At the crack of dawn this morning, awards geeks the whole planet over converged over at Chez Nathaniel, for much in the way of live-chat jibberjabber (ably hostessed by Nathaniel and Gabriel) regarding the announcement of the Golden Globes nominations. Amidst all the consternation and befuddlement (Clint x 2; los dos Leos; American movies nominated in Best Foreign Language Film, etcetera, etcetera) StinkyLulu's attention was primarily trained upon the announcement of the only category that matters:Best Supporting Actress
Unlike the other main Acting categories (which the Globes split in to Drama & Musical/Comedy making for 10 nominations for Best Actress), the Supporting category is limited to the conventional five. On the one hand, it's a bit stingy; on the other, it clarifies things in interesting ways. And the Golden Globe Nominees for Best Supporting Actress make for an interesting, international, multi-racial group, while including only a single performance that Lulu has already seen. The nominees are:
click on actress' image for trailer
In a category loaded with breakout performances, Barraza's has to be the sleeper of the bunch. Buzz has been quietly building for her work in this disaggregated epic and her nomination promises to be hold the greatest potential for a surprise upset in a contest that at times seems to be locked-in already.Cate Blanchett in Notes from a Scandal
The aughts have established Blanchett as the go-to-gal for box office appeal in solid character performances. Indeed, Blanchett may well prove to be her generation's representative in that curious sorority of women (Thelma Ritter, Frances McDormand, Glenn Close, Dianne Wiest) -- the sort that nominating committees seem to inclined recognize almost by default for a chunk of successive years. She's rarely (if ever) bad & this film seems to grab people hard.Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada
Blunt's nomination was perhaps the singular cause for universal glee among this morning's live-chatters. Truly, it's one of the genuinely happy surprises among the nominees. When Lulu first commented on Blunt's performance, her appearance on Award rosters seemed hardly a possibility. But her nomination shows how good, undeniably Supporting work by an actress on the edge can contribute to a movie's momentum and general goodwill. And, honestly, Blunt's performance complicates this field and could prove to be the category's real spoiler...Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls
Well. This is the performance that some people've been talking about winning since before 'twas even cast. And it seems like folks hither and yon have assumed the trophy's already engraved for Hudson. We'll see. StinkyLulu was routinely underwhelmed by Jennifer Hudson on her Idol season. Even more, StinkyLu remains more than a touch unconvinced about LaHudson's depth, at least based on the trailers. (It's the expressionless eyes.) But. Not nominating this Miss Jennifer would have been just wrong.Rinko Kikuchi in Babel
Based only on pre-release buzz, StinkyLulu has long felt sure that Kikuchi would be the primary performance to break out of the crammed cast of Babel. Young, pretty, a star in Asia -- playing disabled, bereaved and sexually dangerous? It's nearly a recipe for Supporting Actressness. Most reports on her actual performance though have been all "feh" -- so, StinkyLulu doesn't see much momentum beyond the nomination...While there's not a clunker in this bunch, StinkyLulu can't say it's all that exciting a field. And the oversights (Catherine O'Hara, Shareeka Epps, Seema Biswas, Jill Clayburgh, Anika Noni Rose, etc) are disappointing (as they always are). It does seem that the Award season has truly begun, though... Wheee....
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During this morning's live-chat, when E! finally broke to live coverage of the award announcements, Nathaniel said: "Funny. I always forget that the Globes do television too." Indeed, The Globes are weird. And the TV Supporting Actress category has to be among the weirdest in all AwardShowdom, gathering nominees from comedy, drama, mini-series and special programming. A veritable hodgepodge of totally different actresses from entirely disparate edges. Indeed, the Supporting TV categories read as much like the Hollywood Foreigh Press' guest wish list ("If you nominate, they will come") aspect of The Globes, not to mention the clever distribution among networks (sorry, CBS). That said, it's a winsome lot among TV's actresses at the edge. The Golden Globe nominees for "Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie" are:
Emily Blunt in Gideon's Daughter
This secures it. Emily Blunt might just be THE breakout among actresses at the edge for 2006. Have next to no idea what the series is about -- though footage on YouTube suggests a devastating performance by Miranda Richardson.Toni Collette in Tsunami, the Aftermath
The second double-nominee of this category, this performance seems all plucky and LaToni can do little wrong in Lulu's eyes. That said, it's hard not to notice that Sophie Okonedo looks absolutely heartwrenching in this film and -- if this is the HBO slot -- that at least one of the Big Love ladies deserved the nom at least as much (if not more -- didja see Tripplehorn in that exposure/revelation ep?).Katherine Heigl in Grey's Anatomy
This is the ABC slot, with no Oh or any Lost Housewives. Scandal! Dunno the show well at all; don't really care. But Heigl's among the more interesting blond actresses on the tube these days. Seems like a sweet kid. Good fer her.Sarah Paulson in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Lulu just doesn't get the enduring appeal of Ms. Paulson (though Cherrie Jones does, so there must be something there). Paulson just always comes off simultaneously precious and pompous -- and not at all funny. Plus, StinkyLulu hates the show for reasons so visceral as to be inexplicable. Just clicking past it on Bravo makes Lulu's ears bleed a little. Which doesn't much help to curry any favor for Miss Sarah. Ew.Elizabeth Perkins in Weeds
And then there's Elizabeth Perkins. (Pause) Sigh. (Pause) Still noodling at perfecting the same performance Lu first saw -- oh -- twenty years ago. (But with a boob makeover -- how 'bout that!) Not bad, but so not interesting.Whew. That proved to be more of a workout than Lulu anticipated. Now it's your turn, lovely reader. Do tell. What do you think about these respective fields? Any favorite omissions? A reasons to celebrate? Who's down for The Globes but not out quite yet?
7 comments:
Did you see that Emily Blunt was nominated for supporting for TV as well? What an arrival! And I love that Helen Mirren was nominated for both Liz 1 and Suspect for TV. I imagine she'll win something. Craziness! Love it!
All this Prada talk is making me nauseous. I think I'm the only blogger alive who thinks Blunt is just as flat as the rest of that God-forsaken movie. Good grief.
Between Prada, Bobby, & Apocalypto this season, JJ, you seem to be charting the path of an iconoclast...
I did love Prada (like the rest of the horde) and I was much fonder of Bobby than most. But we'll have to see about Apocalypto -- it's rapidly becoming one of the films that I feel I must see in order to negotiate the critical passion swirling around it...
Yeah, I've become a public defender for both Bobby and Apocalypto (the first is definitely good, the second definitely has merit). It's exhausting. And pro bono.
Happy for Blunt, but poor Catherine O'Hara seems destined to be left out in the cold for her complex, truly rich For Your Consideration work (and if the Globes thought she was the lead (even though it's an ensemble piece, she and her character dominate the picture), put her in that category, dammit. That's one of the main purposes of the comedy/drama categories split, to honor the outwise overlooked comedy performances).
O'Hara's the heart and soul of Consideration and, as she also did in A Mighty Wind (hey Academy, what about that nomination?) she lends a touching, believable presence to the wild proceedings. She has some of the funniest and some of the most sad and moving moments I've seen in a movie recently (and it's really a bit shocking to watch how her character changes, due to O'Hara's vivid and skillful emoting even if, going into the theater, you know what will happen). I think the nature of Consideration's story arch could be why some groups are shying away from actually honoring her brilliant, nuanced, and beautiful performance, and I'm glad at least the NBR had the nerve to hand her a prize (which brings up my main quibble with FYC: how come none of the other of the many, many awards handed out this time of year are never mentioned during the course of the film? Oscar's at the top of the heap, but a Globe or a NBR or NYFC Award is a pretty nice item for the mantlepiece, too. Guess I'll have to be content O'Hara has something to show for her terrific efforts- thank you, NBR).
Indeed, O'Hara's Mighty Wind performance remains among one of my most adored, unnominated Best Actress turns ever.
Catherine O'Hara will always be a winner a to me.
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