AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE OSCAR-NOMINATED GUESTS OF 2017

With awards season now behind us, we take a look back at the many Oscar-nominated guests that have joined us in person in the past year. We are fortunate to have been joined by all of the 2018 Oscar-nominated directors, all the nominated Art Directors, Set Decorators, and Film Editors, as well as several eventual Oscar winners! Below, enjoy a selection of photographs taken in-house at our Egyptian and Aero Theatres accompanied by words of wisdom they so graciously shared with our audience members. 

2018 Oscar Nominees and Winners 

BEST LEAD ACTOR, Gary Oldman. 
Winner, THE DARKEST HOUR

"To be Churchill was such a joy - to be in this movie. He had a great sense of humor...a sparkle in his eye, he was boyish, cherubic.” Mr. Oldman went on an absolute winning streak having accumulated a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, a BAFTA Award and an Academy Awards for his leading role in THE DARKEST HOUR. 

Photographed on February 8th, 2018 at our Aero Theatre in Santa Monica by Andrea Macias-Jimenez. 







BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, Willem Dafoe.
Nominee, THE FLORIDA PROJECT 

"Look for people with distinct vision. People who see beauty where others see nothing. If you really believe what they’re doing; you go towards their vision & start to learn things. You have a shift in how you see and with that shift- you become a different person.”

Photographed on January 13th, 2018 at our Egyptian Theatre in Andrea Macias-Jimenez. 

BEST DIRECTOR, Christopher Nolan. 
Nominee, DUNKIRK

“Every film should have its own world, a logic and feel to it that expands beyond the exact image that the audience is seeing.”

Photographed on February 13th, 2018 at our Aero Theatre in Santa Monica by Silvia Schablowski. 

BEST DIRECTOR, Jordan Peele. 
Nominee, GET OUT
Winner, Best Original Screenplay for GET OUT

"When the nominations came out, I had this amazing feeling of looking at the 12 year old that had this burning in my guts for this type of validation, and I instantly realized that an award like this is much bigger than me."

Photographed on February 13th, 2018 at our Aero Theatre in Santa Monica by Silvia Schablowski. Joran Peele won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for GET OUT at the 2018 ceremony. 

BEST DIRECTOR, Greta Gerwig
Nominee, LADY BIRD 

“It’s a really interesting journey; I wouldn’t trade it for anything. You don’t need to have a death grip on your passion. Your passion will find you.”

Photographed on February 10th, 2018 at our Aero Theatre in Santa Monica by Silvia Schablowski. 

BEST DIRECTOR, Paul Thomas Anderson.
Nominee, PHANTOM THREAD

"I really subscribe to that old adage that you should never let the audience get ahead of you for a second. So if the film’s abrasive and wrongfoots people then, y’know, that’s great. But I hope it involves an audience.” 

Photographed on February 13th, 2018 at our Aero Theatre in Santa Monica by Sean Byron. 

BEST DIRECTOR, Guillermo del Toro. 
Winner, THE SHAPE OF WATER

“My movies are mostly graveyard poetry. [The Shape of Water] is different from what I’ve been making in the past 25 years.”

Photographed on January 20th, 2018 at our Egyptian Theatre by Mario Jennings. 

BEST FOREIGN FILM, “A Fantastic Woman” (Chile), “Loveless” (Russia), “The Square” (Sweden). 
Winner, A FANTASTIC WOMAN

Four out of five nominated directors for Best Foreign Film joined us for a live symposium on January 6th. Sebastian Leilo, Oscar-winning director of A FANTASTIC WOMAN, poses with his leading lady, Daniela Vega. Throughout the year, the American Cinematheque shows a generous sampling of new films from around the world – some that go on to become Oscar nominees. New films from Canada and from the European Union will be shown in April 2018. Re-watch the symposium here and check out photos of fellow nominees here. 


 Photographed on January 6th by Jared Cowan. 

BEST EDITING, Lee Smith. 
Winner, DUNKIRK

Mr. Lee Smith, Academy Award-winning editor of DUNKIRK, joined us on March 3rd, 2018 at our Egyptian Theatre for our annual " Invisible Art, Visible Artists" seminar hosting all of the year's Oscar-Nominated editors. Fun fact: The nominees mentioned that they are generally happy not to edit on film stock anymore, but some have nostalgia for having to be more decisive before they touched the work print. Music, cooking, painting were named by these editors as inspiration for practicing their art!

 Photograph: Jenny Oetzell/SilverHub/Rex/Shutterstock

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN,  Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau and Jeffrey A. Melvin. 
Winners, THE SHAPE OF WATER

Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau, and Jeffrey A. Melvin, who took home the Oscar for their work on THE SHAPE OF WATER, joined us on March 3rd, 2018 at our Egyptian Theatre for our annual "Art of Production Design" panel, featuring all of this year's nominees. 

 Photograph courtesy of ABC's Academy Awards telecast. 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY,  Rachel Morrison. 
Nominee, MUDBOUND

Cinematographer Rachel Morrison joined us at our Aero Theatre on February 12th for our screening of MUDBOUND. Ms. Morrison has made Oscar history as she is the first woman to be nominated for a Cinematography Academy Award.

 Photograph courtesy of ABC News. 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE, Agnes Varda. 
Nominee, FACES PLACES

We were honored to host Agnes Varda on October 21st, 2017 for a special screening of THE GLEANERS AND I / VAGABOND. Once she took the Egyptian Theatre stage and her standing ovation finally quieted down, she remarked how coming into our theatre felt like coming home.

Photographed by Mario Jennings. 

With that, we close awards season and say congratulations to all the nominees and Oscar winners! We are honored to host the leading figures in our industry and look forward to the many more guests to come in the following year. 

Oscar Travesties

Over at Grantland (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8942448/tournament-determine-worst-academy-award-moment-modern-history) they have an amusing graphic that shows the 32 biggest travesties in the Modern Oscars (seemingly for 1972 on). I’m going to rank them, from least horrible, to most horrible. Obviously, this is being done all in good fun by Grantland and I’m going to keep that spirit when I do this admittedly silly exercise.

32. 13 Nominations for Benjamin Button

Why am I the only one who seems to like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? What do problem do people have with a slow moving, three hour movie about death? Sorry, I love this movie, so no travesty here.

31. Seth Macfarlane, Preemptively

I’m going to give Seth Macfarlane a chance. He can be witty and charming, and he can’t be worse that James Franco, right?

30. American Beauty Wins Best Picture

American Beauty is a solid movie. True, of the nominees, The Insider was the best, and they should have nominated Magnolia or Fight Club. But you hardly blame the Academy. Critics went gaga for American Beauty at the time. This is one of those wins that looks suspect in retrospect, but didn’t at the time.

29. Travolta Loses for Saturday Night Fever

When was it decided that John Travolta’s performance in Saturday Night Fever was one of the best ever? True, he was WAY better than winner Richard Dreyfuss in the annoying The Goodbye Girl, but considering the Academy nominated two amazing actor, Richard Burton and Marcello Mastroianni that year, and neither of them won, let’s save our outrage for that, shall we?

28. Bjork’s Swan Dress

Yes, the dress looked stupid. But it’s Bjork. What the hell did you expect? And since she damn well should have been nominated for Best Actress that year for her brilliant work in Dancer in the Dark, if she wants to show up and look like an idiot, she has my blessing.

27. Bill Murray Loses for Lost in Translation

I love Bill Murray, and do think he should have won for Lost in Translation. But for it to be a real travesty, something wholly undeserving had to win instead – and Sean Penn was brilliant in Mystic River.

26. Angelina Jolie Kissing Her Brother

That was admittedly creepy as hell, but an Oscar travesty? Not really.

25. Rob Lowe’s Duet with Snow White

Luckily, I didn’t watch the ceremony live that year (I was too young). But I’ve seen the clips dozens of times. Who the hell green lit this one?

24. Roberto Benigni’s Acceptance Speech

Remember that year everyone was in love with Roberto Benigni? Yes, the speech was stupid – I’m assuming we’re counting walking on the chairs, right? – but hasn’t he suffered enough, since no one has liked anything he’s made since then?

23. Uma? Oprah. Oprah? Uma.

Lame joke, repeated ad nausea. But then again, isn’t that what Letterman does every night?

22. The Dark Knight Snubbed

It was ridiculous because it was the highest grossing movie of the year, as well as one of the most critically acclaimed. If The Dark Knight wasn’t nominated, no superhero movie ever will.

21. Rocky Wins Best Picture

I really like Rocky, but a film that beat Taxi Driver, All the President’s Men and Network had damn well better be in the same league, and this one isn’t close. All the sequels don’t help either.

20. Driving Miss Daisy Wins Best Picture

The real travesty was that Do the Right Thing wasn’t nominated that year, which makes this simplistic take on race relations sting a little bit more. Still, mock me all you want, I like Driving Miss Daisy.

19. Shakespeare in Love Wins Best Picture

Shakespeare in Love is a fine, enjoyable romp with some very good performances. It got lucky that year. Everyone was sick of hearing about Saving Private Ryan since it opened in July. Shakespeare snuck in and stole it from Spielberg. Why do I have a feeling in a few years Argo will be on a list like this?

18. Crash Wins Best Picture
Okay, the movie is merely average, but the outrage over its win is way, way over the top. Brokeback Mountain was great, but I’m sick of hearing whining about this one. Besides, Munich was better than either of them. (And the not nominated A History of Violence and Cache, better than it).

17. James Franco as Oscar Host

It wasn’t just that he sleepwalked through the ceremony, but then he badmouths everyone else besides himself for it. If he didn’t want to do it, he should have said no.

16. Every Dance Number

Yes, please get rid of all dance numbers now and forever. They are all lame at the Oscars.

15. Bill Crystal in Blackface

This was just last year. Did no one tell them that unless it’s 1927, you have no business being in blackface (and even then, you shouldn’t have been)?

14. Kathryn Bigelow Snubbed for Zero Dark Thirty

True, I think Paul Thomas Anderson deserved a nomination even more this year, but it was clear they didn’t like his film. Bigelow not being nominated was clearly the biggest snub of the year – no matter what Ben Affleck says. I’d hate to think a few idiots whining about torture cost her a nomination.

13. The Best Song Category

A great song (Skyfall) will win this year, and that’s amazing. Mostly though, this category is lame and boring, and for some reason, they always make us listen to all the lame and boring songs nominated. This isn’t the Grammys, where they actually play songs you know. Why the Songs are highlighted more than any other single category is a joke that luckily we haven’t had to sit through in a few years. (And since they never get them right, can we add Foreign Language Film and Documentary as well?)
 
12. King’s Speech Over Social Network
On one hand, you have a brilliantly written, brilliantly directed, brilliantly acted movie about the world we now live in, and on the other, you have a King of England with a speech impediment. Listen, I liked The King’s Speech – I too know the sting of stuttering – but really, come on!

11. Samuel L. Jackson loses for Pulp Fiction

This didn’t make my top 10 simply because I really do think Martin Landau is great in Ed Wood. BUT, Samuel L. Jackson’s performance in Pulp Fiction is justifiably legendary, so he should have won. But as with American Beauty, you can blame the critics as much as the Academy on this one – Landau won A LOT of critic’s prizes that year.

10. Al Pacino Never Winning for The Godfather

I’m going to assume that they mean for the whole series. Yes, he should have won Supporting Actor for The Godfather in 1972. And He should have won Actor for The Godfather Part II in 1974 – but he lost two good performances – Joel Grey in Cabaret and Art Carney in Harry and Tonto -really, I dare you to watch Carney say goodbye to his best friend Tonto the cat in that one and not end up in a puddle on the floor. It cannot be done!

9. John Cazale Never Nominated

John Cazale was a brilliant actor who died before his time of cancer at the age of 43. He damn well should have been nominated for The Godfather Part II in 1974, for his heartbreaking performance as Fredo (really, they nominated THREE supporting actors from the movie that year, and none of them was Cazale!!!). He only appeared in five movies – The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter – all of them brilliant, and he damn well should have been nominated for something.

8. Forrest Gump Beats Pulp Fiction

You run this race today, and you’ll see the same result. Tarantino is too divisive, and I can almost guarantee he will never win Best Picture or Director. That’s not an excuse for why Pulp Fiction, which revolutionized film, didn’t win, just that it’s the type of movie that never will. And I don’t hate Forrest Gump like some.

7. GoodFellas Loses Best Picture

GoodFellas is the best gangster film of all time – yes better than The Godfather – and one of the most entertaining and endlessly rewatchable films ever made. It should have won this award easily. BUT, I like Dances with Wolves – I even kind of love it, so even though Kevin Costner would go on to embarrass himself after this film, it’s a notch below the next one.

6. The English Patient Over Fargo
I HATE The English Patient, and love Fargo. The Coens eventually won their Oscar (hell, they won a screenplay award for this, and probably three apiece for No Country for Old Men), so it all worked out in the end, but still, I hate the idea of future Oscar completest have to suffer like Elaine on Seinfeld watching The English Patient. “JUST DIE ALREADY!”

5. Denzel Washington Loses for Malcolm X
The Academy had to eventually make up for Oscar travesty number 10 and give Al Pacino an Oscar, but for Scent of a Woman. Really? Denzel Washington’s performance in Malcolm X is absolutely brilliant – perhaps the best lead performance of the 1990s, and he should have won this one hands down.

4. Spike Lee Shut Out

Spike Lee has only ever been nominated for two Oscars – for Writing Do the Right Thing and for his documentary 4 Little Girls. Now, there are many reasons for this, and why he hasn’t won (one of them is surely that he has called the Academy racist about a million times), but he is also one of the best directors of his generation – of any race – and should have a few Oscars at home. The fact that it’s 2012, and only two African Americans have EVER been nominated for Best Director is embarrassing. The fact that neither of them is Spike Lee is a travesty.

3. Kramer vs. Kramer Over Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is the best film ever made. Period. That was my opinion in high school, and it hasn’t changed since. Kramer vs. Kramer is an average divorce drama, with some good performances. But Apocalypse Now is an epic masterpiece, and should have easily trounced this one. But remember, the critical opinion wasn’t exactly fully behind Coppola’s film in 1979.

2. Scorsese Not Winning Until The Departed

Mean Streets. Taxi Driver. Raging Bull. The King of Comedy. After Hours. The Last Temptation of Christ. GoodFellas. The Age of Innocence. Casino. Gangs of New York. The Aviator. You could make a case that Scorsese, my favorite filmmaker ever, should have won for any of those films. He didn’t until 2006 for The Departed. For years this was probably the most embarrassing thing the Academy had not remedied, but since they eventually did, it ranks behind…

1. Stanley Kubrick Never Wins Best Director

The Killing. Paths of Glory. Lolita. Dr. Strangelove. 2001: A Space Odyssey. A Clockwork Orange. Barry Lyndon. The Shining. Eyes Wide Shut. Pick any of those films and retroactively give Kubrick a Best Director Oscar for them. He’d be deserving. Kubrick gets my vote for the Best Filmmaker never to win the Best Director Oscar. And since he’s dead, they can never change that.

Special Best Picture Oscar Posters Released

The Academy has released a collection of creative posters for its 84 Best Picture winners. You can view them at the Oscars site, but here are some of my favorites.

A Look Back at the 1982 Oscars - 30 Years Later

So I have looked back at the Oscar years that was 2002 and 1992, and now it’s 1982’s turn. As with 1992, I have not seen all the nominated performances, but I will still provide some notes (or an excuse) as to why that is the case. And I add an overlooked performance or movie or directorial effort (just one per movie) for each category.

Best Picture

1.    E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
The Academy takes some (deserved) shots for being far too populist sometimes – overlooking great films for audience friendly ones. And yet in 1982, you can argue they went the other way – rewarding the “important” film Gandhi (a film no one watches anymore, except in school or because they’re an Oscar completest) instead of one of the enduring classics that Steven Spielberg has ever made. E.T. is a legitimately great film, one that unless you’re an complete cynic, it’s impossible not to well up when you see it – every damn time. The Academy should have given in to their populist urges this year.

2.    The Verdict

Sidney Lumet directed many kinds of films over the years, but he may well be best remembered for his legal thrillers – and The Verdict is one of his best. It stars the great Paul Newman is one of his best roles – as an alcoholic lawyer who somehow finds his conscience as he sets out on what should be an open and shut case, but isn’t quite – because he finds he cares. The screenplay was written by David Mamet – one of his earliest and best – and the direction by Lumet is excellent, as is the entire cast. This is an expertly handled legal thriller – and while you may well see the ending coming, it doesn’t dim it’s impact.

3.    Tootsie 

Tootsie has undoubtedly aged a little bit in the past 30 years (it is very much a product of 1980s mainstream American filmmaking, and all that entails – including an annoying score), but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t an excellent comedy – and one that is slightly more serious than many. Dustin Hoffman is great as the actor who has worn out his welcome with everyone – until he dresses up as a woman and becomes a star. The film is about sexuality as well – and how confusing it can be – and has a message. But it’s still an hilarious movie – and one of the best mainstream American comedies of the 1980s.

4.    Gandhi (Winner)

I have nothing but respect for Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi – and that’s both a good and bad thing. As a standard issue biopic of a very important man, it is about as good as these things get – charting most of Gandhi’s life, and letting everyone know just why he was so important, in case you didn’t know. But I feel no love for it. Biopics have always been a weak spot of the Academy nominating the great (Lincoln) right alongside the average – like Gandhi. It’s a fine film, but I have never met anyone who felt the need to watch it twice.

5.    Missing

Costa-Gravas’ Z (1969) , the director’s previously nominated film is a great movie – really one of the best political thrillers ever made. By comparison, his 1982 film Missing is a disappointment. It is a good film – with Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek as the father and wife of a young American who “disappears” in a country obviously meant to be Chile, and may have been killed by local forces because he was a left wing, foreign journalist – and not only that, but the American embassy officials may have helped the process along. This is a great story – and a controversial one – and yet the movie never seems to generate quite as much tension as it should. The performances are fine, but Costa-Gravas mucks about with too many stylistic excesses, and too many story telling tricks. He had the ingredients of a great movie, but instead made a good one.

Overlooked:There is no reason to expect that if the Academy were to run this race that they would even consider nominating The Road Warrior (released in Australia at the tail end of 1981, but not in America until early 1982), but damn it, they should. For an action movie made 30 years ago, this is still one of the most exciting the genre has ever produced – with great chase scenes, classic action, a great story and Mel Gibson at his no-nonsense best.

Best Director

1.    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial  - Steven Spielberg
Spieberg has two director Oscars at home (and may well win a third this year for Lincoln), but I do think it’s a shame that he won those Oscars for only his “serious” movies – it almost remind me of John Ford who won three Best Director Oscars, but none for a Western. Spielberg is often at his best making his “popcorn” films – and E.T. is right near the top of that list. He was still the “wunderkind” at this point, and it’s understandable they didn’t quite feel the need to reward him an Oscar yet (but with three Best Director nominations, they should have), but he made the best film, and should have won this one.

2.    Das Boot - Wolfgang Petersen

Petersen had no chance of winning since his film didn’t get into the Best Picture race, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve to. His control in Das Boot is amazing – he is great at the action scenes, great at allowing his characters time to develop, and best when slowly ratcheting up the suspense to an almost unbearable degree. When a foreign director makes an action film this good, it’s inevitable that Hollywood is going to come calling – but it’s sad that Petersen left immediately. Despite how good films like In the Line of Fire, Oubreak and The Perfect Storm are, he never came close to matching Das Boot.

3.    The Verdict - Sidney Lumet

The great Sidney Lumet was nominated for Best Director 4 times (and screenplay once), but had to wait until very late in his life before they gave him an honorary award. That’s a shame, because few director’s had the same level of consistent, quality output while working in mainstream America for over 50 years (he has over 72 directing credit, although quite a few are television work). While he obviously wasn’t my top choice this year, I would have no problem with him getting a competitive Oscar for his gripping courtroom drama – he deserved it more than the winner.

4.    Tootsie  - Sydney Pollack

Pollack would win his Oscar three years after this – for Out of Africa, a fine, if rather dull film, but one that more fits the Academy’s definition of an Oscar film. Comedy directors often do not get the credit they deserve (hell, this year I am guilty of this saying David O. Russell is the least deserving of the director nominees). If Pollack, a fine if not great director, was ever going to win an Oscar, it probably should have been for this.

5.    Gandhi  - Richard Attenborough  (Winner)

Make no mistake – Gandhi is a fine film, and Attenborough’s direction of the film is also fine. It’s also rather dull – Attenborough takes no chances, never really challenges himself, his cast or crew or the audience with the film. It is a straight down the center movie that I respect – but don’t really feel much passion for either way.

Overlooked:It certainly isn’t surprising that the Academy didn’t nominate Ridley Scott for Blade Runner. For one thing, it is a genre film, and the Academy hardly ever nominates those. For another, only the less thought of narration driven version was released in theaters that year, and that wasn’t very highly thought of. Still, looking back 30 years, I don’t think anyone would argue that Blade Runner wasn’t the most influential film to be released in 1982. How would the sci-fi landscape be different today without it? I don’t know, but I do know it would be. (For the record, Blade Runner IS in my opinion a better film than The Road Warrior, but I felt the need to single out Scott, so I made the decision that I did).
 

Best Actor

1.    Tootsie  - Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman won two Oscars – for 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer and 1988’s Rain Man. It’s hard to argue that an actor as good as Hoffman, who has had such a long and great career as him, doesn’t deserve at least one, if not two Oscars. But I also don’t think he should have won for either of the films he did – he’s fine in Kramer vs. Kramer, but I don’t see it as being brilliant. And he’s about as good as he could be in Rain Man – but it is a one note role. But consider the complexity of his role in Tootsie –which is both comedic, and dramatic, and requires so much of him. Hoffman was often at his best in comedic roles – and at least one of his Oscars should have been for a comedy. (By the way, the poster for this movie comes from Poland. Does anyone want to explain to me why the hell Poland comes up with such brilliantly creepy posters for EVERY movie?).

2.    The Verdict - Paul Newman

The Verdict was Paul Newman’s 6^th Oscar nomination (he would go onto get nominated 3 more times after it), and he still hadn’t won. The Academy felt so bad that in 1985 – when Newman was only 60 – they gave him a lifetime achievement award, and then the following year gave him the Best Actor Oscar for Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money. It’s a shame that the Academy didn’t give him his Best Actor Oscar three years earlier – as The Verdict stands as one of his best performances, and The Color of Money certainly does not (everyone knows it was a “makeup” award for overlooking him so often). Better yet, they could have given him an Oscar for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Hustler or Hud to name but three of his earlier, brilliant performances that made the Academy give him a makeup award in the first place.

3.    Gandhi  - Ben Kingsley (Winner)

I’ve always said that if they make a biopic of my life (and I’m sure Hollywood is on it, because I’m fascinating), they should cast Ben Kingsley, because that guy can play anything. And it’s true. Who else through his career has been able to convincing play an Indian, numerous British and American characters, an Iranian, a number of Jews from around the world, and pretty much anything else. I wouldn’t have found it as odd if they had cast Kingsley instead of Anthony Hopkins as the black man in The Human Stain. When Gandhi came out, Kingsley was pretty much an unknown (the movie even daringly billed him as “Introducing Ben Kingsley”, even though he had been working on British television since the late 1960s. Anyway, it may seem like I’m hard on Gandhi, but I really have nothing bad to say about Kingsley’s performance – he is brilliant as the Indian leader. Do I think that Kingsley delivered better performances in films like Sexy Beast and House of Sand and Fog, yes, but I don’t really have a problem with his win, even if I don’t think his was the best performance of the year.

4.    Missing  - Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon is one of the best things about Costa-Gravas’ Missing. Even when the director goes too far with his directorial and storytelling tricks, Lemmon’s performance as a grieving father just trying to find out what happened to his son keeps the entire movie grounded. No, I don’t think it stands as one of Lemmon’s best roles, or that he should have been nominated – but he’s fine in the film.

My Favorite Year  - Peter O'Toole
I am a big fan of Peter O’Toole, and I did actually sit down to watch this one day – and didn’t make it very far  before I gave up – it wasn’t that it was bad, but I realized quickly, I just wasn’t in the mood. I do need to correct this at some point – when that will be is anyone’s guess.

Overlooked: I almost feel sorry for Werner Herzog, as he seems to always have been trying to get away from the even more crazy Klaus Kinski and never really could, because when Herzog cast him in movies like Fitzcaraldo he was pure magic. That Herzog is pretty much batshit crazy is well established (he’s also a genius by the way), but even he met his match in Kinski, who he fought with constantly, but always ended up casting anyway. Kinski’s best work in probably in Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God made a decade earlier, but as the mad title character in Fitzcarraldo, determined to bring the opera to the jungles of South America – which requires him to haul a boat over a mountain (I’ll be here all day if I continue to try and describe this – but do yourself a favor and see this film and Les Blank’s Burden of Dreams, a fascinating Making of Documentary of the film) Kinski is once again at his insane best. They were never going to nominate him, but damn it, they should have.

Best Actress

1.    Sophie's Choice  - Meryl Streep (Winner)

Meryl Streep’s second Oscar winning performance– her first for a leading role – ranks among her best screen performances, which means it certainly was worthy of the win. Alan J. Pakula’s film has a few problems, but none of them involve Streep’s gut-wrenching performance as a woman who survived the Nazis – but ends up an empty shell of a person, who wishes that she didn’t – although she does put on a sunny face for the world. This is a great performance by Streep. Unlike her other two Oscar wins (for 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer and 2011’s The Iron Lady) it really is one of her best.

2.    An Officer and a Gentleman - Debra Winger

Debra Winger was a major star in the 1980s – who pretty much gave it all up. When one her best remembered roles was in An Officer and a Gentleman, where she played the love interest for Richard Gere. Unlike many movie stars, Winger does not seem out of place playing a working class woman – we believe her. She is smart, sweet, tough and sexy – and more than that, she makes you invest in her character and the romance that blossoms between her and Richard Gere. Yes, the last scene is justifiably famous – but Winger is great throughout the film.

3.    Missing  - Sissy Spacek

Along with Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek pretty much saves Missing from the over direction of Costa-Gravas. She plays the wife of the missing man at the center of the film, but this is hardly just the dutiful wife part – it’s more complicated than that, as is her relationship with her father in law. Spacek has had a great career, and while I certainly wouldn’t call Missing one of her best roles (it certainly doesn’t hold a candle to Badlands, 3 Women, Carrie or In the Bedroom) it is a fine performance.

Frances  - Jessica Lange
I love Jessica Lange, and the subject matter of Frances Farmer is certainly of interest to me. In fact, I distinctly remember back in high school (the 1990s) trying to find this movie, and not being able to. But that’s no excuse – it’s been on DVD for a few years now, and I haven’t gotten around to it yet. But it (and many others) is on my list.

Victor/Victoria  - Julie Andrews
At the risk of being called a hopeless cynic, I have to admit it – I’ve never really liked Julie Andrews. I’ve seen a few of her movies, and she can be quite good, but I’ve never been a fan, and that more than anything else has kept me from seeing this movie. I’m sure my wife would like it though, so one day, I’ll see it.

Overlooked:I’m admittingly kind of at a loss here, as I’m not sure what truly great performance they did not nominate. But if for no other reason than to spotlight Sam Fuller’s great last film, I’ll put down Kristy McNichol for White Dog. The film is violent, disturbing and controversial – as McNichol plays a woman who finds a huge white dog in her neighborhood, and slowly but surely realizes that the animal she has come to love has been bred to do nothing but hate. This dog has been trained to attack and kill any black person he sees. McNichol’s slow realization about who her dog is, is certainly the best (human) acting in the film. I’m not sure it’s a great performance, but it’s a great movie.

Best Supporting Actor

1.    The Verdict - James Mason
Perhaps I’m just letting my feelings for James Mason – a favorite of mine – get in the way here, but I do think it is a crime the three time nominated actor (for A Star is Born, Georgy Girl and this) never won an Oscar – not to mention the list of his performances that SHOULD have been nominated (Bigger Than Life, Julius Caesar, Lolita). Mason is great in The Verdict, a movie about an alcoholic (who surprisingly, isn’t Mason given his off screen demons), battling the big time (represented by Mason). A great actor and a great performance – and perhaps it should have won the Oscar. (Bonus creepy Poland poster for this one as well).

2.    An Officer and a Gentleman - Louis Gossett Jr. (Winner)

It was a tough call between this and Mason as to who to put at the top – so I went with my gut and put Mason there. But that doesn’t mean that Louis Gossett Jr. isn’t terrific as the drill sergeant, who pushes his recruits – especially Gere – and yet has some hidden humanity as well. This seems like the role Gossett was born to play (anyone want to argue he ever came close to being this good again? Didn’t think so). It’s hard to argue against a performance as good as this – but I do wish Gossett had a better career after winning.

3.    The World According to Garp - John Lithgow

The World According to Garp was one of my favorite books when I read it in high school – and I have resisted the urge to go back and reread because I am afraid I’ll be let done. But the film version of the book is merely average – it doesn’t have the same nihilistic sense of humor – it wants us to like the characters too much, when perhaps we shouldn’t like them at all. Anyway, getting to Lithgow’s performance – it is very good, and at the time was considered brave as Lithgow plays a transsexual. But the performance has aged poorly – not unlike William Hurt as the gay prisoner in Kiss of the Spider Woman – because both performances rely on the type of stereotyping that would make us uncomfortable now. Anyway, Lithgow is a terrific actor, and if he never won an Oscar, at least he can go home and cry on his pile of approximately 100 Emmys (okay, so I looked it up, and apparently, it’s only 5. Seems like every time I watch the Emmys though, he wins something).

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas - Charles Durning
Remember what I said about not liking Julie Andrews? Well, that goes double for Dolly Parton. And there is a reason why Burt Reynolds career sunk so low that Paul Thomas Anderson had to resurrect it with Boogie Nights – and there is a reason it sunk again. So despite my love of Charles Durning – a great character actor – I don’t see this changing any time soon. Besides, couldn’t they just have nominated for his comedic gem of a role in Tootsie?

Victor/Victoria  - Robert Preston
No further excuses necessary after my admission of not liking Julie Andrews. Robert Preston’s presence in the film never entered into my decision not to see it.

Overlooked:Despite winning a few critics’ awards, the Academy found no room for newcomer Mickey Rourke for his performance in Barry Levinson’s Diner. Rourke’s performance is the best in the movie as Boogie – the womanizing braggart, hairdresser and gambler who in a movie about the need to grow up, probably needs to do the most. This was one of the film’s that made Rourke the “next big thing” in Hollywood, until he screwed it up for himself, and spent years trying to get back on top before finally doing so in The Wrestler (although let’s be honest, he hasn’t exactly set the world on fire since). But Rourke should have received at the very least his first nomination here.

Best Supporting Actress

1.    Tootsie  - Jessica Lange (Winner)
When you get nominated for two Oscars in one year, quite often the Academy wants to give you ONE of those awards (and when you’re nominated against Streep in Sophie’s Choice in one category, you know which one you’re winning for). But that doesn’t make Lange’s work in Tootsie undeserving. She is excellent in the film, as a young actress who grows close to her mentor Tootsie – and then gets confused because her feelings are not all platonic, but she doesn’t think she’s a lesbian. It is actually a fine performance by Lange – certainly better than her work in Blue Sky (1994) which netted her a second Oscar (I really, really didn’t like Blue Sky).

2.    The World According to Garp - Glenn Close

Unlike John Lithgow’s performance in Garp, I don’t think Glenn Close’s nominated performance (her first of six nominated turns – and she’s still waiting for her win) has aged at all. In fact, I think it’s the best thing about the movie. Close is excellent as a woman who despises sex, and men, and according to her at least, had sex only once – with a comatose soldier at the hospital where she worked so she could get pregnant. Close’s work is so good in the film that I wish the film itself was better – so that all these years later, people actually remembered it.

3.    Tootsie  - Teri Garr

The fact that Teri Garr was nominated for Tootsie speaks volumes as to how weak this category was in 1982. There is nothing wrong with Garr’s performance’s as Hoffman’s best friend, whose feelings obviously run deeper than his do, but there is nothing in the performance that cries out to be nominated either, is there? She’s very good in the film, but the role itself just never rises to the level of the rest of the movie – and this isn’t meant as a criticism, but an observation.

Frances  - Kim Stanley
I talked about this one above – I am very interested in seeing it, I just never got around to it yet. I need to correct this.

Victor/Victoria  - Lesley Ann Warren
Okay, with three performances nominated, I have to admit – I need to see Victor/Victoria.

Overlooked:I have to admit that I’m not sure that if Drew Barrymore had not have grown up into a movie star whether I would still think she should have been nominated for her role in in E.T. and also I have to say that perhaps I need to see more films from 1982 (I have seen quite a few, but). Having said all that, Drew Barrymore is absolutely adorable in the film – sweet and innocent and has that childlike sense of wonder that is usually scared out of child actors. Should really have been nominated? Not sure, but I do know it’s one of my favorite performances in this category from 1982.