Friday, September 15, 2006

Mirren: An Oscar Nomination! An Oscar Win?

The list of potential Best Actress nominees for the 79th annual academy awards held early 2007 is growing and shaping up.

This Years Most Buzzed About Best Actress Contenders:
Kate Winslet (Little Children)
Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal or The Good German)
Annette Benning (Running With Scissors)
Nicole Kidman (Fur)
Renee Zellweger (Miss Potter)
Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)
Beyonce Knowles (Dreamgirls)
Penelope Cruz (Volver)
Ashley Judd (Bug)
Dakota Fanning (Hounddog)
Sienna Miller (Factory Girl)
Kristin Dunst (Marie Antoinette)

The Only Guarentee

There's some competition and it's hard to tell what films will bust, but...with all the buzz and her win at The Venice Film Festival, it seems clear that Helen Mirren is bound to get an academy award nomination for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in the The Queen.

Is Mirren to Old to Win the Oscar?
Yet...can she win? The recent best actress winners have all been very young...

Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby & Boys Don't Cry), Charlize Theron (Monster), Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Halle Berry (Monster's Ball), Julia Roberts (Erin Brokovich), Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love)...

while Helen Mirren turned 61 this year...sure, that's not too old, but if she won, she would round out the bottom five oldest woman ever to win the best actress statuette...

Jessica Tandy was 80 when she won for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Katherine Hepburn was 74 when she won for On Golden Pond (1981), and Marie Dressler was 63 when she won for Min and Bill (1930), Katherine Hepburn (like Helen Mirren) was 61 when she won for the Lion in Winter. (via)

I want to think that perhaps there just hasn't been great lead roles for older females, and that the road is paved for a Helen Mirren win, but somehow I'm afraid that Beyonce or Kate Winslet could slide in a steal Helen Mirren's opportunity for this honor.


Pictured above are Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Halle Berry when they won their best actress Oscars.

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12 comments:

Chase Roper said...

I haven't seen any of these films that the actresses are nominated for but I'm going to say Kate Winslet is taking it home.

Sadie Lou said...

I really like Kirsten Dunst. I thought her work in The Virgin Suicides was excellent.
Kate Winslet is also a favorite of mine.

Glenn Dunks said...

" Katherine Hepburn (like Helen Mirren) was 61 when she won for the Lion in Winter."

But they counter balanced that by also giving it to Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl. So, Hepburn's win at 61 was the closest that category has ever been. It could've easily just gone to Streisand and we wouldn't ever know. For all we know the older gals (like Ellen Burstyn or whoever) have been just pipped at the post.

I like to imagine so.

Anonymous said...

It looks like the award season is going to come down to an arm wrestle between Winslet & Mirren with Benning as that Imelda Staunton dark horse. I have an inkling that Winslet will barely snag the win. This is going to be fun watching how all of this will transpire.

is that so wrong? said...

With Winslet in the running, it's a tough call.... by this time she's way overdue for an Oscar, despite her young age (because she's already racked up four nominations before the age of 30). Is it too much to ask that the Academy actually award the best performance, though? May be wishful thinking.

Emma said...

I will CRY is Fanning even SEES Oscar Buzz.

Anonymous said...

I'm hoping the Mirren will come out on top here. I'd love to see Winslet win it at some point but I think this is Mirren's year.

adam k. said...

I think Bening will stay in lead. But I don't think she'll be much of a factor for the win. It seems like Mirren and Winslet, with Streep being the darkhorse who wins the SAG. Before seeing the films, I can't really say who I think will win. My hunch is Mirren, simply because her part is baitier, though I think Winslet will deserve it.

Yaseen Ali said...

Bening is being pushed in the Lead Race. Before, I didn't think she'd have much of a chance, but she was featured on Oprah today. They showed clips from the film, and she looks very strong in it (focus of all the scenes.) And you know what happens when Oprah gives her stamp of approval to something...

Adam - Why are you so convinced Streep will win SAG? Just curious.

RC said...

Personally i am surprised Benning is being pushed lead...it is pretty weak in the lead catagory this year though...so there you go.

adam k. said...

Ali:

Because Streep's film made $120+ million. Every actor in the US has probably seen Meryl Streep in Prada, and all the actors I know LOVE her in it.

None of the other nominees' films, save perhaps Beyoncé's, will see anywhere near that kind of money. And Beyoncé is not winning the SAG.

In SAG races, big $ makes all the difference in a relatively close race. Unless someone else emerges as a prohibitive frontrunner, I'm expecting Streep to take it.

ePastor James said...

You forgot to mention how Katharine Hepburn was 60 when she won for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, haha.

Oh, Kate....