Skip to main content

Curtain Up

*Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress. It's hard to get the nominations, but of course it's even harder to get the wins. This is why "The Fighter"--Bale, Leo--is so special.

When has there been a nominee pair from one movie? Think of "Lincoln" (Field, Tommy Lee Jones). "American Hustle," "Silver Linings Playbook." "Moonlight." "Spotlight." "Goodfellas." (Yes! REMEMBER NOMINEE LORRAINE BRACCO!!)

*Here's what sometimes happens to young women. They are anointed with a Best Actress win, then Hollywood decides the appeal has worn off, and we don't really hear from these women, as prize contenders, again. 

Lupita Nyong'o. Alicia Vikander. Mira Sorvino. Gwyneth Paltrow. Halle Berry. Anne Hathaway. Jennifer Connelly.

That's why I am especially pleased when an actress pulls off an Oscar nomination post Oscar win. I'm particularly obsessed with "Steve Jobs"--weak movie, weak script--because Kate Winslet, despite the mediocre material, still managed to get a nomination after having already won an Oscar.

*Sometimes, it's fun to recall that Mary Steenburgen has a best-acting Oscar. And Frank Sinatra. And Olympia Dukakis. And that Melanie Griffith was once an Oscar nominee. I'm just saying.

NO NIGHT MATTERS MORE THAN TOMORROW NIGHT.

P.S. Mercedes Ruehl! Always remember Mercedes Ruehl!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...

Raymond Carver: "What's in Alaska?"

Outside, Mary held Jack's arm and walked with her head down. They moved slowly on the sidewalk. He listened to the scuffing sounds her shoes made. He heard the sharp and separate sound of a dog barking and above that a murmuring of very distant traffic.  She raised her head. "When we get home, Jack, I want to be fucked, talked to, diverted. Divert me, Jack. I need to be diverted tonight." She tightened her hold on his arm. He could feel the dampness in that shoe. He unlocked the door and flipped the light. "Come to bed," she said. "I'm coming," he said. He went to the kitchen and drank two glasses of water. He turned off the living-room light and felt his way along the wall into the bedroom. "Jack!" she yelled. "Jack!" "Jesus Christ, it's me!" he said. "I'm trying to get the light on." He found the lamp, and she sat up in bed. Her eyes were bright. He pulled the stem on the alarm and b...

My Favorite Pop Song

  One thing I admire about Prince is his weirdly pretentious verses: Dream, if you can, a courtyard-- An ocean of violets in bloom. Also: Touch, if you will, my stomach. Feel how it trembles inside. No one else writes like this. Did people try to shoot down these choices? Did a producer say, "We'd like to rethink this one... Touch, if you will, my stomach...."  I can't help but wonder. But it's the chorus that makes this a classic. It's direct and universal--and it ends with that bizarre flourish, the allusion to "the crying doves." (Prince's song was number one in America for quite a while; it defeated Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark.") How can you just leave me standing-- Alone in a world that's so cold? Maybe I'm just too demanding. Maybe I'm just like my father--too bold. Maybe you're just like my mother; She's never satisfied. Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cr...