Since I’m slowly trying to reintroduce our typical conversations about Oscar campaigns and such, let’s talk about Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman has never won an Oscar. Gary Oldman wants to win an Oscar, despite what he might have said in the past or what he will be saying this year. Oldman used to be a brash, avant-garde, loose-cannon actor, but as he’s gotten older, he became more conservative, and as such, he craves the respectability that comes with winning an Oscar. To be fair: he’s an incredible actor and just on the level of “good actors who should win awards solely based on performance,” Oldman should have been an Oscar winner a few times over by now. But he still hasn’t won one. Which is why, I suspect, he signed on to play Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour. Here’s the trailer:
It’s like Alex Skarsgard’s hair transformation: if you’re going to put Gary Oldman through all of that (wigs, prosthetics, fat suit), why not just hire a different actor who looks more like Churchill? Jim Broadbent comes to mind. Broadbent would have come cheaper, I bet, and there would have been less time in the makeup chair. But that’s not the point! The point is that Gary Oldman is going for OSCAH! And because Oldman’s For Real This Time, Give Me An Oscar campaign is about to start, it seems like *some* people want to remind Oscar voters that Oldman has some issues.
Hollywood is awfully forgetful when it comes to offensive comments. Three years ago, after Gary Oldman defended Mel Gibson and said Hollywood was “run by Jews,” it looked like his movie career was over. But on Sunday, Oldman will receive the Hollywood Career Achievement Award at the Beverly Hilton. With fellow Brit James Corden hosting the 21st annual Hollywood Film Awards, Oldman will be honored for his roles in “Sid & Nancy,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and, most recently, as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.”
Hard to believe it was just 2014 when Showbiz411 ran the headline: “Actor Gary Oldman Ends His Career in Hollywood with Racist, Anti-Semitic Interview.” Before hastily apologizing for his comments, Oldman had told Playboy magazine, “Mel Gibson is in a town that’s run by Jews and he said the wrong thing because he’s actually bitten the hand thatI guess has fed him . . . He got drunk and said a few things, but we’ve all said those things. We’re all f - - king hypocrites.”
You might think “oh well that was probably a long time ago.” IT WAS 2014!!! Oldman said all of that terrible sh-t and a lot more in a 2014 Playboy interview. To be fair, he apologized later. But still. Oh, and something to keep your eye on: one of his ex-wives accused him of spousal abuse. Buckle up, this could be an interesting Oscar campaign to watch in the current Hollywood environment.
Also: God, I love Jim Broadbent. Why didn’t they cast him in this role???
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Broadbent has an Oscar, doesn’t he. And it seems lately he has been doing more TV than movies.
I think Broadbent won for Iris?
I loved Broadbent in Bridget Jones by the way. I could never see Oldman in that!
PS: John Lithgow is my fav Churchill. He did not look like Churchill but embodied his spirit well.
Albert Finney in The Gathering Storm is mine.
I love Broadbent in anything, the man has more talent in his pinky than the so called aging pretty boys do in their whole cosmetically enhanced bodies.
If Phantom Thread is as good as it looks I don’t think it’s going to matter.
I don’t know, I think the studio is gonna push Hammer hard for Call Me By Your Name. I cannot imagine Chalamet being pushed for best actor.
DDL has lost before.
Armie Hammer will be in the supporting actor category. The studio’s already presenting him as that, and they really can’t push him as lead actor since Chalamet is very much the lead, by any metric.
Chalamet is in with a decent shot at a Best Actor nom though. Will depend on whether Hanks, Jackman’s and Washington’s performances all stack up and whether or not Franco gets a (deserved imo) nom. If one or two of them falter there’s definitely some room for a fresh face this year.
Yep, Hammer would be supporting. Although this movie may run into issues as conservative media are already pointing to the age difference issue. (BS I know, but this Spacey horror won’t help) Most years that’s nothing but this year is just such a MESS!
Chalamet‘s goal is the nomination. Best actor doesn’t get awarded to the very young. Youngest ever was 29. The nomination would be huge though.
DDL will win on the grounds that this is his last film role.
can’t wait for phantom thread. the plot is so intriguing as well.
When I first saw the trailer run before Dunkirk, I turned to my husband and said, “Gary Oldman stole Timothy Spall’s oscar.”
Just watched Broadbent in The Sense of an Ending. He was great, as usual.
Does Hollywood care enough about Churchill to award a film about him? And yes, Gary Oldman is a skeeze…and for what it’s worth, I know a lot of people who get drunk and don’t start making anti-Semitic and/or racist remarks.
Gary Oldman also beats the sh*t of women, so there’s that, too.
God, Kristin Scott Thomas is gorgeous, isn’t she?
She gets better with time.
She is, and she’s always good, too.
I came to say the same thing. She is just class and elegance personified.
Yes, she is. I love Kristin Scott Thomas!
I never got Kristen Scott Thomas’s appeal. She’s alright but something about her always bores me.
I made the mistake of watching The English Patient the other day, incredibly sad. She was hypnotic in that movie. I find her to be enchanting, graceful and beautiful without much effort.
love her too. recently watched movie with her, Maggie Smith and Kevin Kline – my old lady. was very enjoyable.
Under the current climate, he is not going to win a damm thing!
I’m guessing the Oscars will be the worst ever. Who knows what will come out. I just can’t feel good about any these people TBH. Maybe the Oscars can go back to what they used to be though. It has gotten way out of hand with the campaigns and clothes…
The campaigns have always been around since Oscars’ inception.
They are just more transparent these days.
And of course the red carpet industry which was a natural concequence of people tuning in to see what bonkers outfit Cher was wearing.
But you can not deny his acting skills. He doesn’t need an Oscar. He’s one of few actors who are just out of this world. And again, i missed gossip and personal life, but since every rapist in Hollywood got at least one Oscar, doubt Oldman is any worse.
If this year ends with Hollywood’s only remaining stars being a bunch of talented women and, like, maybe Tom Hanks and a Hemsworth, it wouldn’t make me sad.
Oh, Handwoven, I know. I am depending on [most of] my Toms and Chrises.
Apart from the remarks in the interview, the rumors about his violent ways, I also think he sucks as an actor. He overacts with every fiber of his being and his overdramatic ways have turned me off long before I first heard about his not so pleasant temper and thoughts. There’s a reason dude has never won an Oscar.
Handwoven, what makes you sure Tom Hanks isn’t among the bad guys? I’m genuinely asking. I don’t have an opinion on him. I don’t know anything about his life, but then again I did not know about many others.
That’s true. They should take into account his acting skills, not his personal life. I would imagine that a great number of Oscar winners have been pedophiles, rapist and sadist.
IDK…lots of people on this thread are apparently NOT boycotting his film. It really is fascinating how we pick and choose, isn’t it?
Weren’t you one of the ones that think people boycotting, canlcelling celebrities/movies was senseless?
Yes, it is fascinating me too. Gary is a hardcore right winger who beats women, spouts anti-semitic, homophobic, racist crap and defends using the N word. But he is a great actor, so it is fine.
Being talented and creative is not an excuse to accept someone who indulges in abhorrent behavior. These cases aren’t just someone being demanding on set or arrogant; it is much deeper than that.
We keep overlooking terrible behavior and rewarding people with the excuse that only their skills and talent matter but it isn’t true. What we find out about someone is usually just a tiny fraction of what they are like behind closed doors. These predators and corrupt people didn’t just pop up out of nowhere. Over and over they are given a pass, and then others like them are given passes, and they are free to victimize because their output is deemed exceptional.
People have blown it on the campaign trail before. Remember when Burt Feynolds seemed like a real contender for Boogie Nights, until people remembered how much they hated him? Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls as well (yes, there was Norbit, but a huge part was also the fact that Eddie was an a-hole). This year, it looks like a lot of actors are going to be asked a lot of hard questions, and Gary Oldman isn’t the best equipped for this.
Oldman’s established enough as a brilliant actor that he could get away with just letting the work stand on its own without dropping out of people’s minds. If he’s got any sense, that’s what he’ll do.
In a year when Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Hugh Jackman are in the mix, and James Franco and Timothee Chalamet are bringing something fresh to the table, Oldman’s not going to gain any votes via his personality. His best campaign strategy would be to be very quiet and let other people talk about how it’s about time he won.
Hanks and Jackman aren’t in the conversation. Franco is only sort of. Right now the two frontrunners are Oldman and Lewis.
And Gary Oldman has never even been close to an Oscar (the year he got his single nomination he wasn’t actually in the race to win). His work does not speak for itself. Even as an early favorite, he’ll have to hustle hard.
Oldman and DDL are obviously the front runners, but that leaves 3 other spots? Who do you think is part of the conversation, if not Hanks, Jackman and Franco? Washington is there and Chalamet too, and Harrelson is kind of there but not really gaining any momentum at all. Those 3 aren’t anymore cemented than the above yet.
Matt Damon for Downsizing won’t be happening. Mark Wahlberg for All The Money in the World probably wasn’t happening anyway, but certainly won’t be now after the Spacey scandal. Chadwick Boseman seemed like he had a shot but Marshall sounds decidedly mediocre and poorly timed. Jake Gyllenhaal and Steve Carell didn’t make a mark and Robert Pattinson didn’t manage to build the hype for Good Time into anything. Andrew Garfield and Domnhall Gleeson have an outside chance but bigger names will have to falter first. Unless I’m missing someone obvious everyone else seems like a real long shot.
Julilanna, the campaigning is just beginning. All of the men you mentioned are fighting for the remaining spots, whether it be 1 or 2.
I think Lewis, Oldman, and Chalamet are definites, which leaves 2 spots (unless Oldman says something completely unforgivable between now and then). We haven’t seen Hanks or Jackson yet. I would put Gyllenhaal and Franco in the lead as of today, but there are a few months to go. I’m rooting for Robert Pattinson, simply because he is my favorite. 🙂
After these past few weeks, offensive comments are not going to be a make or break. Hell Casey Affleck won last year after a lot more than “comments”. The bar for decent person in Hollywood is exceptionally low.
As for the spousal abuse accusation. Well, he was never charged and considering he got full (yes Full) custody of their kids after that his supporters will have an awfully easy time making that a non-issue.
I remember when he and Donya divorces. Donya seemed pretty unstable and the general consensus seemed to be that she made up the story. It’s worth revisiting, but I remember she really didn’t come across as credible and I thought it was unfortunate that she was giving abuse victims a “bad name” so to speak.
I didn’t know about these other things about Gary Oldman. This sucks, I’ve always been such a fan of his.
Agreed Doodle. HUGE fan, and I somehow missed this awful stuff about his personal life.
It is getting more and more bleak around here. Seems everyone has some secret #ickery hiding in their closets.
Donya Fiorentino accused David Fincher of a lot of things too… At the end of the day she lost custody of all of her children and they seem to be completely estranged from their mother.
I don’t know about Oldman and Fincher, but when your kids don’t want to hear about you, it doesn’t look good.
This is the first I’m hearing of this. What happened? I’ve heard rumours of Oldman being a piece of work. What did she accuse Fincher of?
The part of the Casey Affleck situation that pissed me off the most was that big brother and bestie Damon helped apply pressure to make the discussion go away. Casey wasn’t asked the hard questions. A groundswell of condemnation didn’t happen to him (a la Nate Parker) because they actively lobbied sources not to run with the story. This is all just one big NOPE.
I never thought Nate Parker deserved a nomination, yet Hollywood turned around and gave the Oscar to a man just as bad. Go figure.
Yup, that truly pissed me off. They slung such nasty shit at Parker, who was acquitted BTW, whereas Affleck didn’t even have to answer any questions about his indiscretions. Such a terrible situation for Parker. And where were the apologies? Such BS.
In regards to Oldman, I could barely recognize him in this trailer, except for the eyes. It seems like a dynamic performance by Oldman.
Ummmm, there’s currently a petition with 17,000 signatures and counting asking to bar Casey Affleck from presenting the Oscar’s Best Actress Award due to the allegations against him. People are HARDLY ignoring what he did.
Thanks for this, kitten. Gonna go look for that to sign now.
It’s on Change.org if anyone’s interested.
Things have changed. If Casey was this year, there is no way he would have been nominated. No one is ignoring him.
Thanks Sophia’s Side eye and kitten.
Signed!
Throw all of hollywood out. I’m good with that.
I agree, with the exception being Keanu Reeves. I luv Keanu. Please, please, please never let there be an ugly crap about Keanu. Never.
Maybe this will be the year everyone pulls a Mo’Nique and ‘lets the work speak for itself’. As if.
Brendan Gleeson already did Churchill in “Into the storm”, may just watch that.
(Dear universe, please let Gleeson be a decent human)
If Brendan Gleeson is’nt a decent human being I’m leaving the planet. On a bright note his son, Domnhall seems totally lovely and I can’t imagine a really crap person would produce a guy who seems as nice as he is.
That’s reminds me of a comment Domhnall made in an interview once, that people always ask about his dad influencing him and never about his mother and he spoke about how important her work was and how she truly made a different to people everyday and how proud he is of her, she works with young people as a social worker.
Well that just proves the point, Domnhall IS as lovely as he seems if he’s pointing that out about his Mum, he must have been raised in a home with respect for women and that’s going to come from Mum and Dad.
All I know is I want Bill Skarsgård to at least get a Supporting Actor nod.
Honestly, I think his performance is a bit overdone, and he just doesn’t seem like Churchill to me.
Woody Harrelson’s LBJ looks so much better than Oldman’s Churchill. I’m not sure if he’ll win, but I want him too. LBJ’s a fascinating US President. He has so many different sides to him and given the context of the film is the passing of the Civil Rights Act (Even though LBJ was a southern who didn’t truly support it) it’s important right now.
Woody Harrelson is a dark horse I think as well. He has amassed a good body of work and isn’t so problematic. And LBJ is a bit more relevant to the times. I think Denzel has a real shot with Roman Israel Esq. It isn’t a perfect movie, but Denzel isn’t giving a typical Denzel performance either.
I’m really looking forward to seeing LBJ. And yes, Woody is a dark horse. He has been nominated twice before to Oldman’s once and seems respected among his peers for his serious work
I didn’t know all these things about him, but it always surprises me when someone who grew up working class turns conservative. It’s like pulling the ladder behind you.
Casye Affleck won a best actor Oscar this year and he sexual harrased two women, and that isn’t as bad as racial slurs. I am not saying that Gary Old man gets a pass but neither does Casey Affleck
Actually I’m more interested in Liam Neeson’s Watergate movie (Mark Felt) than this one.
The fact that Uma Thurman still does not speak his name will definitely be brought up and he would have to answer for that. Dude does not play the game well at all and not amount of media training is gonna change a old rich dude.
Yes, many accounts of domestic violence in his past.
He is an awful person. I don’t want him to win anything.
It’s interesting that Daniel Day Lewis and Gary Oldman are the front runners since they came on the scene at pretty much the exact same time. Gary got alot of praise and attention with Prick Up Your Ears and Sid & Nancy and I think people started noticing DDL with My Beautiful Laundrette and the contrast of his supporting role in A Room with a View. But DDL very rapidly overtook him with Unbearable Lightness of Being and My Left Foot. I wonder if Gary Oldman ever wonders why DDL became the big Oscar winning acting darling and he didn’t.
It was the kinds of roles DDL got. And his singular talent. He has been my favorite for 3 decades.
I thought that was Tori Spelling’s husband in the photos!
I don’t see why his comment should be taken as racist. It’s not a secret that most of the really powerful men in Hollywood are jews, and jews that actually care about their roots at that. It’s true that if you go and spout antisemitic rants you’ll get in a lot of trouble, saying that isn’t talking bad about jews. Only really deaf and blind people could believe that Mel Gibson’s long blacklisting was about anything but his drunk tirades about jews in the industry. I mean, he didn’t do anything in terms of violence and mysoginy that we haven’t seen from Christian Bale, Alec Baldwin, Russell Crowe, Jeremy Renner, etc, etc. Jewish people protect their own and they are not very willing to work with someone that’s trashing them. I wouldn’t want to work with someone that’s insulting my culture.
I think the spousal abuse is a bit harder to swallow, especially in the current climate. But hey, Hollywood gave an Oscar to a sexual harasser this year so anything can happen in hypocrisy land.
I’m sure you don’t mean it like that but it is terribly antisemitic to treat Jews as a group of people a. in power, pulling the strings and b. using that power to protect Jews. These are the same ideas that lie at the heart of the Protocols of the lders of Zion. It’s something that has been said about Jews as a negative for centuries. It’s also not true in the case of Hollywood and especially production companies. Hollywood may have started as a Jewish project a century ago, but that certainly doesn’t mean most production companies are still in Jewish hands (they are not).
@MINA…..WELL SAID. Your comment might be unpopular here but everything you wrote certainly adds up. Very interesting and valid points.
Most people ignore this because they choose to be believe that this is not possible. The mainstream media also makes it worse. As the saying goes “truth is stranger than fiction.”
It’s still untrue though, aka false. And since it’s easy to verify I suggest you try to do just that.
Also: Mel Gibson is in full possession of a career again, even being nominated for directing Oscars again.
Why does he have to be gunning for an Oscar? Can’t he have read the script, enjoyed it and thought it would be a challenge to play the role?
Haha no ,what do you think ? This would never cross the minds of many people commentig here lol
He is a serial abuser of women. There are rumours that he beat up Uma Thurman at the end of their brief marriage in the early 90’s. And police have been called on him by past wives and girlfriends, I wish that stuff would come out.
except that neither Uma nor any of his other wifes /GF ever said something bad about him ( except drug addict Donya ) .I wish people would do more research and stop write nonsense .Uma spoke very lovely about him in the years after the divorce and caled him “Her first true love “
I have read almost all interviews of her and have never heard her say anything about him, except “he is a great actor” she has alluded to being in relationships when she was younger with men who were self destructive, something really terrible happened at the end of their relationship, she left him and apparently never saw him again. Just because these women have not come forward does not mean nothing happened, and their are police report from his exes. He was a raging alcoholic so maybe is reformed but for me their is something that screams “this is not a good guy” from his face.
Emilymoo – Who are those exe-S with police report-S you are talking about? I know only about Donya Fiorentino, who is herself was a drug addicted, problematic, false accuser that time, and none of her children want to see her nowdays.
Can you refer to any articles that refer to him as a ranging alcoholic? (no tabloids, please). Has been a long time fan and never even heard about him being “raging” but a heavy drinker alone in his hotel rooms, so not even his friends, colleagues noticed he had a serious problem, until Demi Moore on Scarlet Letter set had a talk with him and finally decided to go to rehab (he is still very good friends with Moore, and he is still grateful for her endlessly for this)
I still remember the interview that Uma gave to a French magazine some years ago where she said “I adore him” referring to Oldman, even if she doesn’t count that marriage because she was too young.
Isabella Rossellini gave an interview to Charlie Rose when her autobiography was published and she said she asked all her exes (about her writing before publishing their private stories), including Oldman because she wants to stay in friendship with all of them.
With her first wife, Lesley Manville, he also has a very good relationship, she has talked about Oldman countless times (“we are good chums”), they even worked together as a married couple on Christmas Carol about 20 years later.
And so on… these are only just examples, but you can fact-check them all.
@me
Yet one of his Ex wives are says he abused her. Maybe you should take your own advice and do more research stop write nonsense.
@Rose – But it was an accusation that was investigated by the LADP, social services etc in a lengthy process since their two little children were involved and also turned out false (she also claimed other absolut nonesense that also turned out lies, like Oldman doping their children – yet she was the drug addict, and one of the trials was about her mental problems and that she needed help). Oldman won full custody of their children in a 2 year old long case. Why don’t YOU do research? You only care about the beginning (accusation) but you do NOT care about the ending (result of investigations, true or false claim). But I understand, when an article like this cares only about the accusations but doesn’t make any effort to post the complete story (from reliable sources, not other tabloids) then the general audience is just as superficial when it comes to serious cases. It was one of the Hollywood cases that was indeed investigated in every possible way. It was quite well documented throughout those years, you just need deeper research.
Oh, that’s so disappointing to learn about him. I always loved his performances. :/
Jim Broadbent Appreciation Society!
So people are finally waking up to the fact that, despite all the virtue signalling, Hollywood is rife with narcissistic, abusive, greed heads. And you wonder why a lot of people think the Democrats are out of touch with working class people when the party has strong ties to Hollywood?
@Rose yes one of them did and it was proofen wrong by court .He won custody of his boys he had with this woman .Plus her other ex David Fincher was accused by her as well and he also got custody of their daughter .The other women in his life ,a few of them well known never ever said anything like that .Maybe they come forward now since it would been heard now .Lets wait ,if this doesnt happen it looks like there is nothing to tell in their eyes .Agree he had trouble with Uma ( due to his drinking ) .Both actually never talked about it so how do we know what happend ? He even admitted he had problems back then ,but the post from Margot above is pretty accurate with sources to find .Show me one source who is reliable about all he is accused by Emmilymoo then we can talk further .Though dont know if this leads anywhere since you seem to have already a opinion and it wont change I guess with real arguments .
Iam all for calling out men who do this to women ,but starting a wich hunt is not the way .To accuse everyone suddenly without proof belittles the real cases of abuse and herrasment .
Tulsi I think that is true across the board.
Politicians are just as bad as are men everywhere. What is Roger Ailes’ excuse or Bill O’Reilly or Catholic priests or homophobic pastors caught cruising for men? If we think it is just one industry or one type of political ideology, then we won’t change this dynamic. The Right has plenty, the center and the left do too. Our president is a prime example.
It is also a mistake to think everyone in Hollywood is liberal.
Conservatives: Cindy Crawford, The Rock, Diane Kruger, Norman Reedus, Matthew McConaughey, Taylor Swift, Carson Daly, Kevin James. Joe Magienello, Heather Locklear, Kelly Clarkson, Simon Cowell, Hillary Duff…as well as the known ones like Adam Sandler, Sly Stallone and Tom Cruise. Chris Pratt.
I know there’re Republicans in Hollywood. But by and large Hollywood is dominated by high profile Democrats. Look at the last election a virtual who’s who of Hollywood came out for Clinton whilst Trump had Chachi. I know Hollywood isn’t the only place where predators operate but that’s where the focus is at the moment.