Thursday, March 22,1990
The Battalion
Page 5
|VIany of best Oscar choices overlooked by Academy;
everal major nominees little-known, inaccessible
By TODD STONE
The Battalion Staff
3
While you watch the Oscars and
s late the f un of guessing the winner
lith millions of movie fans, one
uestion may well dominate your
luesswork: Where did these nomi-
lees come from?
I This year’s major nominations are
I collection of quality actors, films
Ind filmmakers that were unknown
Intil the nomination announce-
pients last month
Several films such as “Henry V,”
Lamille Claudel,” “Enemies, A
ove Story,” "My Left Foot and
hirlev Valentine” are small in
J
ey
These five films collectively have
because eceived 10 major nominations, in-
compfc: -luding best pic ture, director and ac-
™oi (“My Left Foot”), best actress
“Shirley Valentine” and “Camille
ikingisili -laudel”), and best supporting ac-
eat at ho: ress f'Fnemies, A Love Story” with
topamlf ^gelica Huston and Lena Olin and
' 'My Left Foot"). “Henry V” was
nominated for best director and ae
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If you live in Bryan-College Sta-
on, these films will ncyt appear at
our local theater or video store un-
the Oscar night is long ovet
Even if you live in a major movie
narket such as Dallas, Austin or
Touston, the availability of these
esser-known films is still limited,
'or example Henry V”, Camille
llaudel and My Left Foot are
ach playing in only one theater in
indusBfouston
Nominating films in major catego
ies which most people cannot see is
a rip-off, because the average movie
goer is excluded from forming an
ducated opinion about the nomi-
tations.
The problem is not that the un
available films don’t deserve Oscar
recognition. They are all quality
films. However, other great films
more widely seen were ignored.
Perhaps the Academy can develop
a few more categories to alleviate the
obscurity problem. Perhaps it could
open a category such as “Best Film,
Actor or Director Which is Really,
Really Good, But No One Has Ever
Heard Of.”
Then it could develop another
category called “Best Film, Actor or
Director People Know About and
that Can Be Seen.”
For most, guessing the Oscar win
ners will be a shot in the dark, since
many of the films can’t be found. If
any of these scarcely-viewed films
win, there is bound to be a lot of
head scratching among plenty of
movie fans.
The Overlooked:
The following is a list of the Oscar
nominees for major film categories.
“Solid” is a good pick, “stretch"
means others could have been se-
Douglas, “War of the Roses”; Steve
Martin, “Parenthood”; Matt Dillon,
“Drug Store Cowboy”; and Jeff
Bridges, “Fabulous Baker Boys.”
BEST ACTRESS:
Solid — Michelle Pfeiffer, “The
Fabulous Baker Boys”; Jessica
Tandy, “Driving Miss Daisy”; Jessica
Lange, “Music Box”; and Pauline
Collins, “Shit ley Valentine.” Stretch
— Isabelle Adjani, “Camille Clau
del.” Misses — Sally Field, “Steel
Magnolias”; Kathleen Turner, “War
of the Roses”; Meg Ryan, “When
Harry Met Sally”; Andie MacDowell,
“sex, lies and videotape”; and Isa
bella Rossellini, “Cousins.”
BEST DIRECTOR:
Solid — Oliver Stone, “Born On
The Fourth of July”: Woody Allen,
“Crimes and Misdemeanors”; Jim
Sheridan, “My Left Foot.” Stretches
—Peter Weir, “Dead Poets Society”
and Kenneth Branagh, “Henry V.”
Misses — Danny DeVito, “War of
the Roses”; Steven Spielberg (the
man is way past due for an Oscar),
“Indiana Jones and The Last Crusa-
Battalion file photo
Jessica Lange, an Academy fa-
/orite. received a “best actress”
Oscar nomination for her perfor
mance in “Music Box.”
erms of audience reach, but they
ire big in terms of Oscar recogm-
Battalion file photo
Michelle Pfeiffer is a solid choice for the best actress nomi
nation. Jeff Bridges, her co-star in “The Fabulous Baker Boys,”
was not nominated.'
lected and “misses” are the “could-
have-beens.”
BEST PICTURE:
Solid — “Born On the Fourth Of
July,” “Driving Miss Daisy" and “My
Left Foot.” Stretches — “Field of
Dreams” and “Dead Poets Society ’
Misses War of the Roses When
Harry Met Sally, “Grifnes and Mis
demeanors,’ and sex. lies and vi
deotape
BEST ACTOR:
Solid — Tom Cruise, “Born On
The Fourth ot July”; Daniel Day-Le
wis, “My Left Foot”; Morgan Free
man, “Driving Miss Daisy. ’ Stretches
— Kenneth Branagh (because of
obscurity), “Henry V”; Robin Wil
liams, “Dead Poets Society” (should
have been nominated for Best Sup
porting Actor). Misses — Michael
de”; Steven Soderbergh, “sex, lies
and videotape”; and Bruce Beres-
ford, “Driving Miss Daisy.”
Same OP Bonehead Oversights:
• flow rhany more quality Steve
Martin performances are necessary
before the academy recognizes Mar
tin’s talents? Martin was ignored tor
his outstanding physical comedy
pei formance in All of Me and re
mained ingnored in strong follow
ups such as “Planes, Trains, and Au
tomobiles,” “Roxanne” and most re
cently, “Parenthood.” He also de
served a nomination for best
origninal screenplay for “Roxanne.”
• Remember Steven Spielberg’s
“E.T.,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,”
and “The Color Purple”? No matter
how good the films, Spielberg has
Battalion file photo
Morgan Freeman received a
“best actor” nomination for his
role as an officer during the Civil
War in “Glory ” He also starred in
“Driving Miss Daisy,” which is
nominated for best picture.
yet to have a film awarded an Oscar
in any of the major categories.
Despite the success of the third
“Raiders” film and “Always,” Spiel
berg, one of the greatest filmmalcers
in cinematic history, is once again ig
nored.
• His films are not big produc
tions. They do not have the biggest
stars. Yet Rob Reiner continually has
made quality films that the Academy
ignores.
w erhaps the Academy
can develop a few more
categories to alleviate the
obscurity problem. Perhaps
it could open a category
such as “Best Film, Actor or
Director Which is Really,
Really Good, But No One
Has Ever Heard Of.” Then it
could develop another
category called ‘Best Film,
Actor or Director People
Know About and that Can
Be Seen.”
“The Sure Thing,” “Stand By
Me,” “Princess Bride. and now
“When Harry Met Sally,’ all de
served Oscar recognition. At least
the Academy managed a Best Orig
inal Screenplay’ nomination for
When Hai ry Mei Sally.’’
Oscar Night: It can’t get
any worse:
Remember last year’s Oscar night,
featuring Rob Lowe and Snow
White jamming to “Proud Mary”?
After that disaster, several changes
have been made to prevent a follow
up to that abysmal Oscar night.
• Good move No. 1: Getting Billy
Battalion file photo
Some of the year’s strongest cinematic performances, by Kath
leen Turner and Michael Douglas, were not recognized by the
Academy for “The War of the Roses.” Director Danny DeVito
(top) was not nominated either.
Battalion file photo
Sally Field’s performance in “Steel Magnolias” was overlooked
by the Academy. Co-star Julia Roberts (right), however, was
nominated for best supporting actress.
C rystal to host the Oscars Crystal is
quick-witted intelligent and appeal
ing He should be able to keep the
evening entertaining.
• Good move No, 2: Recruiting
Paula Abdul to choreograph all of
the dance numbers at Oscar night.
She’s the hottest performer in Holly
wood now, and she should give the
normally stuffy Oscar night an excit
ing kick in the pants.
• Good move No. 3: Putting to
gether some interesting presenters.
Robert DeNiro and Geoige Lucas
will be presenters for the first time.
DeNiro will appear with Martin
Scorsese, and Lucas with Steven
Spielberg. Others scheduled to ap
pear include Warren Beatty with
Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Jessica
Lange, and Kevin Kline.
This group should be more enter
taining than last year’s forgettable
Dudley Moore-Bo Derek pairing.
Overall, Oscar night should be more
interesting and entertaining than
previous ones, because it couldn’t
get any worse.
?xas /oil
lie High*
of. Tefi
Lay down your bets on The Battalion staff’s Oscar predictions
Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
ickDf
Best Director
vayS'
Monique Threadgill
Managing Editor
Suzanne Calderon
Reporter
John Righter
Reviewer
Mary-Lynne Rice Todd Stone
Entertainment Editor Reviewer
Born on the Fourth of July
Born on the Fourth of July
Born on the Fourth of July
Born on the Fourth of July
Born on the Fourth of July
Morgan Freeman
Tom Cruise
Daniel Day-Lewis
Morgan Freeman
Tom Cruise
Michelle Pfeiffer
Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Martin Landau
Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Denzel Washington 1
Denzel Washington
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Dianne Wiest
Brenda Fricher
Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
Kenneth Branagh
Oliver Stone
Jim Sheridan
s