September
29
Oscar Watch: Award Season Spinning
So far, at this time of awards season, some folks have seen would-be Oscar contenders like The Wrestler and Slumdog Millionaire at film fests. And some long lead press have seen pics like Milk, Frost/Nixon and Doubt. And some late-breaking films aren't yet finished--The Reader, Gran Torino, Revolutionary Road, The Soloist.
Which brings up the issue of Robert Downey, Jr. vs. Jamie Foxx. Interestingly, Rogers and Cowan's Alan Nierob handles them both. And DreamWorks/Paramount is pushing Downey for best actor, which makes sense, as it's the true story of how LA Times journalist Steve Lopez meets homeless man Nathaniel Ayers, a Juilliard-trained violinist. Susannah Grant adapted and Atonement's Joe Wright directed. Word is the filmmakers are still tinkering and checking test screening results. Paramount insists the scores are going up. With a movie like this, you have to score a bullseye.
Even though the two stars share pretty much equal screen time, Downey, who won't get nominated for Iron Man (no more than another genre picture, Quantum of Solace, will ever get major nominations, either--Michael Cieply drank some Sony Koolaid) has a shot at an acting nod. Foxx, who won Best Actor for Ray, may have figured he was also a leading man in this movie, so I understand that accepting supporting actor status was tough for him. But he has a better shot in that category.
Best actor is crowded. Looking less likely in the face of such robust competitors as Downey, Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Sean Penn (Milk), Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), and Frank Langella and Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon) is little-indie-that-could Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), whose distrib Overture won't make a competitive Oscar investment at this stage. But the DVD comes out October 11. And you never know who will be the last man standing.
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