Check out my roundup of the best-actress race
It's just a primer offering an overview survey of the Oscar contest for best actress, but my feature article presents some perspective and trivia that you may not know.
For example, this surprise — my warning to take an ironic possibility quite seriously: Catherine O'Hara as a whacked-out best-actress contender in that snarky spoof of Oscar campaigning, "For Your Consideration."
The big story this year: Not only is the lead actress category more competitive and interesting than the actors' race (finally!), but, as my article notes, "It's a dramatic face-off pitting the usual beauty-pageant contestants against a battery of feisty older gals who seem determined to reclaim the category in the spirit of Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn."
Read more — CLICK HERE!
Photo: Watch out for Cate Blanchett ("The Good German") in the best actress race! I rank her third in my rundown at the Buzzmeter.
(Warner Bros.)
Before I saw "For Your Consideration," I thought this might be a year for O'Hara to snag a supporting nom. It seemed so perfect. But the movie is dismal, and O'Hara is directed right into the ground. It could've been a sparkling performance in a sparkling movie. But it's not, and I blame Christopher Guest. A bit of scripting and actual direction would've helped the movie enormously.
Posted by: J.J. | October 31, 2006 at 12:27 PM
"beauty-pageant contestants”
“feisty older gals"
What's wrong with the word “women”? All of the actresses to whom you refer, regardless of their age, are talented women. Refering to them so casually and off-handedly diminishes them and their talents.
Posted by: Jane Elliott | October 28, 2006 at 11:29 AM
Catherine O'Hara does indeed deserve some serious consideration for her performance. She is wonderful in "For Your Consideration" and one of my favourite performances from The Toronto Film Festival. Hope she is not dismissed because the film is essentially a comedy. She demonstrated great range in her performance going from comedy to a bittersweet/tragic performance with such ease. Go! Catherine Go! Hope she is one of the five nominees.
Posted by: nancy | October 27, 2006 at 12:28 PM