It’s that time of year again.
It won’t be long before we are watching a top actor blubbing about how they would never have made it without Mum, Dad and Mimi the family cat!
But I have to say, I love the Oscars.
Tears and tantrums to boot!
So, who are the movers and shakers this year?
What I can tell you is that 4 out of the 5 Best Actor nominations are method actors. Coincidence? I think not.
It looks like the statistic of 80% of Best Actor Oscar Winners won by method actors from the year 2000 is set to continue.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Rewind.
Over the coming weeks I will be sending you my views and predictions. Do with them what you will.
So, lets start with an outsider for Best Actor.
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook.
Firstly, great film. A quirky, brilliantly acted, little gem.
Bradley is a one of the new wave of method actors. It was great to see him acting along side De Niro who put in a great performance himself. In fact he looks set to pick up Best Supporting Actor.
Watching these two method boys slug it out is great fun. Bradley recently told how in one scene the emotion was so strong they couldn’t use the take.
Why?
Well, in this particular scene De Niro has a right go at Bradley who is his son. Bradley was so shaken by the ferocity of De Niro’s rage that he started to cry and wail. The wailing was so loud that they couldn’t use the take.
This is testament not just to De Niro, who without doubt has enough rage to shake the bones of the hardest of men, but also to Bradley who has a very sensitive instrument and is willing to let himself be vulnerable and then to express it.
Long story short, they used a different take which was equally as powerful.
My prediction is that this year is not Bradley’s year. Why? Well, he is up against some very stiff competition… more on that soon.
My long-term prediction is that he will most certainly win an Oscar in his career. He is one of the most promising actors to come on the scene for a long time. He has a marvellous capacity to be vulnerable and to be real.
His time will come, but not this year.
More crystal ball Oscar predictions coming soon.