Supporting Updates

Supporting Acting noms are always a little bit tricky, and can be confusing as hell. You never know if Judi Dench can win for an eight-minute role, or if William Hurt will get even get nominated for an equally brief role. Damn the power of Judi Dench! This year is no different with Babel's multiple supporting possibilities and Dreamgirls's buzz for someone who has never acted in a major picture before. So here's the run-down, and excuse me for not being so elaborate as the leading categories. There are simply...too many actors. Excuse the Amadeus reference.

Supporting Actor:

Jack Nicholson The Departed
Eddie Murphy Dreamgirls
Alan Arkin Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley Little Children
Brad Pitt Babel

Here's the thing, the race is pretty open except for Mr. Nicholson. By switching to the supporting category, he almost locks himself into a nomination and possibly a trip to the podium.

Murphy's flashy character is exactly the kind supporting categories love to recognize, and AMPAS loves to nominate actors they once thought were going to be a phenomenal presence at the Kodak over and over again.

Alan Arkin stands the be the only man from Little Miss Sunshine to get nominated, despite equally brilliant performances from Carell and Kinnear. Never underestimate the power of a comeback story.

Jackie Earle Haley is my out-there-but-not-so-out-there-pick with his performance in Little Children. The role is baity as hell, and he is a child star coming into his talent all over again. Again, never underestimate a comeback.

Pitt is an interesting story. He is getting raves for a film that was once thought to be a critical darling, but stumbled out of the block. The question seems to be: will his performance overcome the unmet high expectations? I think so. He is present in the headlines, and that never hurts. Plus, he's pretty. Who doesn't want to see him gussied up come Oscar night?

Here are the little more far-fetched For Your Consideration-ers:

Michael Sheen The Queen
Ben Affleck Hollywoodland
James Cromwell The Queen (I am pulling for his beautiful performance over Sheen's)
Djimon Hounsou Blood Diamond
Stanley Tucci The Devil Wears Prada


Now for the ladies!!! Even more confusing. Ugh....

Abigail Breslin Little Miss Sunshine
Cate Blanchett Notes On A Scandal
Rinku Kinkuchi Babel
Vera Farmiga The Departed
Phyllis Sommerville Little Children

That's right. I am not predicting Jennifer Hudson! Until the movie is reviewed, or, you know, seen at all, I remain skeptical about the American Idol-er. But let's break it down now.

Abigail Breslin is the powerhouse backbone of the indie-hit Little Miss Sunshine and deserves to take home a statue just for having a powerful and commanding presence for a role that could have fallen flat as hell if anyone else played it. Yeah, even Dakota Fanning couldn't be that cute.

Blanchett has the fortune of starring opposite Oscar favorite Judi Dench, and the trailer is hot like fire too, which generates massive buzz. The role looks risky, conflicted and baity too. It doesn't hurt that she has an Oscar already, and the snubbed status for her nomination for Elizabeth (Stupid Gwen Paltrow).

Kinkuchi is storming onto the Oscar scene for her tragically beautiful portrayal of a deaf-mute in Babel. She's being called the stand out of the film, and in a movie with Pitt and Blanchett, that means a lot.

Farmiga probably won't get nominated, but she is the only female in what I believe is an Oscar Best Picture winner and she's so underrated. With a character that can be identified with, she delivers a performance that is easily the most human this year's race has seen. She is real, and reality should be recognized.

If Jackie Earle Haley is scary in Little Children then Phyllis Somerville is heartbreaking. After reading the book, she (not Winslet's character) is the one you feel for. The mother of a sex offender is a baity role to say the least, and if she doesn't get vast critic and guild precursor recognition, I will be shocked.

Rounding out the top ten:

Jennifer Hudson Dreamgirls (I had to cave a little bit)
Adriana Barraza Babel
Catherine O'Hara For Your Consideration
Carmen Maura Volver
Shareeka Epps Half Nelson

Changes in leading categories:

Actor stays the same pretty much, but I am putting Sacha Baron Cohen in for the hell of it.

For Actress, I hate to say that Benning has dropped from the race because critics panned the film like no other, and Judi Dench is simply too powerful to be ignored.