November
25
Oscar Watch: Weinstein May Not Push Blanchett into Best Actress Race
Over the weekend, David Poland at Movie City News reported that Harvey Weinstein was planning to push Cate Blanchett as best actress for I'm Not There, rather than supporting. Which didn't necessarily mean that the Golden Globes, SAG and the Academy would go along with it. UPDATE: And it doesn't mean Weinstein will take this route, either, it turns out. "Nothing is changing," said one Weinstein Co. spokeswoman. These games are often played. In this case, some of the
I'm Not There folks are pushing for TWC to make this change. Blanchett is off Down Under doing a play, but apparently has no intention of backing off her support for Elizabeth, which Universal has been backing handsomely via "for your consideration" ads. If Blanchett were to withdraw her support for an Elizabeth push, she might land best actress, but she's weaker in that category. She was a surefire winner in supporting.
Poland didn't check with TWC to verify the assertion of his good source, he admits. And his weekly memo to his Gurus of Gold voters told them to place Blanchett in the best actress category.
So why take the chance? Economics. Even a nomination in the lead categories means more in global boxoffice and DVD sales than supporting does. Think Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda. That movie did far better than it would have done otherwise. And I'm Not There is strictly an art-house play without some Oscar attention.
Here's a Blanchett clip that's been on YouTube for a while:
And the real-life limo video of John Lennon and Bob Dylan that may have inspired it:
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Blanchett is by far the best of the Dylan stand-ins. The amazing part is her sex has nothing to do with the quality of the performance -- it's just killer on its own merits. That said, it feels like a supporting performance, as they all are in that movie.
Posted by: Glenn Abel | November 30, 2007 at 02:00 PM