The Bottom Line: Oscar Curse? Don’t Tell These Golden Girls
By Robert Sims, Special to Hollywood.com
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Monday, November 27, 2006
Cate Blanchett winner of the Best Supporting Actress Award |
In the early 1990s, winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar was a career kiss of death.
Mercedes Ruehl never amounted to much after The Fisher King. My Cousin Vinny’s pigeonholed Marisa Tomei as a comedic actress, no matter how many In the Bedrooms or Factotums she does. Mira Sorvino’s gone from Mighty Aphrodite to such direct-to-DVD dreck as Semana Santa and Wisegirls.
But with films all due out by the end of the year, the following actresses—representing five of the last eight Best Supporting Actress Oscar winners—are trying their best to prove that winning in this particular category is not the curse it once was.
Cate Blanchett
Winner, 2004: The Aviator ($102.6 million)
Now in Theaters: Babel ($12 million through Nov. 19)
Next: The Good German (Dec. 15); Notes on a Scandal (Dec. 25); The Golden Age (Oct. 5, 2007); I’m Not There (2007)
The Bottom Line: George Clooney’s prediction to the Associated Press that “Cate Blanchett will win the Oscar” might come true—just not for their Casablanca-style post-World War II thriller, The Good German. With Helen Mirren and Penelope Cruz set to duke it out for Best Actress, Blanchett should put up a stronger fight in her bid to win a second Best Supporting Actress Oscar with either Babel or Notes on a Scandal. It’s open to debate whether Clooney’s right about Blanchett being “the best actor working today”—she’s certainly at the top of the list, Aviator Oscar win or not—but there’s no denying she’s followed her maternity leave with what seems like a career year. And she’s not content to sit on her laurels. She and Babel costar Brad Pitt are turning the years-in-the-making The Curious Case of Benjamin Button into a reality. And she’ll surely be the subject of Oscar talk again if 2007’s The Golden Age is even better than its predecessor, Elizabeth, which, of course, made Blanchett Hollywood royalty.
Jennifer Connelly
Winner, 2001: A Beautiful Mind ($170.7 million)
Now in Theaters: Little Children ($1.4 million through Nov. 19)
Next: Blood Diamond(Dec. 8); Reservation Road (2007)
The Bottom Line: Remember when Connelly did nothing but beautify Career Opportunities and The Hot Spot? Well, she was willing to relive those bad old days when she decided to cash in on her Oscar win. Unfortunately, there was no payoff with Hulk or Dark Water. It’s understandable why she would take the money and run. Until A Beautiful Mind, she had endured nothing but one flop after another. Fingers crossed that she’s learned her lesson and refuses to be more than just decoration in Blood Diamond. At least House of Sand and Fog and Little Children confirm that Connelly's performances in A Beautiful Mind and Requiem for a Dream weren’t flukes.
Judi Dench
Winner, 1998: Shakespeare in Love ($100.3 million)
Now in Theaters: Casino Royale ($40.8 million through Nov. 19)
Next: Notes on a Scandal (Dec. 25)
Bottom Line: Ageism is alive and well in Hollywood, but don’t tell that to this late bloomer. The veteran TV and stage actress inexplicably found herself a movie star in the late 1990s when she portrayed two queens in quick succession, Elizabeth (Shakespeare in Love) and Victoria (Mrs. Brown). Dame Dame Dench’s canny choices in intelligent and sophisticated dramas have made her a firm favorite among connoisseurs of British art-house fare. Notes on a Scandal should land Dench her sixth Oscar nomination in a decade. And Dench—who turns 72 on Dec. 9—will certainly continue to pad her pension as long someone needs to keep an eye on James Bond.
Rachel Weisz
Winner, 2005: The Constant Gardener ($33.5 million)
Current: The Fountain (opened Nov. 22)
Next: Eragon (Dec. 15); Definitely, Maybe (2007); My Blueberry Nights (2007)
The Bottom Line: Will Cate Blanchett’s loss be Rachel Weisz gain? Once destined to pair Blanchett with Brad Pitt, director Darren Aronofsky’s labor of love now stars radiant Weisz, his fiancée, as the dying woman whom Hugh Jackson travels across time and space to save. Unfortunately, few seem willing to walk down Aronofsky’s “Road to Awe,” judging by the weak $5.4 million it earned during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. No surprise really, considering the hopelessly romantic Fountain's too perplexing for its own good. Anyway, Weisz's making the most of her Oscar win, having already lent her presence to Eragon, My Blueberry Nights and Definitely, Maybe. She’ll also come between The Brothers Bloom, though this comedy about con-artist siblings sounds little too much like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels for comfort. No word yet on a Constantine sequel, but Weisz should think twice about reuniting with Brendan Fraser for the next Mummy. After The Mummy Returns, Weisz should turn down what’s likely to be a big paycheck for the sake of her dignity.
Renee Zellweger
Winner, 2003: Cold Mountain ($95.6 million)
Next: Miss Potter (Dec. 29); Bee Movie (Nov. 2, 2007); Case 39 (2007)
The Bottom Line: Ms. Bridget Jones is now Miss Beatrix Potter, the English author of the cherished children’s novel The Tale of Peter Rabbit. And after the disappointing responses to Cinderella Man and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Zellweger's no doubt hoping that what worked for Johnny Depp—who scored an Oscar nomination as J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland—will work for her. Somehow, though, the chiller Case 39 sounds like a cold and calculated attempt to jump on the horror bandwagon. Oh, well, if all else fails, Zellweger can seek solace in the arms of George Clooney. Once rumored to be lovers, Clooney and Zellweger do plan to get all cozy in his third directorial efforts, the 1920s-era pigskin farce Leatherheads. Sparks has better fly—as it did between Zellweger and Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire—because she certainly doesn’t need another Down With Love on her hands.
Photo(s) by Adriana M. Barraza- © 2005- Hollywood Media Corp.- All Rights Reserved