Can that sly slumdog get the Oscar over the Joker?
That big National Board of Review victory today by "Slumdog Millionaire" means Heath Ledger is no longer a slam dunk to win the Oscar for best supporting actor.
If I and other Oscarologists are right and "Slumdog" wins the top Academy Award, remember this: Best picture champ usually takes an acting award. Often it's in a lead race (Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby," Russell Crowe in "Gladiator"), but supporting will do just fine (Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men," Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Chicago"). Supporting is where Fox Searchlight places "Slumdog Millionaire" star Dev Patel in the derby.
Maybe Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight") was always a long shot to win. Only one actor has ever claimed an Oscar from the grave, and Peter Finch ("Network") may have beaten the odds because he died just weeks before the Oscar ceremony. Voters were still smarting from his loss while deciding who'd win awards. Not so in the case of posthumous nominee Spencer Tracy ("Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), who, like Ledger, died more than six months before Oscar night. Tracy was widely expected to win best actor of 1967, but he lost to Rod Steiger ("In the Heat of the Night").
Heath Ledger bears a striking similarity to James Dean. Both were heartthrob thespians whose promising careers were cut short by tragedy. Dean had two posthumous Oscar nominations. The first — for "East of Eden" — came nearly half a year after Dean died in a car wreck. The next year he was nommed for "Giant," and he lost both times.
When Oscar nominations come out in January, Ledger will have been dead a year. Will that matter?
Photos: Fox Searchlight, Warner Bros.
Heath Ledger was an amazing actor in EVERY film he made, he deserves an OSCAR for all of his work throughout his lifetime...we need to respect a man who was an artist and a visionary in the film industry...RIP.....PS Joker is AWESOME!
Posted by: Cassie | December 19, 2008 at 08:44 AM
I'm so shocked that people are actually writing "are you crazy?" in regards to slumdog winning the best picture nod. first of all, dark knight was a great movie ,no doubt but it wasn't the best this season. Not by a longshot. I do believe Heath Ledger should get the best actor nod because his performance was impeccable and legendary. I don't think Dev Patel has much of a chance against that. However, as far as Slumdog goes for best picture. I can definitely see that happening any day over dark knight. In fact, I'm surprised Dark knight is even in that category to begin with. I feel like it's more about Heath's death that's giving the movie so much recognition. Slumdog was creative, well directed, has depth, and opens the minds of many people in America who are too hung up on movies like Dark Knight. Give foreign influenced movies a chance once in awhile, you may be surprised. I wonder also, how many of those who saw dark knight and are toting for its award, actually saw slumdog as well. If not, then keep quiet. ;)
Posted by: leila | December 13, 2008 at 02:57 PM
Regardless of whether or not he had died, Heath Ledger's performance was beyond words. Though the Voters may not be in favor of "superhero movies", they should still recognize Ledger's talent as an actor, and the magnitude of his portrayal of the Joker.
Though it may not be the best performance ever, I'd bet that it was among several of them.
Posted by: Hannah | December 11, 2008 at 03:09 AM
Heath Ledger should have won an Oscar for his portrayl of Ennis del Mar in Brokeback Mountain. This is just too late.
Posted by: Monika | December 11, 2008 at 01:06 AM
How many acting Oscars did Crash win? How many did LOTR Return of the King win? Titanic? Braveheart? Forrest Gump? Schindler's List? Dances with Wolves? The Last Emperor? Platoon? Out of Africa? Chariots of Fire?
Okay I'm bored. Is my point made?
Posted by: rupert | December 08, 2008 at 01:29 PM
For all those whose minds were "boggled" by the fact that Brolin won NBR, I'm assuming you've all seen Milk already to come to this conclusion? I can tell this awards season is going to get on my nerves every time Heath loses an award and people flip out. It was a good performance, but far from the greatest one ever put on film that alot of people pretend it to be.
Posted by: j | December 07, 2008 at 12:06 PM
What, so the only reason you're saying Ledger is no longer the supporting actor frontrunner is because the NBR prefers Slumdog Millionaire over The Dark Knight? Really?? And last I checked, Josh Brolin got the supporting win (which boggles my mind as well), not Patel. Isn't Patel supposed to be the lead, anyway?
"When Oscar nominations come out in January, Ledger will have been dead a year. Will that matter?"
No, I don't think it will. I think that if there was a supporting actor this year with a great enough performance to beat Ledger, people would be saying so by now.
Posted by: Emma | December 05, 2008 at 09:00 PM
Actually I do not think eiher one of these guys will win for best supporting actor but Ledger definitely is the favorite of the two.
As for Slumdog Millionaire I doubt this film will win best picture. It really looks like a Milk year to me.
Posted by: Mark in NY | December 05, 2008 at 02:48 PM
I'm under the impression that "Milk" will win at least one acting award. And, since it seems like competition is heating up in the Best Actor area, it could lead to a showdown between Heath and any of the fine supporting actors in "Milk." Its interesting to note that Heath Ledger, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, and James Franco have all had their names tossed around frequently as "the next generation" of possible Oscar darlings? And now they could all be competing against one another?
While I think Ledger's performance was most amazing character creation we have seen in a long time, I won't be upset if one of the others takes the prize. And I sometimes have to wonder if Ledger's performance would have received the same attention had he not passed.
Posted by: Matthew | December 05, 2008 at 01:14 PM
@Mark
Your point about films winning best pic w/o acting nods is a bit off: the Departed (Supp. Actor), Crash (Supp. Actor), Titanic (Actress, Supp. Actress), Schindler's List (Actor, Supp. Actor), and Chariots of Fire (Supp. Actor) all received acting nods. Accurate choices would've included Braveheart, The Last Emperor, LOTR: ROTK, Grand Hotel, and I can't remember the rest, but its only a handful of films. Yes, it's possible for a film to win pic w/o acting nods, but it's a rare occurance.
Posted by: Googooboo | December 05, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Since when was the NBR right about anything? Besides, it's just one award that doesn't mean much. If you were to ask the average American what the National Board of Review was they wouldn't even care, much less know. So why should we even debate?
Posted by: Holden | December 05, 2008 at 09:09 AM
This article is a SHAME. You have to stop writing stuff just in order to put something on the page. DEV PATEL has NO shot at an Oscar (even a nomination is unlikely) and even if Ledger fails to win (which is highly unlikely), the winner will be somebody like Michael Shannon or Bill Irwin or somebody who already paid his dues somehows. And Ledger gave such a brave performance and terrific performance (and he has another great performance in BM to be rewarded for) and after all, NBR doesn't mean nothing. Last year Casey Affleck won their award, but you didn't start writing stuff about how likely he is to beat Javier Bardem. And after all, Patel didn't win best supporting actor. He won breakthrough. And just for the record, people have to understand that the Oscars aren't all that repetitive. They have their pattern, but still Julie Christie - a veteran actor in a well-liked film - swept the critics (NYFCC, NSFC, BFCA), won the NBR, the Golden Globe (in drama) and the SAG - and was the odds-on favorite to win best actress. Yet she lost to an unknown actress in a French film. And overdue Ruby Dee - the SAG winner and sentimental favorite - lost to Tilda Swinton, who had neary no precursors love in the USA.
Maybe you just have to look at the moods in the time before the ballots are due.
And definitely, even with SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE winning best picture (which won't happen - the way LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and JUNO didn't), Dev Patel won't win and won't even be nominated.
I want some in depth analysis of the NBR choices. Not some article like that.
Posted by: Ross | December 05, 2008 at 06:34 AM
You can't take NBR seriously. Paying to participate and voting open to those not in the film criticism profession? NBR is better than the People's Choice, but is still clearly in the same category of fan favorites. The early berth of movie awards is for film critics. Can't wait to see for LA and NYC's choices.
Posted by: NightwingNoVA | December 05, 2008 at 05:04 AM
are you crazy? of course not, the fact of sllumdog wins in NBOR, don't means a victory for best picture and neither all best pictures gives a best actor, the lord of the rings the return of the king means something!
Posted by: ikaro | December 05, 2008 at 02:58 AM
This Article is a disgrace. Yes Slumdog Millionaire was a good movie but Dev Patel's acting is nowhere near the caliber of Heath Ledger's Joker. To even compare the two is ridiculous, and btw isn't he the Leading Actor?
Posted by: Sohaib | December 04, 2008 at 10:22 PM
Heath's performance was top class... VERY top class, but the voters might be thinking... why give it to someone who's dead?
Posted by: Roger Dubai | December 04, 2008 at 09:39 PM
I'd also like to add that recently, BP winners don't need an acting win. The NBR is back to their disconnected ways.
Posted by: James | December 04, 2008 at 08:59 PM
You're really jumping the shark.
Patel was great, but there's no way he'd win.
Posted by: James | December 04, 2008 at 08:58 PM
Remember 2006, The Departed took Best picture, but no acting award. Does that mean Marky Mark really should have won. It comes down to the performance. Heath Ledger knocked his out of the park. Patel's award will be the nomination itself. It's between Michael Shannon and Ledger.
Posted by: Mark | December 04, 2008 at 08:34 PM
you are just making things up, lots of movies won best pic with no acting nominations : LOTR, The Departed, Crash, Titanic, Braveheart, Schindler's List....etc. even the movie you compared slumdog to chariots of fire.
Posted by: m. | December 04, 2008 at 07:47 PM
It still boggles my mind how Josh Brolin beat Heath Ledger in the Best Supporting Actor category for that National Board of Review awards. However, I don't think the NBR's awards are really going to say a whole lot for what happens in February at the Oscars. I still believe Heath Ledger will win Best Supporting Actor - Dev Patel may be nominated, but he certainly shouldn't win.
Posted by: Chris | December 04, 2008 at 06:52 PM