Today begins Lent which means I make my annual promise to stop stuffing my face with Twinkies for at least 40 days. Truth be told, I tend to welch after 40 minutes. But I am going to make at least one real sacrifice this year (at least until Oscar night). I’m going to make my picks for Oscar night and by golly I will stand by them. That’s right, no switching or welching on picks for an entire week (or close to it, anyway). So without further ado, here’s how the Supporting categories are shaping up.
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Should he have been nominated? Yes. I’ve done my fair share of player-hating on Little Miss Sunshine but I have no problems with Arkin getting nominated. He’s one of the best things in the movie.
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Should he have been nominated? This isn’t fair because I didn’t see this movie but I’m going to bump him anyway for Brad Pitt who cried hella good in Babel.
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Should he have been nominated? Without question. DiCaprio is fantastic in this movie but Hounsou is with him every step of the way. In fact, there are moments where the film is entirely his.
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Should he have been nominated? No! No! No! No! No! He was good in the movie. That’s it. His performance had a chance to take off in the second half of the film, but it never really did. There were far more deserving people you could have slotted in here. What about the guy who played Borat’s friend? What about Clive Owen in Inside Man? The Queen‘s Michael Sheen got snubbed big-time. But if it came down to it, I’d use Eddie’s slot to nominate Bill Nighy in Dead Man’s Chest. That’s a guy who knew how to use his tentacles.
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Should he have been nominated? “Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe go [expletive] yourself.”
…That’s a yeah.
And what about the ladies? The ladies are easy … Not like that you sick puppies! Let’s delve right in.
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Should she have been nominated? I e-mailed a friend after seeing this movie and told him Barraza better get nominated. I wasn’t so sure she’d get the nom back then. It’s not a glamorous role and she’s not a well-known actress. The Academy gets a lot of crap from punks like me who criticize them every year, but this was the right decision.
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Should she have been nominated? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Poor Jackie Earle got the boot because I missed his movie and the same goes for my girl Cate. In her place I’d make the same mistake the Academy made with Jennifer Hudson and nominate Natalie Portman for V For Vendetta, even if it is more of a lead role. Comic-book flick or not, it is one of her best performances.
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Should she have been nominated? Despite all of that, no. Because if the Academy was determined to nominate a child actor this year, they should have took a longer look in Sahreeka Epps’s direction. Half Nelson is one the real surprises of 2006 for me and it wasn’t all because of Ryan Gosling. This girl can act.
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Should she have been nominated? No question. And I’m not just saying that because she appears nude.
Though it helps.
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Should she have been nominated? HELL YES. This is a very strong category this year but Hudson owns it. First of all, she should have been nominated Best Actress, not Best Supporting … but that’s neither here nor there at this point. I’m sure she’ll take the Oscar any way she can get it and she sure as hell deserves it.
Whew! That about does’er for now. I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about the Best Actor and Best Actress race and how that seems to be forming (or, rather, how it’s set in stone). Here’s a teaser: Zzzzzz…Whitaker…. Zzzzzz…Mirren… Can the telecast really be this predictable? Come on, Academy, you’re making this too easy for me.
Stay up-to-date at all times with everything Oscar at RopeofSilicon’s official Oscars 2007 page.
