The Oscars All-Star Actress Tournament
Like most of you, I’m an arts & entertainment polygamist. I love books, I love music, I love movies and I love sports. I fell in love with all four at an early age and married myself to each before I realized what I was getting myself into. If I were by chance whisked away to the Land of Hypotheticals where I was forced to divorce myself from two of my loves, they would have to be books and music.
Although I have to say, it’s a pretty savvy move on my part. Movies have soundtracks. That’s enough to give me my music fix. And books? Who needs books when we’re too busy reading blogs right?! So, with movies and sports as the two remaining members in my harem of diversions, I thought, why not combine the two into one potent super fetish?
This time of year we all love to talk about the best performances of the past year as we gear up for that annual bitch, moan and snipe-from-our-living-room-couch fest known as the Academy Awards. That’s nice and fun enough, but what I really want is to face them off like Maverick and Iceman and ask not just who the best is, but who THE BEST OF THE BEST is.
Am I saying we do a simple ranking of the best Oscar winners of the past few years? That’s a negative, Ghost Rider. I’m saying we take it one step further. I’m saying we seed the past eight Oscar winning actresses one through eight and put them through a March Madness style tournament.
So without further ado, here are the seeds (feel free to disagree in the comments section) for the Best Oscar-Winning Performance By An Actress Over the Last Eight Years:
- Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose, 2008.
- Charlize Theron, Monster, 2004.
- Helen Mirren, The Queen, 2007.
- Nicole Kidman, The Hours, 2003.
- Kate Winslet, The Reader, 2009.
- Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby, 2005.
- Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line, 2006.
- Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side, 2010.
ROUND ONE MATCHUPS
(1) Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose, 2008 versus (8) Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side, 2010
Let’s be serious, America’s sweetheart Sandy Bullock got a “Thank You For Being You” card in the form of an Academy Award last year. Meanwhile, Marion Cotillard attacked her role of Edith Piaf with such ferocious and heart-breaking virtuosity that for days after seeing the film, I couldn’t enjoy a single croissant without breaking down into tears. My wife would ask me what was wrong and I could barely muster an answer through the slobbered muffle of buttery layers. And forget about what crepes did to me. The Little Sparrow easily advances to the next round.
(2) Charlize Theron, Monster, 2004 versus (7) Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line, 2006
Roger Ebert wrote of Theron’s performance, “one of the greatest in the history of the cinema.” Good enough for me. On the other side, Witherspoon imbues her June Carter with a bubbly charisma and not a single false facial tic in the whole fun and quirky rendition. Indeed, Witherspoon beat out Charlize for Oscar gold in the 2006 ceremony, but that was Charlize in North County. Comparing the Charlize in North County to the Charlize in Monster is like comparing Michael Jordan when he was with the Wizards to the Michael Jordan on the Bulls. Charlize advances to round two.
(3) Helen Mirren, The Queen, 2007 versus (6) Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby, 2005
How much does Annette Benning despise/resent/harbor homicidal feelings towards Hilary Swank? She lost out on Oscar gold twice to Ms. Swank, once in 1999 when she was nominated for American Beauty and again in 2005 when nominated for Being Julia. If Darren Aronofsky had cast Hilary Swank in Black Swan, she would have been a shoo-in for her third Oscar and I think they would have had to bar Annette from being within 100 feet of the Kodak Theater on February 27th. What does that have to do with the Mirren versus Swank matchup? Nada. Just felt like it was my only chance to mention it before I eliminated Hilary (on a bribe from Bening) and advanced Helen to round two.
(4) Nicole Kidman, The Hours, 2003 versus (5) Kate Winslet, The Reader, 2009
What matters more to the Academy? That an otherwise gorgeous actress uglies it up in service to a role or that a gorgeous actress strips down naked in service to a role? I say the former carries more weight with the voters otherwise Halle Berry is a two-time Oscar winner, not just for Monster’s Ball but also Swordfish. Kidman advances.
Round 2: The Final Four >>
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31 Comments
Haha…Rick, you always make things sounds interesting. It’s really a fun read.
Did you realized that both females in your final are American? I guess actress and actors from another part of the world are getting better than the one that hawkes near Hollywood.
I am sad that Sandi was defeated in 1st round but tho I like her I knew she wasn’t as good as Charlize and Marion.
Would love to read your Actors Tournament, Rick.
Marion Cotillard is French, Charlize Theron is South African
Thanks Novroz!
I guess you meant that they are NOT American since you go on to say that actresses from other parts of the world are getting better than those in Hollywood. Ha!
I like Sandra Bullock too. She’s fun to watch but yea, Marion and Charlize carried much heavier roles. Their portrayals of Edith Piaf and Aileen Wuornos are not only the best performances of the past eight years, but possibly of all time.
Ups…a major typo there!! hehe thank you for understanding my mistake Rick…I meant to write NOT Amerocan and somewhere that word was forgotten.
I know where they come from Castor and Dan
I have been watching less and less hollywood movies lately now as well as their actors and actress…I still love the old ones tho
And yet I write another mistake *sigh*
Typing in mobilephone often ends up in typing mistakes
Charlize is actually South African Novroz.
Can’t really argue with the match-ups, it was a fun read. But being English I would have stumped for Helen Mirren for the win!
I was legitimately WOWED by Helen Mirren’s performance in The Queen. She was the landslide winner at the 79th Academy Awards. If this was a tourney for the Best English Actress Oscar winner of the past few years, she definitely takes the cake over Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson.
I think Red will be happy with this.
Just a little bit.
Your comments on Swank if she had been on Black Swan win this battle for me.
French, South African, English… and lets just say Nicole Kidman is Australian, right? xD
Swank might surprise with a nomination for “Conviction” and bump out someone like Jennifer Lawrence or Michelle Williams as she did in the SAG nominations.
So Annette Bening isn’t completely out of the woods just yet.
Kidman should’ve won just because Winslet’s best work that year was in Revolutionary Road.
You’re right. I forgot she also did Revolutionary Road that year. That was quite a year for her. She seems to have taken a 2 year hiatus since then.
My personal favorite Winslet performance was in Little Children.
Yay, Charlize makes it to the championship round! Makes me feel really good about picking her to lead my 2nd fantasy pitch. I knew she’s much more than just a gorgeous face and a hot body. I love Marion as well so I don’t mind her winning.
Rick, you really should do the male counterpart of this tournament. What an awesome idea for a post!
I look forward to seeing this pitch you have with Charlize.
I’m still pondering the male counterpart; still bitter over Viggo Mortensen not winning for Eastern Promises in 2007. Daniel Day-Lewis was undeniable in There Will Be Blood. But Viggo was my personal favorite for that year.
You already did, Rick, and commented on it
It’s the ‘Valentina’ one.
I haven’t seen either of the performances you mentioned but Viggo is kinda like Christian Bale that he continues to get ignored despite his tremendous work.
Oh I see. Yes. I remember Valentina. When you said a 2nd pitch I thought you had another one with Charlize to present. I can never get enough plotlines involving Charlize to imagine. Ha!
Viggo was killer in Eastern Promises. In my opinion one of the best performances of the last 10 years.
This is a great breakdown Rick! I’m guilty of loving too many things that’s why I can’t commit to just one on my own blog. Most of my all-time favorite tunes come from movie soundtracks, so smart move there! I believe Winslet should reign supreme.
Thanks Colleen!
Winslet probably has the best body of work, certainly the most decorated with what seems like 5 or 6 Academy Award nominations.
Witherspoon was SO much better than #7. I’d rank her at least #3 out of the last 8 winners.
And for what it’s worth, Natalie Portman slaughters all in this competition in “Black Swan.”
Natalie Portman was Outstanding with a capital “O”. She floored me because I never saw much potential in her beyond the girlish charm she exuded in “Leon”/”The Professional”. Outside of that, nothing in her career would have led me to believe she was so capable of such a demanding and nuanced role, not even her Oscar-nominated supporting role in “Closer”.
That said, Aranofsky is the true star of “Black Swan”. He could film paint drying and it would be riveting.
Personally I would slot Portman’s Nina at #3, just a tiny tiny shade under Charlize.
Natalie Portman isn’t even the best of this year’s crop!!!
I loved Portman in “Black Swan” but for argument’s sake, yes, I could easily see how some might say Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine” or Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone” were finer performances.
Outside of those two, I don’t suspect there were any others that could have challenged though. Maybe Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole? I haven’t seen that one yet to say.
Wow! I think Portman is the lock to win this year. Haven’t seen Kidman in Rabbit Hole, but amongst a strong year of women, with Annette Bening, Jennifer Lawrence and Michelle Williams, she is still the standout in my opinion.
I only recently watched Monster, and Charlize completely embodies that role. Certainly one of the finer performances in the group you chose.
If Moore had been nominated insted of Bening, this year’s Oscar nominations for Actress would’ve been my favorite list in years.
Even with Bening, one hell of a class that I can’t be upset about. Some really great performances. Williams and Kidman might be tied for my #2 behind Portman.
Yes, she is a lock but only because it’s the flashier performance and she is a much bigger star than Michelle Williams.
I loved Reese as June Carter. She was darn near perfect. But Joaquin Phoenix, for me was the star performance in “Walk the Line” and Witherspoon, while great, felt like a supporting role more than a lead. But for sheer fun and enjoyment, she’s definitley top 3 on this list; SO charming in that role.
Then why is she the 7th seed?!?!
Alright I confess. I just threw all their names into a hat and drew out their names at random. The jig is up! I’ve been exposed!
While filming Æon Flux in Berlin, Germany, Theron suffered a herniated disc in her neck, caused by a fall while filming a series of back handsprings. This required her to wear a neck brace for a month.”
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