by Some were relegated; others, forgotten; some more, simply belittled. Win or not, for nominees like brendan fraser, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis the Oscar awards 2023 marks a renaissance. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards ceremony will take place next Sunday, March 12, 2023, at 9:00 pm (Puerto Rico time).
Fraser’s “demomification”
Brendan Fraser lives a “demomification”. For starters, remove the “product” tag from blockbuster movies (“The Mummy”, 1999) and easy comedies (“Bedazzled”2000), despite having participated in “Crash”a drama that won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2006… beyond the controversy that this choice still generates.
In a metaphorical sense, getting out of the “sarcophagus” in which one of the most famous actors of the nineties spent years but transformed into a “broken toy”: injuries from stunts in films like “George of the Jungle” (1997), a painful divorce in 2017, depression due to the sexual harassment he suffered, inconsequential movies.
For “The Whale,” he got into the shoes of Charlie, a 600-pound man, which involved adding a 280-pound prosthetic to the weight he had gained recently.
Now unless Austin Butler (“Elvis”) prevents him from doing so, he will receive the golden statuette for an emotionally powerful role that allowed him to revive his career and earn the respect of colleagues, critics and moviegoers.
The return of a “one hit wonder”
Making an analogy with the music industry, Ke Huy Quan was a “one hit wonder” in Hollywood. Even if his name does not sound familiar to many, some will remember him as the lively child of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984) and maybe also for sharing the screen with Sean Astin, Corey Feldman and Josh Brolin in “The Goonies” (1985), two stories with the seal of Steven Spielberg.
After the brilliance of those first two roles, practically nothing. Until 2021, between video clips, television series and films of dubious quality, she was only seen eleven times.
But in 2022, he became Waymond, one of the favorite characters of that phenomenon called “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Not bad for that Vietnamese-American boy who accompanied “Indy” and now he is the “sure” winner for best supporting actorwith permission of the tandem Brendan Gleeson-Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”).
More than a “Nepobaby”
Being the daughter of two legends like janet leigh and Tony Curtis it is as good as bad and Jamie Lee Curtis knows that.
With the growing debate of the “nepobabies” (the “sons of…”), he openly acknowledges that his first two major roles in television and film (“Operation Petticoat”from 1977, and “Halloween”1978) were thanks to mom and dad.
An advantage turned into a heavy slab despite outstanding performances in films like “A Fish Call Wanda” (1988), “True Lies” (1994) and Freaky Friday (2003).
Now, thanks to his antagonistic role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”shines with its own light as one of the favorites for best supporting actress, an award that she already received a week ago at the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards, in English).
A la Gardel: that 29 years is nothing…
If there’s anyone who can take the win from Curtis, it’s Angela Bassettnominated again… 29 years later.
In 1994, she competed for best actress for “What’s Love Got to Do with It”to which they followed “Strange Days” (1995), underrated film by Kathryn Bigelow, and her recent “retreading” for the general public as Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther” (2018).
Exactly that character, which he repeated in “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) and now with a greater role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” after the unexpected death of Chadwick Bosemanput her in the discussion for best supporting actress.
If he succeeded, he would also give the first golden statuette in an interpretation category to the Marvel factory, since the 6 he has are for technical and animation aspects.
That “secret weapon” called Bill Nighy
Previously nominated, and even won once, at the Baftas, Golden Globes and Tony Awards, he is almost a “generic” actor, with little memory.
And that in almost 50 years of career he has participated in more than 150 productions such as Underwold (2003), “The Boat That Rocked” (2009), “About Time” (2013), “Emma” (2020) and sagas like “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Harry Potter”in performances generally filled with contained sympathy, in the same way that he tries to hide Dupuytren’s disease in which his ring and little fingers are always closed towards the palms of his hands.
Characteristics that, however, did not prevent him from stealing the show in “Love Actually” (2003), with a scene from a video clip-parody of Robert Palmer and a song in the voice of that carefree but decadent star named Billy Mack.
Now, that kind of “secret weapon” as a luxury companion or antagonist, achieves his first Oscar nomination, for “Living room”. Although it seems impossible, if he succeeded, he would become the third oldest performer to win as best actor, at 73 years old.
post credits scene
“Just being nominated for an Oscar is already a source of pride.” That’s what everyone says… except those who are among the top nominees in history without ever having won.
This year, there was more to go, two “regulars” from that unenviable list repeat.
Diana Warrenthe female “leader” after thirteen nominations for films like “Mannequin” (1987), “Armageddon” (1998) and “Pearl Harbor” (2001) without a single golden statuette, is listed again in the category of best original song, now with applauseof “Tell it Like a Woman”which will compete, among others, with the already Oscar-winning Lady Gaga and David Byrne, and the debutante Rihanna.
Meanwhile, daniel sudickwith his thirteenth nomination for best special effects (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), is also close to the record for “biggest loser in history”, that of the American Greg P. Russell: 16 times in the ballots for best sound without any reward.
For Warren and Sudick, an award this year would be personal redemption, even if it seems unlikely.
