I saw A Star is Born a couple of days ago. The movie is disjointed with a vague timeline, I didn’t connect with the characters and didn’t find the romance believable. There were moments that were supposed to be serious which made me laugh out loud (like this one). I fail to see how it got a Best Picture nomination. If you liked it I’m sorry! It’s “not like a horrible movie that made me want to die” to quote Kaiser’s mediocre take on Green Book. There were definitely moving scenes that stood out, like one in which Allie first sings to Jack and almost every scene with Jack’s brother, Bobby, played by Sam Elliott.

Elliott, 74, definitely deserved his Oscar nomination. (Sidenote: how is Sam Elliott 74? I thought he was ten years younger than that at least.) He thinks so too! This is Elliott’s first Oscar nomination and he joked to Deadline about how it’s been a long time coming.

“I think the thing off the top of my head might be, ‘It’s about f*cking time,’” jokes Sam Elliott, in the wake of his first ever Oscar nomination this morning for his supporting role in Warner Bros’ A Star Is Born. “Beyond that, it’s really about the work; it’s just about the creative process. It’s great to be recognized for that, that’s really all it’s about.”

Asked why he felt A Star is Born – this is its fourth incarnation – resonated so strongly with so many, Elliott said, “I just think it has a number of universal themes that a lot of people can tap into. The music’s one thing, that stands alone on some level, but it’s also an intricate part of the story. The love story, the love and loss. Then beyond that, it’s the addiction theme. I don’t know anybody that hasn’t had some connection, either directly or indirectly, someone in their family, or someone they love, with alcoholism or addiction. It’s just one one of the things we live with today. I think the combination of all those factors is what people have responded to.”

[From Deadline via People]

Deadline mentions Elliott’s very long history in film, from 1969’s Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid to The Big Lebowski and TV roles on Justified and Grace and Frankie. (How was he not on Deadwood?!) He’s just so recognizable and iconic that it’s hard to believe this is his first nomination.

Elliott made a good point on the addiction theme in the movie. I was really confused by how the scenes were haphazardly put together. My boyfriend’s theory is that Cooper structured ASIB to show how the lead character’s addiction made everything chaotic, similar to how Oliver Stone structured The Doors, but not as well done. As an alcoholic, parts were hard to watch as they did nail so many aspects of alcoholism. I felt disgusted by how Jack was pissing everything away, so on that level it worked.

Elliott, by playing the brother of Cooper’s character and genuinely caring for him, made us care for him too. The entire movie may not have hung together for me, but Elliott’s character was a standout. He deserves this Oscar, although I wouldn’t be mad if Mahershala Ali won it either. Also, can we get some photos of Regina King posing with Elliott at the Oscars please?

Photos credit: WENN