Snubs and Flubs

In the headlines, another thirty Marines die in an Iraq air crash (further proof of the GOP campaign reassurance that the war is going "splendidly," though they never quite specified for whom); a train derailment right near the Costco where I buy my toilet tissue cost another ten lives; and scientists now foresee an acceleration of global warning. But the big news today is of course the fallout from the Academy Award nominations.

Although I pretty much abhor Hollywood's desperate need for self-congratulation, as evidenced by the cancerous spread of Award shows, I've always enjoyed the brouhaha over the Oscars, and have limited my award radar to this event--one that actually takes place walking distance from my home, just like the U.S. Tennis Open to which I used to traipse as a kid in Forest Hills. Since the nominations are usually based as much on voter sympathies as on merit, I've usually been able to gauge comparative chances of the contestants pretty accurately. I once actually won an Oscar pool at a party by sweeping all but two of the award winners, and those in some very arcane category like short documentary feature (and how ironic that a near-relative actually won the Oscar in that category last year).

One of the silliest, and most common, features in post-nomination commentary are the Oscar "snubs," those omissions from the list of candidates that seem somehow unfair. For instance, Paul Giamatti was "snubbed" in the Best Actor category. I've always thought that was a stupid and misleading term, evoking the image of voters viewing his performance and holding their noses as they leave the theater. In fact, Giamatti was not snubbed; people universally liked him, just not as much as more heavily promoted candidates. He probably finished sixth, with Liam Neeson and Javier Bardem close on his heels in 7th and 8th. I do question the inclusion of Clint Eastwood as the nominee supplanting Giamatti; his performance was adequate, certainly, and his film was good, but I think the SAG voters overreacted to his tender tear-shedding moment. I suppose he is this generation's John Wayne, and his peers wish to pay tribute to the fact that he can register emotion, but he was already honored for "The Unforgiven." The enthusiasm over "Million Dollar Baby" does signal a likely Oscar win over its main adversary, "The Aviator."

As for true "snubs," they apply to films that were purposely ignored, usually for personal reasons. Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ," which I have yet to see because I do not wish to pay for anything that perpetrates antiSemitic stereotypes, was snubbed, for the Industry is largely philoSemitic. "Kinsey," my personal favorite, was probably snubbed by older voters still uncomfortable with its sexual frankness.

Rather than "snub," I'd prefer the word "flub" to those peculiar choices, or non-choices, that dot the Oscar selections. The most flagrant act was the inclusion of Jamie Foxx as a "supporting actor" in "Collateral." Now I understand how this evolved; the producers of "Collateral" did not want Foxx's performance to compete with his stellar rendition of "Ray"--he might then have fought himself out of any nominations. But to call his role in "Collateral" a supporting performance is as ludicrous as saying Clark Gable did a cameo in "Gone with the Wind." He was the heart, soul, and protagonist of that film, as he was in "Ray." What is fascinating, though, is that if one were to judge by merit, he should win the Oscars against both fields. That would be cool, unless you are Don Cheadle.

I was also disappointed with the exclusion of "Hotel Rwanda" from the top five (as I was with "Kinsey," though I expected that). But to be fair, the picture was not as well-produced as the candidates that did get nominated--it was just more meaningful. It probably finished 6th. I was also sorry that Sharon Warren's mesmerizing role as "Ray's" Mom did not get her a nomination, though I'd feel good anyway if I were her agent. On the whole, though, the selections were not as tiresome as in recent years, as when "Braveheart" and "Gladiator" dominated the awards.

My preliminary picks for winners are Martin Scorcese, for Most Overdue Director; Jamie Foxx for Best Piano mime; Annette Bening for Best Actress in a Movie because They Can't Give it to Hillary Swank Again; Thomas Haden Church for Best Supporting Actor for someone Who Usually Does Sitcoms; Cate Blanchette for Best Supporting Rendition of a Best Actress Winner; and "Million Dollar Baby," because everyone in Hollywood likes the sound of a million dollars.