Golden Globe Rundown: Best Supporting Actress (or, oh, God, her again)

Hathaway teases us with
physically assaulting herself

You have to hand it to Sally Field.  She is going to have to eat humble pie every single damn time Anne Hathaway walks up on the stage to announce to the world that the dream she dreamt is actually happening (again and again and ...).  And, to add insult to injury, the cameras are going to be on Field even more whenever Hathaway name-drops her as her inspiration.  Keep your chin up Sally, you have less than six weeks to endure playing second banana at this dog-and-pony show.  The win was fighting for and holding onto the role, no?  (Click here and watch the video for a refresher; sorry I don't have the exact mark, but the whole hour is worth it.)  If they gave out awards for tenacity and bucking the system, it would be Field up there on that stage, never mind that she turned in the best supporting turn (of any gender) this year (and I didn't think Lincoln was all that, either).  But, we know awards aren't about "the best," hardly ever.  And, frankly, I kind of like that Anne will be an Oscar winner (at least, she'll shut up for a while).  Because, you know, the bigger they are ...

3rd: Helen Hunt in Dolce & Gabbana

Anyway, so now that the cinematic Golden Globe actresses have been chosen, let’s run them down and start with the Supporting group.  Hathaway, Field, and Helen Hunt have been leading the pack, with Hathaway as the obvious frontrunner, before she was even the frontrunner.  Field and Hunt are enjoying "movie comebacks" of sorts and their first Oscar nomination since their last Oscar win.  Hunt, who accrued a slate of detractors back when she took the gold for 1997, made a graceful return with The Sessions.  Field, who made "that" speech during her second win in 1984, almost lost her current role when there was a change in leading men.  She was ten years Daniel Day-Lewis' senior, where Abraham Lincoln trumped his wife by a decade. I was skeptical, but, now, it's like, they LOOK like a couple.  Like, I could now buy Field and Day-Lewis as a couple in real life.  Funny that.  Anyway, Amy Adams had an incredibly amount of good-will when The Master first hit during the Fall.  Some fallibly thought she had a chance to beat Hathaway.  Towards the end, she barely hung on to grab her fourth supporting nomination in seven years, her third in the last four.  It's obvious that the AMPAS nomination-love her right now.  But, you know, they once loved Julianne Moore in a nomination-kind-of-way too, remember.  And Glenn Close.  And Sigourney Weaver.  What's the expiration date with Adams?  And where is that Janis Joplin biopic?  This business can be so wonderful, yet frustrating and cruel.  They that giveth, taketh away.  Anyhow, Adams is about to break in a commercial way like she never has before with The Man of Steel as Louis Lane this Summer.  Will the movie be a stepping stone or is it an empty reward?  We'll soon find out.

Best in Show:
Nicole Kidman in
Alexander McQueen
with some great detailing

The fifth nominee, Nicole Kidman, was really a "never-ran."  Armed with a Golden Globe and SAG nomination, some prognosticators actually thought she had a chance with The Academy.  A) She peed on Zac Efron.  (And every asshole on the internet spoiled it for everyone months before the film even released.  So, what am I doing, returning the favor by repeating it?)  Yes, Oscar has a problem with this.  And, frankly, Kidman is not Adams.  They will give her an Oscar, but they will not nominate her for just anything.  If they would, she would have over double the three nominations she has presently.  Missing was her fellow countrywoman Jacki Weaver, who, in a weakish performance in a Best Picture nominee pimped by Harvey Weinstein, apparently, got trumped by Kidman's celebrity with the HFPA.

2nd: Sally Field in Alberta Ferretti

Megan Fox and Jonah Hill tried to provide a comic bit and failed miserably while they presented the nominees and winner.  You'd thnk the Apatow "alum" would arrive with better script.  When Hill tried to brush Fox off as part of their “number,” with a dismissive “babe,” it was an ew moment.  Gross.  

So, for our winner, we had predictably Ms. Hathaway, the favorite daughter of this year’s race.  It’s no surprise she took home the Globe, which she intends to use as a blunt device to self-mutilate herself with whenever she has doubts about her talent.  Hopefully, often.  With her speech, as well as Lena Dunham’s, it was Tina Fey and Amy Poehler who got us through middle school their speeches and the ceremony.  Sacha Baron Cohen also provided an acerbic edge during his brief, but efficiently executed stint.  But, if it wasn’t for those naturally comedic talents who don’t take these award shows (or themselves) very seriously (to our delight), this particular event would have turned into a group therapy session. Jennifer Lawrence and Adele, the former of which is younger than Hathaway and Dunham and the latter who is the same age as Dunham, both gave down-to-earth speeches and forewent a neon sign spelling out 'needy' hanging above their head, unlike the aforementioned less secure. 

Before going up, Hathaway kissed her husband, and hugged her director and leading man.  She started off by hitting a really flat note by referencing a signature Tiny Feyism (“blurg”) and then played the disbelief card while giving a shout out to her Oscar clip (no, Anne, you are not dreaming anymore; you dreamed a dream and it came true!  Wake up.).  She thanked the HFPA, acknowledged all the great talent in the room, and affirmed that she was going to start believing that she finally earned her place amongst them.  How telling, no?  Did she not just say to Spielberg, yes, I deserve to be directed by you in Robopocalypse?  And, Daniel Day-Lewis should be my leading man?  Would she have still said it if Meryl Streep was in the room, not home sick with The Flu?  She rattled off the list of her fellow nominees and then singled out her soul mother Sally Field. 

Now, she did this for a couple of reasons:

1) Out of her fellow nominees, Field, by far, has had the longest career and more Oscars than all of them. And, yes, Hathaway is partly in genuinely awe of the woman.  She's a legend.  Would she have done any differently if Maggie Smith and/or Judi Dench were in her category?  

2) Once upon a time, the former Gidget and Flying Nun was not taken very seriously as an actress until she released multiple-personality Sybil on television (for which she won an Emmy) and then Norma Rae three years later (and won Oscar).  She then infamously went on to win a second Oscar (in an albeit weak year) crying out during her speech, “You like me, you really like me!”  Those words would become a source of derision, haunting her for a while, and Field never came close to Oscar again until arguably ten years later, finally nabbing a slot three decades later this year (coincidence?).  So, Field had self-esteem issues of her own, but, ultimately, always maintained a solid enough fan base and respect, because, let’s face it, she’s talented.  But that she should have been ReOscared is a source of debate.  Hathaway seems to have unconsciously latched onto a similar desperate end of the validation spectrum.   (Though, I can't imagine Field really cares as much about winning now.)  The Golden Globes now have hit the "like" button on Hathaway's Facebook page.  How many times will Oscar?  And how insufferable will the experience be?  

4th: Adams in Marchesa;
I don't hate it

3) Though Hathaway won Oscar when she landed the Fantine audition, if she weren’t in play and the movie never went forward in 2012, Field would likely be the odds-on favorite.  She IS her competition.  And, what a shrewd move to continually acknowledge the actress at every opportunity.  She did it during the Hollywood Reporter Actress Roundtable (Hathaway declared that she wrote an espionage drama some while back and imagined Field as the protagonist), and she did it again in the first major precursor this awards season.  Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? 

4) Sally is old and had her time in the sun!  "I’m young and unrecognized (but, humbled by this attention), but, let’s not forget, I’m no spring chicken.  I gave up Princess of Genovia’s crown nearly a decade ago.  It's MY TURN!"

Last & Least: Why didn't she just
wear a Chanel pantsuit?

But, what about the three roles Anne chose to single Field out?  Norma Rae, check.  Of course, that’s at the top of the list.  Mama Gump?  Well, Anne Hathaway was thirteen when Forrest Gump came out and that was the film that just about everyone in this country saw when it hit (I hated it at the time, but have grown to mildly "like" it in an ironic kind of way).  She got a few accolades for it.  But, top three?  For Anne (and maybe the rest of the country), I guess so.  Even I have to look up the character’s name for Field's second Oscar Places in the Heart (Edna Spalding).  And, Sybilwas way before Anne’s time (and TV).  Field was brilliant as Celeste Talbert in Soapdish, but that was a comedy, the genre Hathaway is specifically trying to avoid.  But, she chooses Mama Gump over M’Lynn Eatenton?  Okay, Steel Magnolias is greatness, but when you’re making a speech about wanting to be taken seriously, I guess you have to leave it out.  Understood.  She comes full circle with Mary Todd Lincoln.  And mentioning her work on Brothers & Sisters would have been blasphemy, because, gasp, as an adult actress, Hathaway does NOT do TV (not right now, anyway; talk to her after the roles dry up in a decade).  Even Julia Roberts, another progenitor, is going to HBO.  Every one of the nominees, including Field who blows her a kiss, appears to be generally touched (especially Adams and Hunt). 

She goes on to thank her mother (who, remember, played Fantine herself when Anne was a wee lass!), the creators of the show (no names!), the studios (names!), cast, crew, Hugh Jackman, director Tom Hooper (whom she specifies has a soft side, popular to contrary belief), family, husband (who gives her “the best string of yesterdays she has ever had”), and ends her 2:07 speech thanking the HFPA yet again. 

Fashion-wise, it’s actually Hathaway who faired the worse.  She looked like she took the band aid she wrapped her bald head around on her wedding day and pulled it down to her torso.  Not a fan.  Kidman was smashing.  Not crazy about her face, but that's something we have to just accept now, right?  The dye has been cast, right?  As long as she manages that trainwreck, we sit back and say little now, because there is nothing left to say, right?  All we can do is remember to point out the natural beauty of her similarly-aged peers and countrywomen Naomi Watts and Cate Blanchett, right?  Field looked amazing.  Hunt was okay.  But, I was kind of over the fleshy color Adams was parading around like every other woman that night.  

Stay tuned for my rundown on the Comedy and Drama categories for leading movie actress.  

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Can We Stop Pretending? Anne Has Oscar in the Bag

Generally speaking, while it's still too early to say "so and so is going to win Oscar," some things are just plain inevitable. And, I'm willing to put more down than an apple pie that Anne Hathaway is going to go home with the little gold man (she may even shoot one out a few months later if she follows Natalie Portman's guide to success). All the press and buzz point to her eventual crowning. Right time in her career, right amount of industry good will, right amount of talent, right movie (sight unseen, even if it stinks to high heavens me thinks she's still going to pull if off), etc. She has just gotten hitched while wearing a huge bandage on her forehead (having fooled everyone by pretending her wedding was going to be a year from when it actually was) and calling it a headdress; and she'll be singing her way to the Dolby Theater via Sally Bowles for one night only later this month.  As I already alluded, some are even predicting a pregnancy announcement.  While I don't begrudge anyone not ready to place their bets, for me, to speculate anything different just, seems, well, silly.  What's the point?  We can pontificate all we want, but the writing is on the wall, no?  Wouldn't it be best to close the book on this and discuss other, more volatile races, which offer the exciting prospect of: anybody's game?  Hathaway has a better chance at winning an Oscar than President Obama has at getting reelected.  (And, even though his race may look unpredictable, many are already calling it barring some unforeseen circumstance.)  It's not that I discount entertaining other possibilities, and few have seen the final product, but I see a steamroller headed towards the AMPAS and I'm getting out of the way.

Hathaway's time has come

For the most part, it's the leading statue that's more enviable, but, every now and then, a Hollywood starlet covets the supporting award, because it's the easier and more possible path to becoming an Oscar-winner.  These days, with diminishing opportunities for actresses to play a character who drives a story, it may become more commonplace.  I've never seen an aggressive campaign for the "lesser" of the two awards than I have with Hathaway.  Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett come to mind as the most recent examples of leading ladies using a supporting win to catapult their career (Rachel Weisz is a lower profile, case-in-point). Geena Davis had such a short run leading up to Thelma & Louise after she won, and only a few more years after that with headlining status (but, some may argue it was fancying herself an action heroine that did her film career in). For the most part, the category is for kids (Tatum O'Neal, Anna Paquin), character actresses (Brenda Ficker, Mercedes Ruehl), and leading ladies with one foot out the opening weekend door (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger). You can almost hear the death knell of the latter announcing that their pinnacle has passed as they're handed a consolation prize: "Thank you for playing, but your work here is done for all intents and purposes."  But, when you compare Hathaway to Jolie, Blanchett, Weisz, and Davis, she has had more years of mainstream popularity leading up to her win. It was eleven years ago when audiences fell in love with the teenager in the hit The Princess Diaries. She segued into more adult roles by taking off her top in prestige picture Brokeback Mountain and managed to hitch herself to some lucrative franchises.  She has finally hit pay-dirt, thanks to her singing abilities, losing weight, and willingness to shave her head.  SHE SHAVED HER HEAD!  Surely, Hollywood won't let her go home empty handed and embarrass the poor thing.  She's been gunning for this for a while and has "winner" stamped on her forehead (you can't see it, because of the headdress).

But, will that be it for her?  Hathaway could go by way of two other supporting actress winners Jessica Lange and (former costar) Meryl Streep and continue on to a leading win somewhere along the road (but they too had less years behind them when they picked up their first win). In fact, she'll probably be the likeliest one to do it, after, say, Blanchett (or maybe Weisz).  Or perhaps marital life will turn her focus away from career.  But, still, when Jolie and company won their respective supporting awards, they were just getting started.  Jolie became a box-office draw unto herself, snagged a leading nomination, and then reaffirmed her presence as a bankable star.  Blanchett went on to three more nods, while simultaneously juggling her time as co-Artistic Director for the Sydney Theatre Company, as well as one of its leading ladies.  Weisz continues to take on challenging leading roles in little seen films like The Whisteblower and The Deep End of the Ocean.  And, Davis, having gone on to play Thelma, also headlined the baseball hit A League of Their Own.  History dictates that there is more in store of Hathaway.  Even Marisa Tomei got to drive the story in the big-budget rom-com Only You, before fading into the periphery where she then went on to score two more nods.  But, there's a promise in Hathaway's imminent win that seems to stretch beyond Steven Spielberg's Robopocalypse.  

Current perennial nominee Amy Adams

But, what about the women who are going to lose to Anne?  While it's a presumptuous question to ask, it is one that crossed my mind: How will they fare?  First, at second to the top of everyone's list is Amy Adams inevitable fourth nomination.  After seeing The Master, I'm actually surprised people feel so strong about her chances.  She was wonderful, but it's hardly the kind of performance that takes home awards.  Adams continues to display layers to her talent.  At age 38, some may say that the clock is ticking on her opportunities.  Or perhaps that's just my irrational projecting.  But, what, with more challenging and original material being produced less these years and by the sheer fact she is female, I will keep my fingers crossed for her.  If anything, it's an encouraging sign that she'll play Louis Lane to that hot piece of man that is ten years her junior, Henry Cavill.  I'm excited to see what their chemistry is like (it's one of the few remakes I plan on seeing next year).  And, with Zack Snyder directing and the fact that movie was made at the last minute to retain property rights, I hope the film isn't crap!  Rumors about an Enchanted sequel abound.  I'm not sure what the demand will be and if it will equate to box-office dollars.  While I don't begrudge Adams what is sure to be a hefty payday, I'm more concerned about whether the film will raise her profile and bankability, affording her continued access to the best scripts.  With the "death of the movie star," it strikes me that an Enchanted sequel might be all a wash.  She has a small part in the upcoming On the Road.  She also has roles in Spike Jonze's Her and first time director Andrew Levitas' Lullaby in the can.  She's also attached to a reunion with The Fighter director David O. Russell.  I'm thinking a nomination for The Master will certainly be a good thing for her these coming next couple years, though its sinking box-office numbers (after setting a record) won't increase her chances.  

Veteran Helen Hunt

I'm almost over my ridiculous hatred for Helen Hunt.  For years, her Best Actress win for As Good As It Gets bothered me.  There was just so much Try in that performance and her other work (especially that scene at the dinner table, where she scrunches her mouth while Jack Nicholson tries to pay her a proper compliment--or some shit like that, I don't remember).  But, the fact remains, out of the four, based on variables including performance, box-office taken, and where she was at in her career, she won fair and square.  She had the convenience of being on a popular TV show.  Some can make an argument for Judi Dench's Mrs. Brown.  But so many more people saw Hunt and loved her work, it only seemed right she should win.  Besides, in retrospect, five nods and one win later, Dench isn't doing so bad, is she?  A few others insist Helena Bonham-Carter should have won, but The Wings of a Dove put me asleep, I'm embarrassed to admit (And I paid to see it!).  I can't believe I'm rationalizing Hunt's win, but that's what I'm doing.  A whole lot of nothing came out of her Oscar, but it's not like she fell on her face.  She supported movies about men in the high-grossing Castaway and What Women Want.  And she chose to work with Robert Altman, Woody Allen, and an Oscar Wilde adaptation.  Her only mainstream lead after her win (Pay It Forward) was with a female director (Mimi Leder) at the helm.  She wrote and directed her own film, Then She Found Me.  She's knocking on 50's door, but, hopefully, a nomination will put her in some good company again and allow her to hone her craft, which she is endlessly passionate about.  It's quite clear.  Unless the film tanks, expect to be hearing more about Hunt.  Currently, she's finished filming Decoding Annie Parker starring Samantha Morton, and is connected to an Anton Checkhov-based film, as well as Matthew Carnahan's Serpent Girl.

Newcomer Samantha Barks

Hathaway's costar Samantha Barks has everywhere to go but down.  This newcomer was plucked out of obscurity for the role of Éponine.  But, that last name of hers ... doesn't seem so wise to keep it?  I'm sure she's heard it all before.  Judy Kuhn received Tony and Drama Desk nominations for her Éponine in the original broadway production.  Frances Ruffelle's Cosette won the Tony.  Patti LuPone's Fantine won the Laurence Olivier Award for the London Production and its the role that is getting the lion share of buzz for the film.  I'm not familiar enough with the show, however, pushing an unknown like Barks, based on noteriety alone might cast less shade on Hathaway's visage, then if someone more famous (and can open movies) like Amanda Seyfried were to get in the mix.  Kind of reminds me of the 2002 Best Actress race when Meryl Streep was left out of the final lineup for The Hours.  I'd put Barks in fourth for now, unless, of course, Les Misérables does turn out to be a huge turkey.  I'm thinking it won't.  

Jacki Weaver in her early 20s

Jacki Weaver was nominated a few years ago for her chilling performance as a crime matriarch in Animal Kingdom.  The film only made a cool $1M, but a strong campaign got her on the final short-list.  Since, she has scored work in The Five-Year Engagement and Jason Reitman's upcoming Labor Day starring Kate Winslet.  She is attached to Charlie Kaufman's Frank or Francis and will likely be playing opposite Shirley MacLaine in Howard Deutsch's Wild Oats.  Silver Lining's Playbook will keep the parts rolling in, as everyone seems to be walking about it, and TWC is sure to pull two or three acting nominations come Oscar time.  I imagine her in the fifth position for now, but is she not popular enough to warrant a second nomination?  

If Zero Dark Thirty sets the box-office on fire, Chastain
might be burning up the red carpet of the Dolby Theatre

Those are my calls presently for the category.  A nomination couldn't also hurt past winners like Maggie Smith, Sally Field, Frances McDormand, or Vanessa Redgrave, or veteran nominees like Pauline Collins or Helena Bonham Carter.  Annette Bening seems to always benefit a great deal from a mention.  And what red carpet would want to turn away Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy didn't have the most spectacular first weekend, however), or (a quiete possibly competitive) Jessica Chastain?  "New" names that could use a boost to their profile: Olivia Williams and newbie Ann Dowd.  No one saw the latter's much talked-about turn in Compliance, but it would be an interesting case study if her people could eke out a nod for her.  AD originally had prognosticated that she was a contender for leading actress, but has since wisely switched her to supporting.  The film currently has a 89% RT, 68% MC, and 6.6 IMDb, but only grossed 300k at the box-office.  It's still playing on screens in Los Angeles, though it has fallen off the latest box office tally.  This will have to be a case of fans rallying around her and pushing her chances with everything they got.

So, what if I'm wrong about Hathaway?  I'm not.  But, by some fluke, feel free to come back and feed me crow.  [10/7 UPDATE: Of course, I always tend to jump the gun and after a series of near-misses, Scarlett Johansson probably has the best chance of snagging a nod for the Hitchcock film.]

Ann Dowd could reap the greatest load
from all the potential nominees this year

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