I still haven’t seen Tree of Life. I wasn’t really looking to see it, either, but I suppose I will rent it whenever it comes out on DVD. When I read the reviews of Tree of Life, it just sounded like something that I would roll my eyes at – Brad Pitt playing a father in 1950s, Sean Penn as the son who is all grown up, interspersed with artsy-fartsy imagery… meh. But I liked that Brad got such great reviews for the film, and early awards-watchers claimed that Brad could get a big awards season push for the Best Actor Oscar.
Then, months later, I saw Moneyball. I reviewed it here – I LOVED Moneyball. And it’s Brad’s movie too – Jonah Hill stole some scenes, but it’s Brad’s film, and he looked amazing and he seemed… grown up. He was convincing as a world-weary man just trying to succeed against the odds. His face was beautifully lined, and all of a sudden, it was really clear-cut that Brad really is Robert Redford’s successor. So I really hoped that when the awards season really got under way, that Brad’s push would come for Moneyball – it’s a bigger film, it’s a crowd-pleaser, and I hoped that Brad would be acknowledged with awards for a “big” movie rather than an art-house one, perhaps following the Sandra Bullock/Blind Side-awards-season pattern.
Well, the critics awards have begun to come out, and Brad is starting to get more of a boost. Tree of Life just tied for Best Picture at the Gotham Awards, and just a few hours ago, The New York Film Critics Circle announced their awards for 2011. Brad takes Best Actor for both Tree of Life AND Moneyball. Sidenote: Meryl Streep won Best Actress for The Iron Lady and Jessica Chastain won Best Supporting for all of her 20 million roles this year.
While I think Brad is definitely going to be nominated for many of the big awards, I do have some questions. First, which film will he be nominated for? Tree of Life as the art-house favorite, or Moneyball as the film that people have actually seen? He was the lead actor in both films, and Academy rules stipulate that Brad could not be nominated twice in the same category. So which would it be?
Also – who will Brad be up against? Michael Fassbender for Shame or A Dangerous Method? Fassie has the same problem as Brad – two potentially lead-nomination-worthy performances in the same year, although I think it’s clear that the studio will be making a bigger push for Shame rather than Method. So, who else? Gary Oldman for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – maybe. George Clooney for The Descendents. Maybe Leonardo for J. Edgar, but meh. There are other names being thrown around, of course, but I’m starting to get a weird feeling… the same weird feeling when I realized that Colin Firth was in the perfect position to win the Oscar during the last awards season. Is it Brad’s year to win?!?
Photos courtesy of Fame.
It’s William Bradley Pitt year… He will probably be nominated for lead actor in Moneyball!
He’ll be nominated but he’ll never win.
Preach. Always a bridesmaid never the bride.
Better him than Clooney.
I truly hated Tree of Life (and I generally like artsy, pretentious movies), but he was excellent in it.
I’m with you, Moneypenny. Tree of Life was not “interpspersed” with artsy imagery, it was doused in it. I gave up about an hour in.
The moment a dinosaur showed up, I was done. I managed to pull through until the end, but the dinosaur was just it for me.
YAWN!
God he did look good in Moneyball didn’t he??
Yup! He did! I just saw Moneyball last week. Loved it! Wish he’d win the Oscar! Man, i’d be stoked! Lol.
I hope it’s his year! Congrats to Brad on the critics award.
sorry
im on other site. better Clooney. personally im for Fassy. Shame is excellent brilliant movie
The field is pretty narrow right now. I doubt the academy will give it to Fassbender for Shame-they might nominate him just to show that they aren’t afraid of an NC17 movie though.
I do think they’ll nominate George Clooney, Fassbender for Shame (or a Dangerous Method if it turns out to be good enough-it could go the way of J. Edgar and be Oscar bait but plodding and boring), they might nominate Ryan Gosling for Drive as their ‘indie’ nom.
As it is, it seems like the race is between Brad and George.
EDIT: I haven’t seen Moneyball or Tree of Life or the Descendants. I saw Drive though and it was weird and scary and very well done.
I hope he wins. He really is a good actor. =)
Saw Moneyball the other day – he did a good job in it. I hope he’s at least nominated this year for either film – I think he’s done enough noteworthy work that he gets a nod. Aside from that, I’ve never been a huge “Pitt’s a hotie” fan but he looks friggin’ hot as hell in these pics! He wears this hair length well – reminds me of Legends of the Fall.
he did great in both film , in tree of life he broke my heart and money ball was very classic acting we don’t see anymore.
Don’t know if he’ll win it but it’s a great honor just to be nominated.
Oh yeah, give it to him. He’s just so darn cute!!!!
Good for Brad!!! I still haven’t seen Moneyball yet, but I want to and I really should because I’m from Oakland, hehehe. But I’m hoping more than anything that Ryan Gosling gets nominated for SOMETHING, because I feel like he kind of got screwed over last year.
Why is everyone pushing for Fassbender to be nominated in Method? Viggo Mortensen blew his own role as Freud, out of the water! So did Keira Knightley! If anyone from Method is nominated, it should be either of the latter. Not Fassbender. (Although he DID do an excellent job, he wasnt as good as the other 2 in my opinion)
I think the “push” for Fassie for ‘Method’ has ended – everyone agrees that if and when he gets nominated, it will be for ‘Shame’.
I am so jelous that you’ve seen A Dangerous Method! Living in Miami, I have to wait until the first week in January for it to play here. Sad…
Good for him.
Regardless of which film he’s nominated for, let’s hope he remembers to wear deoderant to the Oscars.
LOL
I just wanna kiss those lips. Yummy.
I would love to see Brad walk away with an Oscar. What a lovely and deserving man!
If your talking for Moneyball your sorely mistaken the last person to win for a sports movie was Anne Revere in 1946 for national velvet. Sports films and comedy never get nominated for an oscar. Mr Pitt is never gonna be a multi time oscar nominee let alone winner a younger american male dame Julie andrews he’s not she actaully won an oscar on her first nomination for Mary Poppins
uummm
To name just a few movies since 1946, “Million Dollars Baby” and “The Blind Side” are sport movies that have seen both their lead actresses won the best oscar in a female lead.
So your assumtion is totally wrong.
Actually, it was Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side 2 years ago.
Jerry Maguire was at least as much of a sports movie as Moneyball and it was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (which Cuba Gooding Jr. won.)
There are several sports movies that have won oscars.
The Fighter: Best supporting actress and actor
The Pride of the Yankees: Best editing
The Champ: Best Actor, Best original story
Breaking Away: Best original screenplay
The Hustler: Best art direction-set decoration, Best cinematography
Chariots of Fire: Best picture, Original score, Costume design, Original screenplay
Jerry Maguire: Best supporting actor
Raging Bull: Editing, Best actor
Rocky: Best picture, Director, Editing
Huh? Last person to win for a sports movie was in 1946? Think again.
Try The Fighter, Raging Bull, Jerry Maguire…
He is already a “multi nominee”. He was nominated for Twelve Monkeys and CCOBB.
I haven’t seen Moneyball but he was excellent in Tree of Life.
I’ve read this exact same post somewhere else. It’s as wrong here as it was there.
Plenty of actors have been nominated and won for sports movies. Do a little research before posting htis off the wall posts.
I saw Moneyball and I really liked it. It just wasent because of Pitt, but I love underdog movies where the team has a player on their side truly looking out for the best of everyone. And a father trying to be the best he could be to a little girl despite his personal rough patch. I dunno, I just oved the movie as a whole package, from the old baseball cronies and thier funny one-liners to the cloying sweet little girl. My one tiny pick is the ex wife and her new husband scene; What couple coordinates their whole wardrobe to the decor of the house? Did anyone notice in that scene they matched perfectly together to the couch they were sitting on to the rest of the living room? It seemed so overly pretentious. I had to stop my eyes from rolling too far to keep watching the scene.
I remember that scene, yes! lol
We liked Moneyball very much too. Jonah Hill was also good in it.
I saw his (JH) picture recently and wish he hasn’t lost that much weight.
Meet Joe Black. I rest my case.
It’s a good thing I no longer watch the AAs.
He’ll be nominated and I hope he wins. Moneyball was an excellent film and his performance was fantastic.
Sure he’ll be nominated, the Oscars aren’t above doing whatever it takes to get the Brange to show, they know that those two equals ratings boost. Now will he win? I’m not to sure.
You do realize don’t you that “the Oscars” is not some monolithic entity nor is it some small organized group.
Those people nominating the actors for Oscars are the 1,183 members of the actors branch of the Academy.
Similarly those people nominating directors for Oscars are the 367 members of the directors branch of the Academy.
There is no group think on something like you suggest for the reason you suggest. It just doesn’t work that way.
This is a joke, Pitt over Fassbender and Oldman? Bullshit.
yes, it is.
He’s definitely going to get a nomination for Moneyball. It’s gonna be a race between him, Clooney, and Fassie. I’m looking forward to the Oscars.
Best Actor will be either Clooney or Jean Dujardin. Clooney is the favorite, Dujardin close behind according to the bookies.
Fassy will be nominated for Shame.
Best Director will be Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist”.
I’d love to see Brad win, but this is Jean DuJardin’s year. The critics have been raving about his performance in The Artist. If he wasn’t in the race Brad or George might have a real chance.
Even Clooney called Dujardin’s performance “spectacular”.
Clooney is currently at even odds to win Best Actor, Dujardin at 7 to 4, Leo at 11 to 4, Gary Oldman 6 to 1, Fassy, Gosling and Pitt all at 9 to 1, Woody Harrelson at 10 to 1.
In other words, bet a dollar on Clooney, you get your dollar back if he wins. Bet 4 dollars on Dujardin, you get 7 back if he wins etc.
Thanks for explaining gambling to us beginners. I have a feeling odds are going to change. Clooney wasn’t even nominated for and Independant Spirit Award eventhough the film Descendants was(only small budget films get nominated). The race doesn’t take shape until all the precursor awards come through. Brad’s chances improved today and George’s went down. Check back with the bookies in a day or two 😉
It doesn’t really matter, Pitt will get nowhere near Dujardin.
I haven’t seen the Artist yet so I am not going to make a sweeping statement. I also am wondering how good Tinker Tailor Spy is. But I wouldn’t count out Pitt. He’s got the stones to win-Moneyball is just as well received as the Artist with critics. And I’ll be honest it would be fun to watch certain hens have an epic meltdown but we’ll see.
I haven’t seen either of these movies although I will see Moneyball when I get the chance but IMO Brad has done wonderful work over the course of his career. I especially loved his performance in “Jesse James.” Nice to see he’s getting recognition for his work. BTW I am a fan of Jen but that doesn’t stop me from recognizing Brad’s obvious talent and hard work. I think it’s called being broad rather than narrow minded.
When even the professional movie critics find themselves on their feet, cheering and clapping at the end and dying to see the film again, as was the case for the gent at The Guardian when he saw “The Artist”, you know the film has to be something raher extraordinary. And the guy was a Brit…
Whenever I see him, I wonder what its like to be with him. Those bottom pictures make me all dizzy…and I’m not one to be like that.
im so confused by my own emotions…
If I had to bet, my bet would be on Moneyball. Although he could win for either role, I think the Academy is more likely to put him up for Moneyball, simply because it was a MUCH more widely seen film. The Academy also has to take ratings into consideration and they generally are able to attract larger audiences when actors are nominated for more widely seen films. Just my opinion.
“His face was beautifully lined, and all of a sudden, it was really clear-cut that Brad really is Robert Redford’s successor.”
I’ve no doubt Brad was good in Moneyball, but Robert Redford, IMO, is an incredible actor, whereas Brad, IMO, is a middling, even pedestrian, actor, who happened to score (no pun intended) with Moneyball. (Please note that this is merely my opinion.)
Having said that, may the best man win next year. 🙂
Robert Reford does not have or need a successor, especially not Brad Pitt. Never saw the appeal of Pitt, but still love RR.
robert all i have to say what a man . no replaceing him ever
acting aside, and going only on visuals, BP looks like RR. They could be father and son. They’ve been in films togther where you can see the resemblance…it’s uncanny.
There’s just this tiny difference, though – Robert Redford is hot. 🙂 When that man was young, he was *sizzling*. I’ve never gotten the Brad Pitt phenomenon, not at all. Obviously this is a personal preference, and my preference is not for The Pittster.
” . . . middling, even pedestrian, actor,”
Nymeria, those same pejoratives were said about Redford as well. Redford was never regarded as some great actor. Even Paul Newman had to fight the perception he was more of a pin up than a real actor for most of his younger days. This consensus that Newman is a great actor came about in his later years – when he was older than Pitt is now.
However, even in their early roles, Newman & Redford showed a great deal of talent and prowess. Brad Pitt never has, in my opinion. Hence, IMO, comparing him to these two acting greats is like comparing Scarlett Johansson to Marilyn Monroe.
I actually think some of Pitt’s best work was early on–he did well (esp. in small parts) in films like Thelma and Louise, Kalifornia, True Romance, etc. In his later years, he did well in A River Runs Through it, Se7en, The Fight Club, and Snatch (my favorite role of his). So, I think he’s done a real wide range of characters–some hits and some real misses (Joe Black, The Devil’s Own). While he may not be Sean Penn (his own acting “idol”)–still, he’s had many memorable films, and an interesting career.
@ kira, as I cannot reply to you directly – I can see why you would say that, but I’ve seen a lot of Brad’s movies (mostly against my will, haha), and he has always underwhelmed me with his performances.
Best actor: Pitt, Clooney, DiCaprio, Dujardin, Oldman
I would love to see Gosling getting a nom for Drive, but it will never happen.
Best Over-Actor
The tree of life is artsy fartsy but that doesn’t stop it from being beautiful. It’s frustrating, exhilarating and beautiful. Brad is even better there than in Moneyball. I hope he gets double Oscar nominations and knocks clooney off his throne.
I agree, Tree of Life was fartsy but boy what a beautiful movie. Exquisite to watch. I hope the boy who played the eldest son gets a supporting nod because I thought he was phenomenal!
I think it’s going to be Fassbender or Oldman. Leo D, Pitt and Clooney like to play the game but their off-screen personalities are bigger than life and I don’t think the Acadamy applauds that for some reason (judging by the last 10 winners).
Personally I would like Oldman, Leo D or Fassbender win. Leo because after all that work he’s put in to shake the pretty boy image off, he deserve a prize for it. That man can act. Oldman because he’s my fantasy =). And Fassbender well he’s amazing, low key, can tackle any part BUT I feel as if his time will come withing 5, even 3 years so if he doesn’t win now, he will win later.
NOBODY has had to shake their pretty boy image more than brad pitt…and he has proven time and again that he is much more than looks…IMHO DeCaprio tends to overact…and he ain’t that pretty!
“…and he ain’t that pretty!”
Winning an Oscar isn’t (or shouldn’t be, about how ‘pretty’ someone is. IMO, DiCaprio is a far better actor than Pitt. But, really, my pick is Gary Oldman. He’s got more acting talent in his pinky than the talent of Pitt, Clooney, and DiCaprio COMBINED. It’s a damn shame that an actor of his stature hasn’t even been nominated before. Just goes to show that the Oscars are all about politics. How the hell can Clooney… Clooney!!… win Oscars and Oldman not even be nominated?
Just saw Moneyball on the weekend and I loved it. Hope he gets a nomination, because he was excellent!
Loved Moneyball and Brad was great in it.
I especially loved his performance in Tree of Life.
the man had two amazing performances this year in two great films. Bravo Brad and well deserved.
Congrats Brad Pitt!!!!! *big claps*
it’s about time!!!
loved both films
I think Dujardin is going to get it.
The Oscars are more about goodwill than the performance. Brad Pitt is as A-list as you can get and I agree 100% percent he is Robert Redford 2.0, but Redford hasn’t won an acting Oscar. He won for directing. I think Brad Pitt is going to have to do something very un-Brad Pitt to win an acting Oscar, like playing Monster ugly or Milk gay. But he’d be a shoe-in for a directing nomination if he directed a decent movie, because the attention would be about this gorgeous super dad who did something out-of-the-box and cerebral. Redford beat Scorsese (Ordinary People vs. Raging Bull), Kevin Costner beat Scorsese (Dances with Wolves vs. Goodfellas) — pretty actors who decided they’d like to try their luck behind the camera. Their movies weren’t ultimately memorable (as compared to the competition), but their competitive edge was in the fact that voters LIKED THE IDEA of voting for someone doing something no one expected them to do. And though Brad Pitt is insanely famous, I don’t always think that he’s insanely liked. I don’t think he’s disliked, but I just don’t think that people on the whole want to see him get awarded the same way they did Colin Firth. It just doesn’t evoke the same feeling.
Leo…not this year. J. Edgar’s reviews aren’t as amazing as some of his previous efforts or Clint Eastwood’s previous efforts. And the Academy probably still feels he’s young and his time will come.
Clooney has an Oscar already. I think that plays into their voting. When he did win, I think that was a combination of his performance itself, the weight gain, and his entire pretty stellar year. He was in no way going to win directing (Ang Lee was a lock) but he was absolutely going to get rewarded for his amazing year. Up until then, most of his movies were either crappy or kind of light fare. But he showed he was a serious talent and won.
Fassbender is sexy, gorgeous, magnetic, and is clearly having a good year, but I think that the Academy voters will view his two big roles as hyper-sexual and shy away.
Dujardin winning is a good story. The Artist is playing on 4 screens in America (as of last week, anyway) but is pulling an insane amount of money per screen. The reviews are ecstatic. He won Best Actor at Cannes (at least I think it was Cannes — maybe it was Venice). And I think people would like the idea of voting for an actor in a silent, black and white film.
It’s still early, yet. But I think, right now, it’s Dujardin’s to lose.
Fassy won in Venice for Shame, Dujardin in Cannes. And yes, the reviews for The Artist are a like reading the thesaurus for superlatives. I really really hope Dujardin wins. He deserves it.
“And though Brad Pitt is insanely famous, I don’t always think that he’s insanely liked”
There are few people in the industry who are as liked as Brad Pitt is by those both above and below the line. Pitt has enormous good will in the industry. It will serve him well this awards season with the membership of the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy.
I think it’s a given that Pitt will be nominated for a SAG and an Oscar. I wouldn’t bet too hard against him winning an Oscar either.
I rented Tree Of Life and yeah, Pitt bought his A game. The movie was prentious orgasm for Malick but the acting was top notch. I do think that he will and should get it for Moneyball and could get a supporting nom for Life (if they push for it). The scene where he was trading players alone deserves a nom.
Is Brad Pitt eyes really blue or he wears contacts. that looks like contacts in the first pictures, eyes too blue.
those are his eye colour. It’s insane how blue his eyes are.
Pitt deserves it. He’s been on fire these last few years. I don’t know what he did but he really improved his career choices drastically.
He’s looking sexy in those photos. Not so Ken doll anymore.
yeah!!!! brad, i knew he would at least get a nod, he brought his A game all year, the man can act, he should win, others did well also, but brad stood out, twice. oh lordy, brad is gorgeous, i feel warm also looking at him, he really deserves to finally win, not just a pretty face any more, although he’s not bad on the eyes, lucky angie.
I have no idea if Brad will win, but he sure as hell deserves these awards and an Oscar nomination.
And the best part about all of this is that, with Moneyball, he stuck with the project despite all of the negative spin he got when Soderbergh got canned. All of those stories about how studios weren’t willing to support star vehicles and the snipes about how he may have lost his star power. When I saw Moneyball, I knew that all of the negative spin was dead wrong. And you will see all of the naysayers taking their sweet time to concede that Brad sticking with Moneyball WAS A DAMN GOOD CHOICE… just one of many that dude has made over the last seven years.
And needless to say, his performance in Tree of Life was excellent as well. My only fear in him getting nominated for both supporting and best actor is that some will feel compelled to just support the supporting category, which isn’t fair.
The entire TOL cast was submitted for supporting. It seems unlikely for me that he’ll be nominated in that category because it seems to be full.
So far the consensus seems to be around Pitt, Clooney, Dujardin, and either Fassy(iffy because of the X-rated nature of Shame) ,Gary Oldman,Leo Dicaprio (iffy because of the poor reception) or Woody Harrelson.
I have only seen Moneyball and The Descendants. As much as I usually like Clooney(and Payne) The Descendants left me cold. Clooney WAS the frontrunner but I do think that now that the actual critics awards are coming through that will change. On the other hand Moneyball was just so simple and incredibly well told and acted. Pitt has an advantage because he doesn’t over act. Doesn’t chew scenery or fight his persona but takes the audience on an interior journey that’s genuinely moving. I’d love to see Oldman win because he’s never even been nominated. But I’d be just as happy for Brad because it’s a killer performance.
I saw the movie and I loved it. I thought he was very, very good in it. It seems that pretty boys like Brad just never win for the movies they should win it for, Paul Newman comes to mind. Brad was excellent in Benjamin Button and The Tree of Life as well. If he does indeed win it will be for one that isn’t Oscar worthy but because he lost a few that he should have won…if that makes sense!
I understand what you mean; but then again, the Oscars are notorious for awarding the wrong performances. Jimmy Stewart comes to mind – he should’ve got the Oscar for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; instead, he got the Oscar for The Philadelphia Story. And because of that, Henry Fonda lost out for Grapes of Wrath and subsequently had to wait 40 years to get the Oscar for On Golden Pond.
Hopefully, that won’t happen to Brad.
Why is there no ‘BLEEPIN’ noms for Puss??(As in Puss n Boots) Why do I have a feeling no one is listening…
there is an animation category in OScars, sadly not in any other award show.
I hope he gets nominated AND I hope he wins. It will piss a lot of people off if either happens. 😀 lol
Since it doesn’t look like its gonna work out for Puss n Boots-BRAD ALL THE WAY!!
Not cheering for “War Horse”?
Wanting him to win mainly to ‘stick it to the hater’ is a quite sad.
Hope Dujardin takes it. He is literally in the lead without any fan fair, no statements about retiring, no publicity stunts.
He even won people over in his movie without saying a word.
It is his Oscar to loose.
Um, where did I say “Wanting him to win mainly to ‘stick it to the hater’ is a quite sad”
That’s not what I said. lol Nice try though 😉
Haven’t seen The Artist yet, so no opinion of it.
When I brought Up Anne Revere earlier I was refering to sports movies that film buffs remember and besides nobody remembers the editing and sound ect winners and your forgetting Newman was nominated for best actor for the Hustler and Piper Laurie was for best actress though they lost to Maxamilian Schell for Judgement at Nurenberg & Sophia Loren for Two Women of Course Newman won 25 years later for it’s sequel The Color Of Money though Laurie never won but was nominated for supporting actress for Carrie
Don’t worry Courtney some of us are onto the nature of your posts. Please don’t let the memory of Paul Newman leave Celebitchy 🙂
Brad will definitely be nominated for Moneyball. I think it’s too early to say if he’ll win since a lot of movies are still coming out. At this point I think he’s the favorite. Clooney is right behind him but it seems like Brad has more buzz going. In some articles reporters say that he may be submitted for supporting for Tree of Life.
Winning the new York film critics award brad will be nominated for an Oscar.
what is it with semi-artistic sorta-kinda-little intellectual guys and their weird hair/beard combo? why is it fashionable to look like a homeless person who can’t afford to look better. we all still remember you are a super rich hollywood boy who only got famous for his once-o(over)rated looks. the fug hair, beard or glasses will not convince us otherwise. fool
Why using US for your own opinion ? You don’t represent me and I am sure you don’t represent his legions of fans.
I also think that the fool is the one who think so highly of himself/herself that she/he thinks Pitt needs validation from him/her to exist in his job or to feel comfortable in his own skin. That’s totally delusional and straight up foolish.
when i said “us”, i certainly didn’t imply that you are intelligent enough to be in the same level as i am. it’s just a figure of speech, moron.
” the fug hair, beard or glasses”
Yeah, I don’t really get it either. But I hesitate to call him a “fool” around here because I treasure life and limb 🙂
what is it about him that women so worship even after he is grey and shriveled? if this was an actress nobody would look at her twice because she’s “too old”. ao much doule standard oh and let’s not forget apparently women have to remain eternally young whereas men “get better with age” gimme a fucking break. they can go suck old man dick all they want for all i care. and btw i hate all men who do this the guy from inglorious basterds also got a hipster fugly homeless man beard and so did christian bale and mel gibson and let’s not forget justin was sporting that shit too until jennifer made him shave. i don’t get why men seem to think it’ll make them hip, artistic and attractive. anybody who tries to -dress- like an intellectual isn’t actually one. and this only makes men look fug
oh, I didn’t know he was an actor! I thought he was a reality star…
Wonder if Leo D’s PR Team is going to set him up again with a new GF (or beard)…to kep him in the news for Oscar time….
Doubt a PR romance will help. And this is not a diss towards DiCaprio. I readily admit that I haven’t seen J. Edgar, but it seemed like the hype of an Eastwood/DiCaprio pairing kinda killed it.
It’s almost like with Hugo – although I haven’t seen it, the constant Scorsese name-checking versus talk about the story/script gives me pause.
Moneyball was AWFUL. I went with four friends. We ALL fell asleep in the theater.
Thanks for the money..
Pitt will get a nomination for sure, and if he keeps winning critics’ awards it’s not possible for him to win an Oscar. Like it or not, Moneyball is one of the best reviewed films of the year. Its BO performance isn’t bad either. Clooney’s film is less liked by critics and viewers alike, DiCaprio’s film plummeted among critics, Fassbender has a good shot but his film, Shame, wouldn’t be able to get as easy love from the Academy as Moneyball. Dujardin actually has a better chance than Fassbender, I’d say (film loved by critics and it’s a crowdpleaser). The possible dark horse is Gary Oldman. He’s considered overdue and his film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is loved by critics (sitting at 98% on RottenTomatoes) and was a BO hit back home in the UK. Once wide-released in North America, I think it’s going to be a hit among Americans too. But until TTSS’s wide release, Brad Pitt has a very very very good chance, and I’m not even a Pitt fan. LOL. But I personally think he gave the performance of his entire career in Moneyball, so yeah, I think he deserves the awards coming his way.
*not impossible to win an Oscar.
oops.
Yes I think that Brad will win this year. And I am so glad. It will be so nice not to have him trying so hard year after year for an Oscar. He is getting desperate and it is showing. I think that this year is a poor year for actors and that is helping Brad.
Gary Oldman was terrific in TTSS and he’s been turning in brilliant performances for decades. I like Pitt but there is no way in hell he should get an Oscar before Oldman does.
Yes, exactly this!
But there’s a long list of Oscar travesties: Gwynnie over Cate Blanchett? Julia Roberts? Halle Berry? And Forest frickin’ Gump over Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption!!
great, just what we need, brad pitt with an even bigger ego….
lol at all the little naysayers. For people to not like Brad the sure know a lot about his work
but we knew with all the positive buzz they would be crawling out of the dark corners.
So happy for Brad.. and what a great year he has had.
OH and big thanks to all the nonefans for those BO bucks. I don’t see films of people I don’t like. But I guess some of us are different.
lol, some people are just too funny, anything except to give brad his due, these people must be brads ex-girlfriends with their fake concerns, brad is a great guy, actor, father and partner, it just doesn’t matter how you feel about him, desperate? i think not. he has worked hard and he has earned it.
A comment about Brad getting his due… The Oscars aren’t about “how hard he’s worked” or “how far he’s come in his career”. They’re about measuring the performance of one actor (et al) against the performance of another in that particular year. So while someone might give the performance of a lifetime, if someone else does the same and theirs is better, well it’s kind of too bad for actor number one, but he/she wasn’t “due” anything.
Meh, when I see him all I can think about is all of the reports about how bad he smells.
whatever.. the only people spouting off this silly are people pissed about the past. Funny he was all sweet smelling 7 years ago.
Brad is freaking hot as hell. And all the fans that swam him on RCs never ever complain about his smell or his look. The man is The MAN.. well deserved recognition as an Actor and of course Producer of two amazing movies this year.
Bring on the Brange.
Moneyball for Best Actor and Tree of Life for Supporting Actor nods are being taken very seriously.
Don’t play yourself with wishful thinking that anybody or everybody else will win.
His films awards BIG wins are raking up because of him.
No one saw them coming, except those voting. So when it is all said and done, that is where the decisions will come from.
Funny his films are winning and who is there to collect the trophies? His game is too strong to grasp. I guess he gets a pass to help Jolie in her prep work. That is some formidable duo. Kind of like the Palme d’or win while he was at the KFP2 premiere. Hollywood recognizes.
Kodak Theater and every other awards show leading up to it will be prepared for the Jolie-Pitts once again.
The tree of life movie is on DVD and I have seen in it at the RedBox. It’s though not widely advertised…
Not sure he’ll win. The “I’ll leave acting in 3 years” can be a good incentive though. See, dear voters, last chance to give me the thing or I’ll be stuck with a lifetime achievement oscar in a few years.
I remember I wrote somewhere he wouldn’t win after all the loonies got excited by the prize in Venice for the Jesse James movie.I cited other actors (Sean Penn, Ben Affleck, Bardem, Colin Firth) who all got this prize but who lost the Oscar race the following year.Apparently it was hate.
I think it’s gonna be the same thing here. A nomination, yes. But I seriously hope it’s Gary Oldman’s year.
@Kaiser: yay! Thanks for starting the Oscar predictions! I love all the speculation, gossip and behind the scenes politics surrounding Awards Season!
OK, here’s my predictions (which will change of course).
Best actor: Pitt, Clooney, DuJardin def have noms. Dicaprio could be edged out since the film isn’t getting the greatest of reviews (and now that there’s no Bleo I could care less). I would love to see Oldman and Fassie noms and no nom to Dicaprio.
Win to Pitt. Acting races are more popularity contests than anything else. People (I for one) want to see a smiling Angie and Maddox sitting front and center on Oscar night (I think only Maddox will get to go since he gets to do all the “adult” stuff). No one wants to see a giddy Stacy Kibler.
Best actress: This is a race between Streep and Viola Davis. Elizabeth Olsen will get the “ingénue” nomination. I think Close and Charlize will round out the noms beating out Williams.
Win to Davis by a hair with lots of Streep love in the process.
Best supporting Actress: Chastain for the Help
Best supporting Actor: Captain von Trapp!
Best director: Fincher could get this as the only love for Dragon Tatoo since TSN lost out last year.
Best picture: The Artist or War Horse. The Artist has huge buzz and Uncle Harvey behind it…and Weinstein always wins at the Oscar game. But War Horse seems like the cheezy epic film Oscar voters like.
I can’t wait for the campaign surrounding “The Artist”!!! I wonder if DuJardin will get a Marion Cotillard type career boost after this (I’m sure he’s working on his English as I type). He is a huge star in France and an amazing actor with lots of charisma.
I’d have to disagree about the “popularity contest” comment. Christopher Waltz more popular than Matt Damon? Marion Cotillard more popular than Cate Blanchett or Julie Christie? Penn more popular than Pitt?
I don’t think so…
My point was that the best actors catagories are often more about the “buzz” or “getting due”. Waltz and Cotiallard had “buzz”. Pitt and Streep have a chance because they “are due”.
Sandra over Streep?
Paltrow over Blanchett?
Julia Roberts over anyone???
Case in point.
The Artist has just opened in the US though, it’s buzz with the general public has yet to come. Dujardin has the critics who have had a chance to see the film in fits of rapturous adoration. This is a film that has been consistently described as “joyous” (amongst other things), that you can take your kids to without fear and that’s going to roll out into wider distribution during the holiday season. It’s not going to suffer from that. In addition, and this really stuck out to me, take a look at the audience reviews on RT. The number of people who have seen it, mostly Film Festival goers so far, who then either saw it again or really want to see it again is a striking.
In addition, I think that the fact that a good percentage of the Academy members are over 65 will play in favor of a film like this. I’d be willing to bet that there are a whole lot of them who look at the movies of today and think “CGI, stunts, animation, sex and botox… Where is the acting?”.
And then they get handed this little gem to consider. Nothing but acting. Anyone with botox need not apply.
Also consider: the pretty ones, be they male or female, generally don’t win Oscars unless they “ugly” themselves up in some manner. Physically (gaining weight like Clooney, unattractive fake nose like Kidman) or mentally/morally (Theron playing a serial killer, Hathaway playing a mentally deranged sister, Penn playing a gay man etc). The point being they take risks in one way or another and step out of their comfort zone. Pitt is in no way outside of his comfort zone in Moneyball. And TOL is way way too incoherent to win any Oscars.
My prediction: Pitt will win an Oscar once he does a role where he completely plays against type in a film that’s accesible to the general public. Let him find a role where he plays a bloated self-loathing incestuous father with an abusive childhood behind him and a bleak hopeless future ahead of him, where he inflicts his inner pain on everyone he’s supposed to care about in his sordid little life.
To be clear, and I meant to add this in the previous post: I’m not implying that being gay is in any way a mental or moral “ugliness”. IMO, it’s no more a “choice” than being straight is. You are what you are. However, as a hetero American male actor, it’s a risky role to take since not all of the US moviegoing public feels that way.
I agree with most of your picks. I think the Best Actor race is between Dujardin (with uncle Harvey behind him) and Pitt. No way they will give Clooney a second Oscar and unfortunately Oldman would be lucky to get his first nomination and with Fassy around that splits the Brit vote. Advantage by a hair to Brad because Dujardin can’t speak English well enough to really campaign like Begnini.
Oh and I think Meryl still has a fighting chance.
Moneyball was just ok for me. Pitt did a good job but not Oscar worthy imo.
What do you mean by studio making bigger push for Shame than A Dangerous Method? There are two different studios. A Dangerous Methos is released by Sony Pictures Classic and Shame is released by Fox Searchlight. And every studio has their own politics.
Good luck Brad, You deserve it.