Topic Of The Day: Why I Hate Category Fraud

Hello, Bloggers, welcome to another episode of Topic Of The Day. For today's topic, I figured I'd discuss a topic pertaining to the Oscars. That is the egregious case of category fraud. For those of you who don't know, category fraud is when a lead actor or co-lead drops down into the Supporting categories in order to better their chances at getting nominated as well as winning. It is a practice I have not become fond of and I'll go into why.

For this post, I will use a case study, if you will, from this year. Even though her distributor didn’t have the strongest campaign for her, Kristen Stewart had the perfect narrative to get in Best Supporting Actress for Clouds of Sils Maria. She was getting career-best reviews, it was sort of a redemption for her after her days of Twilight and that horrific cheating scandal with the Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders, and she made history as the first American actress to win a Cesar Award, which is the French version of the Oscars.

She also collected her fair share of critical hardware for Best Supporting Actress, including the New York Film Critics Circle, National Society of Film Critics, the Boston Society of Film Critics, Florida Film Critics Circle, and runner-up at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. She collected more hardware than nominees Rachel McAdams and Kate Winslet. She only wouldn't have been able to overcome those two names because McAdams was able to coattail off a Best Picture nominee and Kate Winslet had plenty of boxes to check off (previous winner, makeup transformation, big emotional scene, etc.).

But a bigger roadblock, to me, was Rooney Mara for Carol. I think Rooney Mara is absolutely fantastic in the film and I'm not pinning Stewart's exclusion entirely on her since I hear it's usually the actor's handlers that decide where their clients go. But her inclusion in Supporting wouldn't bother me so much if the film didn't focus so much on her POV and emotional arc or if she didn't have more screentime than Cate Blanchett. Even the Golden Globes and Spirit Awards have corrected this, putting both names in Lead.

Besides Kristen Stewart, another actress that collected the most critical hardware was Alicia Vikander for Ex Machina. But Vikander ended up getting derailed by her own lead performance in The Danish Girl which is flustering because a.) It prevented a legitimate genre performance from getting this kind of recognition and b.) She's the Danish Girl of the freaking title! At one point in the film, Matthias Schonaerts refers to her as a "Danish Girl" and the film's opening shot is even on Vikander's face. It's practically her movie more than it is Eddie Redmayne's.

So to me, what's so frustrating about the committance of such category fraud is that because the studios want to land as many nominations as possible, it prevents a legitimately supporting dark horse from having a shot along with some unique, out of the box performances like Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina or perhaps Julie Walters in Brooklyn from getting in the conversation. I've read complaints on different message boards about Rachel McAdams' inclusion in this year's Supporting Actress category and that she had little to do in Spotlight. But at least she's actually a supporting player.

Another thing that's so frustrating about category fraud is that it is so difficult to believe that a lead or co-lead is supporting their own narrative. Carol could've easily been titled Carol & Therese and it would still feel like the same movie.

So those are my thoughts on why I hate category fraud so much. I get that the Oscars are a part of a political game. But the studios and the agents should have some dignity about where their actors go.

What do you guys think? Are you as frustrated by category fraud as I am? Please be sure to write your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

The U.T.C.: Matthias Schoenaerts

Penelope Cruz. Sophia Loren. Javier Bardem. Marion Cotillard. Antonio Banderas.

That is just a sampling of European actors to make a big splash State side. But one actor that looks to slowly be doing the same is Belgian import Matthias Schonaerts.

Schonaerts had a slight breakthrough with 2011 Best Foreign Language Film nominee Bullhead and 2012's Rust and Bone where he co-starred with Marion Cotillard. While Cotillard garnered most of the film's buzz, with good reason, they couldn't quite muster up a strong campaign for her male co-star.

Since then, he has appeared in more English language films like Blood Ties and The Drop where he gave a performance worthy of Supporting Actor recognition in my opinion. He was also all over the place in 2015 with Far From The Madding Crowd, A Little Chaos, The Danish Girl, The Loft, and even Suite Francaise which was released straight to video. He also had A Bigger Splash which premiered at Venice last year and will be released in theaters in May.

According to his Wikipedia page, he is currently filming an HBO miniseries about Lewis and Clark which is executive produced by industry darlings Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, and Edward Norton. HBO films produced by Tom Hanks, like Game Change and John Adams, have had plenty of Emmy success. So maybe he'll get props for his work on the small screen.

Ever since I saw him in Rust and Bone, I've labeled him as the Belgian Brando. So if he gets the right American role that allows him to live up to that title and showcase his ability to mix sensuality and sensitivity, then he could finally join the Oscar club in the future. The fact that he keeps his slate quite full gives me hope that said role will come sooner rather than later.

The U.T.C.: Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Back in 2014, Gugu Mbatha-Raw had quite a breakthrough. First, she gave a quiet powerhouse performance in the costume drama Belle as a mixed race woman struggling to adjust to life in Victorian England. Then right after came her work as a Rihanna-esque pop star in Beyond The Lights. 

But not only has she proven her ability to carry a film, but also her ability to hold her own amongst veterans like Will Smith and even Tom Hanks in Larry Crowne where she delivers a 180 from her Belle performance as a spunky and rather naive college student with a heart of gold. 

So she's a very dynamic performer and very charismatic yet it seems Hollywood hasn't figured out what to do with her. She had very little to do in Jupiter Ascending and Concussion and while she will be in the upcoming Beauty and the Beast adaptation, she'll still be playing (*sigh*) a motion capture role as a feather duster. 

However, a few projects she has on the horizon give a small glimmer of hope that her U.T.C. membership will be revoked soon. One is the Civil War drama The Free State of Jones opposite Matthew McConaughey where she plays McConaughey's former slave wife. There is also The Whole Truth where she'll star opposite Keanu Reeves and Renee Zellweger. It is being directed by Courtney Hunt who guided Melissa Leo to an Oscar nomination for Frozen River back in 2009. So if a big distributor picks it up, we'll see where it goes.

Her name was also thrown around for the new Star Wars sequel but as of right now, her name is anything but confirmed even though principal production should be starting soon. If her casting does come to fruition, then not only would Hollywood be taking advantage of her rising star, but larger audiences will begin to take note of her talent. Even if it doesn't land her an Oscar nomination, then more doors might still open for her.

Oscars 2016: Innaritu wins DGA: Where Do We Go From Here?

Soooo..where do we go from here?

Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu wins at the Directors Guild of America for The Revenant, Spotlight wins Best Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild, and The Big Short wins at the Producers Guild of America. For a while, I figured it'd be a four-way race between the first three films and Mad Max: Fury Road since that film has 10 nominations. But now, I'm not so sure.

The Directors Guild also had their inaugural First Feature award which went to Alex Garland for Ex Machina. That was an awesome win. Even if he doesn't win Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars, which is looking less likely, it is still nice to see him be rewarded in other places.

But because this race has become so wide open, I think that in three weeks, we might be in for a major upset. I mean, an Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden-level upset. One that just has our jaws dropping on the floor. We shall see. Regardless of what does happen, this has been a crazy, CRAZY year.

The U.T.C.: Rose Byrne

When I first heard of Rose Byrne, I was familiar with her name, yet I could never place her face. But it wasn't until maybe 2011 where that all changed and she had three very different films. First was the horror film Insidious, then the 2011 sci-fi prequel X-Men: First Class, and lastly the comedy Bridesmaids. 

That last one certainly opened a new chapter in Byrne's career, proving how gifted she is as a comedienne, and proved how she was the unsung hero of Bridesmaids. While her flashier co-star Melissa McCarthy got an Oscar nomination, a case could've still been made for Byrne's inclusion. (Heck, she was better than the performance that won that year.)

But Neighbors is where she really showed us what she was made of as she single handedly walked away with the testosterone-filled picture. I personally would've nominated her in Supporting, but I can understand an argument that she's Lead. Supporting Actress was much more sparse, so if she was put there, she would've been an easy winner. Just like if she were nominated this year for Spy, a performance that gets better upon repeat viewings, she would be my winner.

But of course, simply due to bias against comedies, Byrne's work in Neighbors and Spy never got much traction which is a shame because having comedic timing is much more difficult than dramatic plate-smashing.

On the horizon, she has the X-Men and Neighbors sequel, which likely won't get her much traction. She does an indie drama known as The Meddler opposite Susan Sarandon, but we'll see where that goes.

Review: Hail, Caesar! (2016)

                            

          

                      'Hail, Caesar?' More Like 'Hail, Snoozer'

       Judging by the rating of about 78% on Rotten Tomatoes it has, I have a little note to critics: You guys know that your darlings, like Martin Scorsese and of course, the Coen Brothers, can have a bad day, right?

        Story:

       Hail, Caesar! follows the story of a fixer named Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) whose job it is to prevent his studio's movie stars from getting bad press. But when one of his stars, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), gets kidnapped, things begin to take a slight downturn.

       Ups:

       First off, I did like some of the actors. Josh Brolin was great as always as the fixer trying to hold everything together. But for me, the MVP of the cast was Alden Ehrenreich as Hobie Doyle, a Western movie star. Ehrenreich brought hilarity to a guy known for Westerns that gets miscast in a film based on a high-brow Broadway play. He also brings a lot of charm as well. After seeing his work in this, Beautiful Creatures, Blue Jasmine, and Stoker, I look forward to where his career goes in the future. Another person I want to give a shoutout to is Tilda Swinton who plays two twin gossip columnists that are like a fictional Hedda Hopper. After seeing her dual performance here, I'm convinced there isn't anything this woman can't do.

       Another thing I really enjoyed is the way the movie star characters are introduced. When they are, it is when they are shooting films within a film and because the film is set during the 1950s, it brought a lot of nostalgia and I'm a huge sucker for that. 

       Downs:

       Now, I'd like to point out that even though the film has a large ensemble cast, I said some of the cast is good here. One would think that a film with a star-studded lineup like Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, and Scarlett Johansson would be amazing and they are amazing....in the 8 minutes of collective screentime they all have. Seriously, they do absolutely nothing and the only reason they are heavily advertised is because of their names alone. Ralph Fiennes and even George Clooney to an extent are underutilized. Frances McDormand is in this as well. But she was clearly just doing her husband a favor since she's married to one of the Coens as she only has one scene. 

      Also, another major problem is its execution. It had an opportunity to be a love letter to 50's cinema as well as something of a fun caper that the trailer made it appear to be. But it never went in those directions because it doesn't go in any direction at all. Nothing really happens in this film and as a result, I just kept slouching in my reclining theater seat. There's no big climax, no character arcs, no big turning point, no nothing. 

     Consensus:

    Overall, Hail, Caesar! Is a major misfire by the Coen Brothers that I wanted to be a fun love letter to a golden age of Hollywood cinema, but turned to be a sad diary entry.

Grade: C-

The U.T.C.: Emily Blunt

Hello, Bloggers! Now that I have done a profile on Ben Mendelsohn, the practical president of the Undervalued Talent Club, my next profile will be on its vice president: Emily Blunt.

When she first came onto the scene with The Devil Wears Prada, I have become quite fond of her talent since then. But it wasn't until her banner year in 2014 where I became a massive fan and decided I would follow her latest project. Between her two performances from 2014, Edge of Tomorrow and Into The Woods, I would've given her the nod for her work in the former. As the Full Metal Bitch, Rita Vitarski, Blunt provides a subtle and delicate mix of deadpan wit, physical badassery, and rather vulnerable determination. Her work in Into The Woods is quite different and also three-dimensional as she plays the Baker's Wife that attempts to break a spell preventing her from having a child through charming deceit.

In a weaker year for Best Actress, Blunt would also climb to my personal final five for her career-best work in Sicario. Judging by the three nominations the film received (Cinematography, Sound Mixing, and Score), it's clear voters saw the film. Yet Blunt couldn't manage to surprise. I figured that since her husband John Krasinski was announcing the nominees, he'd work as a good luck charm. But not the case.

She has a couple of films set for release this year: The Huntsman: Winter's War and The Girl On The Train. I definitely don't think she'll get nominated for the former. But she possibly will for the latter. The Girl On The Train is based on a novel and has drawn comparisons to Gone Girl. The film adaptation of Gone Girl did land Rosamund Pike a Best Actress nom so we'll see if similar magic can make Blunt revoke her U.T.C. membership.