of what I've seen so far this year)

Ralph Fiennes Grand Budapest Hotel

John Lithgow Love Is Strange

Alfred Molina Love Is Strange

Jack O'Connell Starred Up

Miles Teller Whiplash

The 10 Best Voice-Over Performances of All-Time

Over at The Film Experience, we had another of our monthly Team Experience Polls in which this month we chose the 10 Best Voice-Over Performances in film. Although animated movies are the first thing that come to mind, it was open to all vocal performances in which the actors themselves do not appear on screen. We also ruled out the use of stop-motion performances in which the actor actually performs the entire performance on green screen to be turned into a CGI creation later (otherwise Andy Serkis as Gollum would've certainly made my list). Six out of the ten performances I chose made their way to the final list which you can read here.

Creating remarkable performances with only the use of their voice, these 10 actors prove that even without the full use of their bodies and image, they can can still create complete characters using only a single element of their actorly tools. The voice is a powerful instrument that was the original method of storytelling, so it's only right to highlight 10 cinematic performances that carry on that oral tradition.

Honorable Mentions (I could've probably created an entire other list with any of these actors): Paige O'Hara Beauty and the Beast, Eartha Kitt The Emperor's New Groove, Christine Cavanaugh Babe, Jennifer Cody The Princess and the Frog, Jeremy Irons The Lion King, Minnie Driver Tarzan, Brad Bird The Incredibles, George Sanders Shere Khan, Jimmy MacDonald Cinderella, Douglas Rain 2001: A Space Odyssey

10. Alec Baldwin as the Narrator in The Royal Tenenbaums

"All memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums had been erased by two decades of betrayal, failure and disaster."

Before we became more familiar with the deadpan comedic delivery of Baldwin, thanks to his weekly adventures as Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock, we got a taste when he played the brilliantly droll narrator for Wes Anderson’s film about a family of eccentrics. Everything in an Anderson film is a carefully calculated creation and Baldwin’s voice – deep, soothing, with just the right amount of sarcasm coming through- is equally precise, providing the perfect narration for Anderson’s curio.

9. Geraldine Page as Madame Medusa in The Rescuers

"Adopted? What makes you think anyone would want a homely little girl like you?"

Madame Medusa never really gets the same sort of attention that bigger Disney villainesses like Cruella De Vil and Maleficent receive. And originally, the studio had even toyed with the idea of bringing back Cruella as the baddie in The Rescuers. Luckily they decided to create a new evil creation otherwise we would’ve missed out on the unforgettable voice work of Oscar-winning actress Geraldine Page. Marrying beautifully with Milt Kahl’s animation (her look apparently based on his ex-wife), Page would even act out the entire performance in the recording studio. But what sets her voice work apart from the other evil women mentioned is her unique delivery – totally unexpected choices and vocal variations. My sisters and I still quote her distinct line readings years after watching the film.

8. Scarlett Johansson as Samantha in her

"I want to learn everything about everything. I want to eat it all up. I want to discover myself."

Scarlett Johansson's performance as the iOS system programed to have a personality and think for herself may be the most recent entry on my list, but I have no doubt that her vocal performance, in which she delivers a fully-developed, fleshed-out, and completely touching character - all with just her raspy voice - will stand the test of time. When director Spike Jonze recast the actress originally hired to voice Samantha (Oscar nominee Samantha Morton, who was deemed too cold and robotic during the editing process), he certainly made a wise decision when he chose Johansson. Her natural warmth and girlish eagerness give Samantha a purity that make the audience fall in love with her just as much as Joaquin Phoenix's Theodore does in the film.

7. Jean Shepherd as the Narrator in  A Christmas Story

"My mother was about to make another brilliant maneuver in the legendary battle of the lamp. The epic struggle which follows lives in the folklore of Cleveland Street to this very day."

Most holiday films have a tendency to be overly sentimental and sappy, which is probably why A Christmas Story with its biting humor and skewed sensibility has emerged as one of the truly great holiday classics (There's a good reason it's run 24 hours on cable in December). And that's all thanks to its creator, Jean Shepherd, (the film is based on his short stories about his own childhood) and his narration as the older Ralphy looking back on his troubled youth. Lending his voice to his own words, the story becomes even more personal and more specific in its comedy. Just don't shoot your eye out...

6. Lucille La Verne as the Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

"Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face. "

A life-long actress (she was doing Shakespeare at the age of 14 and made her Broadway debut in 1888), La Verne delivered her lines as the haughty and beautiful Evil Queen in Disney's first animated film with the skill and aplomb that only a seasoned stage veteran could deliver. Her rich tones and regal vocalization make the Queen memorably chilly and heartless. But what's even more impressive is that La Verne was able to show off her versatility by also supplying the voice when the Queen transforms herself into the hag to temp Snow White with the poisoned apple. Altering her queenly voice into an old crone's crackle (she took out her dentures to help give the hag an added note of authenticity), La Verne gives two great performances in the same character and set the blueprint for all future Disney villains. 

5. Kathleen Turner as Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

When a woman looks as flashy and larger-than-life as Jessica Rabbit, she needs a singular voice to match her exaggerated feminine figure. Luckily the filmmakers decided against the obvious choice of something overtly girly and breathy (like a Betty Boop or Marilyn Monroe) choosing instead the sensuously husky voice of the Oscar-nominated Turner. And a legend was born. Turner, taking inspiration from the femme fatales of the 40s like Lauren Bacall, knows how to make Jessica's lines seductive and mysterious, but what really takes it to icon status is the unexpected humor she's able to infuse into the character. Taking what could potentially be a one-note, walking sexual innuendo, Turner fleshes her out (ahem...) completely. 

4. James Earl Jones as Darth Vader in The Star Wars Trilogy

"The Force is strong with this one."

Darth Vader has been so throughly integrated into pop culture and his voice one of the most recognizable in all of film, that sometimes it's easy to take for granted just what a perfect union vocal work and image can be in shaping a legacy. The evil black gas-mask appearance of Vader needed the commanding boom that only a James Earl Jones could bring. Would we still be remembering how he shockingly told Luke Skywalker that he was his father if James Earl Jones hadn't brought as much authority as he did? Which is why it was always so disappointing to see the actor that they used behind the mask in The Return of the Jedi, stripping Vader of the power he had over us for decades. We choose to only remember him as he should be  - with the assertive bass of Jones.

3. Pat Carroll as Ursula the Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid

"You'll have your looks. Your pretty face and don't underestimate the importance of body language."

Even though the part was originally offered to Bea Arthur and Elaine Stritch was cast and left production after clashing with lyricist Howard Ashman, it's impossible to imagine anyone else bringing to life Ursula in the same way that Pat Carroll was able. Making every single line her own  (her entire performance is quotable and she's given one of the best songs of any other Disney villain), Carroll makes the most of every moment and made Ursula one of the most memorable Disney characters in the process, which is no small feat when she's up against such fan favorites as Ariel and a Caribbean-accented crab. 

2. Ellen DeGeneres as Dory in Finding Nemo

"I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy"

A lot of times animated films get hijacked by an unforgettable sidekick that steals the spotlight from the main characters. But when they're as hilarious as Ellen DeGeneres voicing the forgetful Dory, the overt scene-stealing is more than welcome. And DeGeneres' work in the film is what turned Finding Nemo from a cute film about a clown fish trying to find his missing son and turned it into a run-away success, even named one of Time magazine's 100 Greatest Films of All-Time. DeGeneres' good-natured, wholesome comedy could've had the potential to be old-fashioned and square but her work is just as laugh-out-loud funny in its silliness as it was a decade ago. And she expertly handles the emotional moments as well, proving that she's just as skilled as an actress as she is a comedian. Her Dory is certainly not dumb as she seems. Now has anyone seen little Fabio around...

1. Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdin

"What would you wish of me?

For better or worse, he's the reason that every animated film since has utilized big-name stars to voice its characters. (I'm looking at you, Dreamworks.) But what Williams does with the Genie is not just stunt casting to get people in seats (okay, it may have started off that way). He simply is the Genie. The character is so enmeshed with who Williams is as a performer that it may just be the comedian's best work. Free from the confines of live-action and utilizing the limitless possibilities that the medium of animation is capable of (where you only have to dream it to achieve it), his breakneck energy and rapid-fire delivery is free to explore and create.  And Williams takes full advantage of his freedom. Ad libbing for hours and shaping the entire structure of the film around his delivery, his was the first vocal performance that I remember people seriously campaigning to get an Oscar nomination. The film simply wouldn't exist without Robin Williams and you couldn't wish for a better performance.

Hit Me With Your Best (Bullet Time) Shot

"What is the Matrix?"

15 years after it debuted, 2 sequels later, an animated companion piece called the Animatrix, and more exposition than Christopher Nolan ever dreamed of putting into Inception, the only answer I have is...I'm still not entirely sure. But then again, I'm not convinced the Wachowski siblings are completely aware themselves. But they seem to take their sci-fi tale about machines taking over humanity and their not-so-subtle Christianity tinged "One" savior ideal (although, frankly, I'd be a little worried if the fate of humans relied on Keanu Reeves) all so seriously, that it's kinda hard not to follow along on their trippy ride. And even if you don't necessarily buy the philosophical mumbo jumbo ("There is no spoon."), there's no denying that the first Matrix film from 1999 has had a huge visual influence on the action films that followed it. Which makes it such a great choice as the Season Finale of this year's Hit Me With Your Best Shot from Nathaniel at The Film Experience.

Watching this movie again this past weekend, I was actually surprised how well the special effects and CGI from the film held up. 15 years is a long time when it comes to technology and it was remarkable how it hardly looked dated at all. Things that have not held up as well: the late 90's X-treme Prodigy-like Industrial Goth Rock soundtrack (get out the glow sticks, cause we're going to a rave!), the Hot Topic "edgy" head-to-toe black latex ensembles, and Joe Pantoliano's acting (I mean, no one was gonna win an Oscar for any of this, but I'm not sure what the hell he was going for).

But what about the famous "Bullet Time" with its trademarked slow-motion? The special effect that would launch a thousand imitators, thus setting up the way most action movies have been shot for the subsequent 15 years? Does it still have the power to impress all these years, I can hear you ask. In a word: Whoa. Surprisingly, it still does. And at the risk of choosing such an obvious choice, I felt like I could really only go with one of the Bullet Time shots. But instead of the most well-known shot with Keanu's Neo doing a slo-mo backbend in his trench coat and sunglasses. I chose this shot after his Christ-like rise from the dead:

After being left for dead having battled the relentless Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving in the role that would launch his career to the next level), Neo fulfills the prophecy and takes his place as the One. Mixing mythology, religion, and fairy tales together, Neo's awakening is more Sleeping Beauty than Jesus as a kiss from Trinity - who was destined to fall in love with the One (how convenient!) - brings him back to life. 

What I love about this shot is the ripple of the bullets as Neo stretches out his hand. It's almost as if he's pulling them toward him and it becomes a metaphor for the influence this film would have, pulling other directors and special effects creators into its orbit and the ripple effect it would have on filmmaking. 

But seriously, what is the damn Matrix?

Best Supporting Actress 1989 Smackdown: My Ballot

Over at The Film Experience there's a monthly feature called The Best Supporting Actress Smackdown. It was originally started by Stinkylulu at their website and I strongly encourage you to visit past years there. But be prepared to be sucked in as you will literally spend hours of your life consumed with the Supporting Actress performances from various years. (Yes, Barbara Hershey shoulda won in 1996! Sorry, Juliette Binoche...)

The concept is simple: a year is chosen and a selected panel re-examinzes all 5 nominees with a grade of 1 to 5 hearts depending on how effective/good the performance is. Also for that month, there are even articles based on other films that year to give the nominated films context. August was 1989. I personally contributed two posts looking at that year: The 10 Hottest Hotties of 1989 and the final films of two Hollywood legends that happened to both be released that year. There's also a reader's write-in ballot for the Smackdown that is taken into consideration for the eventual outcome. This was the first month I was finally able to watch all 5 performances in time to contribute. Below is my ballot of the 5 women nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1989:

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Brenda Fricker My Left Foot

The Role: Mrs. Brown the real-life harried mother of Christy Brown (Daniel Day Lewis). A man with cerebal palsy that learned to use his left appendage to write and paint.

Playing one of those classic movie mom staples - no-nonsense, tough-loving - she's the rock that Christy stands on, steadfastly supporting him to "make his mark". Fricker is all steely eyes and determination with motherly affection buried beneath her strong demeanor. Her simplicity and worn-in realism are effective, but they get overshadowed by Day Lewis' astonishing physical commitment.  And she willingly hands scenes over to him instead of allowing her character to make her own mark. ♥♥

Anjelica Huston Enemies: A Love Story
The Role: Tamara Broder, the first wife of the film's hero (he already has a new wife and mistress) that seemingly comes back from the dead after having been believed to have died in the Holocaust.

Appearing like a ghost (and giving the film some much needed new energy), Huston limps her way into the story with an air of mystery. But the film doesn't really seem all that interested in letting us find out who she is. Relying heavily on Huston's own charisma and charm to do much of the work (there's always been something enigmatic about the star - as if she's holding a secret), she brings shades of color to fill in this outline of a character that's more writer's plot device than a fully formed creation. ♥♥

Lena Olin Enemies: A Love Story
The Role: Masha, The mistress of the main character. A surviver of the concentration camps, she now lives in New York with her mother and has some issues...

Masquerading as an actressexual showcase, the film seems to have based all the female roles on ideas or types of women instead of anything based in reality. While Huston must make something out of nothing, Olin is challenged with taking a tired male fantasy of what a constitues an interesting female character and making it seem plausible. Her Masha is damaged (so that the man can save her, naturally), sexual (she seems to be constantly horny), unpredictable (to make her wild in the sack), and, of course, drop-dead gorgeous. Olin delivers on all accounts, while somehow making this cliché seem fresh and interesting. Her commitment and strive for authenticity elevate the material she's given. But this nomination feels like a make-up nomination for her far superior work as a similar character in the previous year's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. ♥♥♥ 

Julia Roberts Steel Magnolias

The Role: Shelby Eatonton (married name Latcherie) a young Southern newlywed with diabetes that risks her health when she becomes pregnant.
 

How the Academy was able to single out Roberts among the stellar ensemble of great actressing (Sally Field is best in show, but I would've put Shirley MacLaine here in supporting) really comes down to two important factors: 1) she was a hot, young thing and the Academy never misses an opportunity to reward beauty and youth and 2) more importantly, her character dies, thus giving her the upper hand. It's fascinating watching early Julia Roberts performances while she's still finding her footing as a star. Her unsteady but watchable work as Shelby is like a diamond in the rough. ♥♥

Dianne Wiest Parenthood

The Role: Helen Buckman, a single mother of two trying to raise her troubled children.
 

Wiest makes it all seem so deceptively simple. She effortlessly drifts from tearjerking emotion to laugh out loud humor - often within the same scene - while grounding it in an identifiable and relatable reality. Unlike Fricker's saintly stoic of a mother, Wiest is messy, frazzled, and, like the rest of us, doesn't have all the answers. She's just trying to make do the best she can. Her reaction when she finds out about her daughter's pregnancy goes from shock, to confusion, to incredulous resentment at being too young to be a grandmother ("I was at Woodstock, for christ sake!"), exploring different levels of emotion within minutes while still being absolutely hilarious. How does she make it look so easy? ♥♥♥♥

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The Oscar that year went to Brenda Fricker, but I would've given it to another mother: Dianne Wiest. And my personal ranking of the performances (since 3 ladies received the same score) would be Wiest, Olin, Fricker, Huston, then Roberts. Make sure you head on over to The Film Experience to read who topped the panel's list!

Lady in Red

Welcome back to the second half of our Hit Me With Your Best Shot 75th Anniversary Gone With the Wind celebration courtesy of Nathaniel at The Film Experience.

When last we caught up with Miss Scarlett she was shaking her fist in the air letting us know that as God is her witness, she'd never go hungry again. And as the rest of the film proves, she certainly keeps her promises. After the war has ended and after Scarlett finally marries Rhett, I've never really enjoyed the film as much as the first 3 hours. Once she's married to Rhett, the struggle for survival is pretty much over and the film takes on a more domestic melodramatic feel. When the film tries to make us care about Scarlett and Rhett as a couple, it loses its epic sweep, focusing on petty problems instead of the endurance of the human spirit. And I've never fully bought the romantic connection. Probably because I prefer when Scarlett is on her own defying convention - making everything about her. She's the only person she ever really cares about anyway.

Which is what leads me to my choice for Best Shot. It happens right after Scarlett has been caught in a nostalgic embrace with her beloved Ashley by his spiteful sister, India. Spreading the word about Scarlett's torrid love affair with Ashley, India tries to besmirch Scarlett's reputation and poison the relationship that Scarlett has with Melanie. Scarlett is due at Ashley's birthday party at his and Melanie's home, but she has chosen to stay away. Rhett, calling Scarlett out for her behavior (and not wanting to endanger the future of their daughter, Bonnie), forces her to attend. If nothing else for the satisfaction of Melanie ordering Scarlett to leave her home.

Rhett, wanting Scarlett to appear as the adulterous she is accused of, throws a scandalous burgundy velvet and feathered dress at Scarlett to wear as her scarlet letter:

"Wear that! Nothing modest or matronly will do for this occasion - Put on plenty of rouge. I want you to look your part tonight."

Rhett knows that nothing would ever happen between Ashley and Scarlett as he knows that Ashley is too "honorable" (too much of a coward to actually be unfaithful), but he wants to teach Scarlett a lesson as he "throws her to the lions" at Melanie's party as she makes her entrance in this:

But rather than shrinking from the shocked looks and disapproving eyes, Scarlett stands confidently and defiantly. It's the only way she knows how. Scarlett has always been her own woman, never afraid to make enemies (even of her loved ones) or stand out in a crowd. She welcomes the sneers as it only makes her stronger. Set against the simple, modestly decorated Wilkes' home, Scarlett seems even more out of place in her finery, as proud and haughty as the plumed peacock. It's one of the most iconic cinematic entrances of all-time and a memorable moment in a film filled with them. The burgundy dress has become a symbol of Scarlett O'Hara herself - bold, brassy, and singularly unique.

Scarlett's Strength

If someone were to ask me to name my favorite movie, I would quickly reply, unequivocally and unapologetically, Gone With the Wind. The 1939 epic classic is hardly a perfect film (the second half of the movie is not nearly as engaging as the first and let's not even start on the issues of race and the portrayal of most of the black characters), but I love the big bloated behemoth, faults and all. I've seen it countless times including 3 times on the big screen (and let me tell ya, it is the way the film was meant to be seen) including one screening with an introduction from actress Ann Rutherford who played youngest O'Hara daughter, Carreen. I never miss an opportunity to introduce it to new viewers and one summer I made the two little girls that I was babysitting watch it. When their parents came home with an hour left of the film, they joined us in the viewing and we all watched it together, mesmerized.

So I couldn't have been more excited when Nathaniel at The Film Experience chose the film, in honor of its 75th Anniversary year, as the subject for this week's Hit Me With Your Best Shot (I was also the one who happened to suggest it, so...) and to better accommodate all the grandeur of the film, this week will focus on the first half and next week on the second. That's right, a double dose of GWTW. Why, I'm just as giddy as Scarlett surrounded by men at the Twelve Oaks barbecue.

With so many memorable and iconic images that have seeped their way into our brains over the many years it has entertained audiences (and those are audiences are as big as the film itself. Adjusted for inflation, the film ranks far and away as the biggest all-time box office champ), filled with countless shots guaranteed to be included in every movie montage ever made, it seems overwhelming to pick just one. But I knew whatever shot I picked would have to include the reason I love the movie so much. It's the reason why it has endured the way it has to become the legend that it is. It is all thanks to the performance of a then relatively unknown British actress taking on one of the most legendary roles in film history: Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.

Fiddle-dee-dee, why I'm only the greatest female character in all of film...

When Margaret Mitchell started writing the novel that would eventually become the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gone With the Wind (her working title was one of Scarlett's favorite phrases Tomorrow is Another Day), she was said to have based Scarlett on another popular heroine of literature, Becky Sharp in William Makepeace Thakery's Vanity Fair. The subtitle of Thakery's book is A Novel Without a Hero, with its anti-heroine Sharp at the core of the story. She is manipulative and unscrupulous, never afraid to use her feminine wiles to charm her way into getting what she wants. Mitchell used these qualities when creating her fiery lead character (who, by the way, was originally given the very pathetic-sounding name of Pansy. Mitchell soon realized that the strong-willed heroine of her story needed a name as bold as her personality) giving Scarlett Becky Sharp's sway over men and a steadfast determination. 

It's that determination that's most admirable in Scarlett. Spoiled, selfish, and not the best judge of her own well-being - that Scarlett could actually believe she's in love with the prissy Ashley Wilkes is one of her biggest flaws. So clearly wrong for her on every level, she has convinced herself that his unattainable love is the ultimate prize to win. In the hands of a lesser actress, Scarlett could easily become a heartless, one-note bitch. Luckily, with Vivien Leigh at the helm, Scarlett became a multifaceted creation. Full of nuance and prickly motivations, she never feels the need to win us over as Scarlett would with one of her beaus, knowing that complexity is much more fascinating than easy likability.

It helps that Leigh, herself, was just as determined as the character she portrayed. Fighting off thousands of young hopefuls to play the coveted part in the film (she once remarked that the body heat of the previous actress was still warm when she filmed her screen test), Leigh was telling people years before they even started work on the film that she would win the role - all without having set a foot in Hollywood. But when she finally did arrive, once filming had already begun on the film - without its main character - she made her presence known, perfectly calculating her arrival for maximum effect. The flames of Atlanta as her backdrop, Leigh was the phoenix from the ashes that Selznick needed to bring his story to life.

And that singleminded dedication to succeed is what also inspired my choice for Best Shot. After Scarlett has escaped Atlanta, with Melanie (Olivia de Havilland) and Melanie's newborn child with Ashley in tow, she believes her troubles will be over once she reaches her beloved home of Tara. Unfortunately that's hardly the case as Tara has been stripped of all its resources and depleted of its food supply, her mother has recently died, and her father has gone mad from the stress of it all. Aching and starving, Scarlett goes out to the garden and chokes down a bite of mealy carrot, only to have the foul taste come right back up. But instead of becoming defeated by it all, it only provides fuel to the fire that rages inside her. With clenched jaw and raised fist, Leigh delivers Scarlett's most famous (often parodied) and impassioned speeches:

As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to beat me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!

Best Shot

Scarlett is not the same person she was in that first shot of her sitting on the porch, flirting with the Tarleton Twins, not a care in the world. That girl is gone, in her place is a woman of iron grit and strength. She has lived through hardship and knows that many more will follow. And with the swell of "Tara's Theme" playing as the camera pulls back to create its famous shot of Scarlett's silhouette against the blood-red sky, I always get chills. The power of that moment is what film is all about - inspiring us to muster the same resilience, shake our fist at the world, and stand as tall as Scarlett O'Hara.

Make sure to come back next Tuesday, August 26th, to see the second part of our GWTW celebration...