Best Actress 2013: Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

I've posted on Margo Martindale and Meryl Streep being likely Oscar nominees (and frontrunners for the win) for August: Osage County come a year from now.  But, what about Julia Roberts?  And, for which category?  She will play Streep's daughter Barbara Weston, a wife and mother dealing with a cheating husband and an addictive coping mechanism.  The character is a lead in its own right.  Amy Morton played her on Broadway and lost to Deanna Dunagan for the Tony, who originated the role of mother Violet.  Chances are, Roberts isn't looking at a potential win, but, if she is, it's probably in the supporting category.  It'll be interesting to see what will happen if she is nominated alongside Martindale, who has the smaller, but scene-chewing role.

Two leads in the same category, either male or female, haven't been nominated for Oscar since Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon as Thelma & Louise in 1991.  The occurrence wasn't that uncommon in the 1950s and 1960s.  It happened three times in the 1970s with Sleuth, Network and The Turning Point, and then three more times in the span of a year with Terms of Endearment, The Dresser, and then Amadeus the following year.  It has become obsolete in the last twenty years.

Now, why hasn't it occurred since?  My theory is: why have two of your actors compete against each other, when you can give them each a shot at winning?  That's what Chicago did ten years ago, and it almost paid off completely, if it weren't for The Hours doing the exact same thing.  The English Patient and Training Day also managed one win out of a category break.  Notes on a Scandal, Secrets & Lies, Brokeback Mountain, The Master all managed at least two nods from distributing the role designations, but no win.  The Kids Are All Right, The Shawshank Redemption, and Frost/Nixon weren't so fortunate.  With a lot of the aforementioned films that were successfully campaigned in two different categories, an argument could be made to justify it (i.e. the story of Chicago being told through Roxie's eyes, Ennis Del Mar's arc, etc).  But, could an argument be made today for breaking up Thelma & Louise?  There's just no way.  They each have their own journey and are both on the screen during almost the entire film, with each having some of their own scenes.  Amadeus had his own story, as well as being the title character, but Salieri was the driving force of the story.  Could we see a return?  We'll just have to wait and see when the film opens and the new Oscar season begins.

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