Saturday, April 15, 2006

Play QTA's Reindeer Games!

Queering the Apparatus is always one of my favorite blogs—because it treats some of my own favorite topics *and* makes me think about things I otherwise wouldn't, always filtered through one of the Web's most compassionate, optimistic, and articulate voices. If there's ever an award for Most Rhetorically Powerful Blog Entry, I might have to tap QTA's post on World AIDS Day, which I still think about on a weekly basis, more than four months after he wrote it.

Now, on a much lighter note (range doesn't get broader than this, folks!), QTA is taking a poll about favorite acting performances from 1980 through 2005 that weren't even nominated for the Oscars. And he wants our opinions! Y'all know that I love few things as much as an open-ended invite to list-make about the Academy, and, even better, about how superior my own taste is to the Academy's. So, in the continued spirit of doing whatever the f*** I want this weekend, I've just spent the last 15 minutes cobbling up the following list.

As ever, I only show you mine because I want you to show me yours. Rock the Comments section, and don't forget to fire your picks off to QTA. And, when you send your list of performances that inspire you, include a short word (or a long one!) about why QTA also inspires you. His is an example we could all follow; let's tell him that we know so!

Nick's Favorite Un-Nominated Performances
Using Oscar's timetables for American release dates
1980. Lily Tomlin (Supporting Actress, 9 to 5)
1981. Jessica Harper (Supporting Actress, Pennies from Heaven)
1982. Albert Finney (Actor, Shoot the Moon)
1983. Michael Keaton (Actor, Mr. Mom)
1984. Carmen Maura (Actress, What Have I Done To Deserve This?)
1985. Mia Farrow (Actress, The Purple Rose of Cairo)
1986. Marie Rivière (Actress, The Green Ray)
1987. R. Lee Ermey (Supporting Actor, Full Metal Jacket)
1988. Jeremy Irons (Actor, Dead Ringers)
1989. Meg Ryan (Actress, When Harry Met Sally...)
1990. Jennifer Jason Leigh (Supporting Actress, Miami Blues)
1991. Ice Cube (Supporting Actor, Boyz N the Hood)
1992. Gary Oldman (Actor, Bram Stoker's Dracula)
1993. Leslie Cheung (Actor, Farewell, My Concubine)
1994. Julianne Moore (Actress, Vanya on 42nd Street)
1995. Julianne Moore (Actress, Safe)
1996. Tony Shalhoub (Supporting Actor, Big Night)
1997. Debbi Morgan (Supporting Actress, Eve's Bayou)
1998. Lisa Kudrow (Supporting Actress, The Opposite of Sex)
1999. John Malkovich (Supporting Actor, Being John Malkovich)
2000. Forest Whitaker (Actor, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai)
2001. Maggie Cheung (Actress, In the Mood for Love)
2002. Isabelle Huppert (Actress, The Piano Teacher)
2003. Jack Black (Actor, School of Rock)
2004. David Carradine (Supporting Actor, Kill Bill, Vol. 2)
2005. Daniel Day-Lewis (Actor, The Ballad of Jack and Rose)

Labels:

posted by NicksFlickPicks at 6:16 PM Links

Links to this post:

Create a Link

9 Comments:

Blogger damion said...

Nick-
You are so very sweet. You actually made me tear-up with this post. And please know that ours is a mutual admiration society. I, like Tim and many others, think you are one of the best writers in the blogosphere. And you are always there with an encouraging word at just the right moment. Thank you Nick. Thanks for the constantly provoking my thoughts, for always supporting my blog, for your frequently needed reassurance regarding my journey through the maze of the PhD, and, thank you for being you... so fabulously you.

8:44 PM, April 15, 2006  
Blogger Dr. S said...

Yay! Any mutual admiration society that involves Nick is one I want to be in.

I got nothing, as far as actually talking about films here goes, but I do want to say that I lurve the fact that you came up with that list in 15 minutes.

xoxo, as ever.

9:41 PM, April 15, 2006  
Blogger NATHANIEL R said...

1980. Shelley Duvall (The Shining)
1981. Kathleen Turner (Body Heat)
1982. Rutger Hauer (Bladerunner)
1983. Sandra Bernhard (King of Comedy)
1984. Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone/Crimes of Passion)
1985. Mia Farrow (The Purple Rose of Cairo)
1986. Ellen Greene (Little Shop of Horrors)
1987. Yves Montand (Manon of the Spring)
1988. Susan Sarandon (Bull Durham)
1989. Winona Ryder (Heathers)
1990. Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands)
1991. River Phoenix (My Own Private Idaho)
1992. Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns)
1993. Gong Li (Farewell, My Concubine)
1994. Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers)
1995. Julianne Moore (Safe)
1996. River Phoenix (My Own Private Idaho)
1997. Christopher Guest (Waiting for Guffman)
1998. Patricia Clarkson (High Art)
1999. John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich)
2000. Catherine Deneuve (Dancer in the Dark)
2001. Ewan MacGregor (Moulin Rouge!)
2002. Campbell Scott (Roger Dodger)
2003. Uma Thurman (Kill Bill Vol. 1)
2004. Paul Giamatti (Sideways)
2005. Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale)

11:13 PM, April 15, 2006  
Blogger NATHANIEL R said...

i just realized that i listed River Phoenix's Idaho performance twice. Neat time travel trick there. For 1996... tough. not a great year for me.

off the top of my head maybe Jennifer Tilly in BOUND? or maybe Ewan MacGregor in Trainspotting

11:18 PM, April 15, 2006  
Blogger Nick Davis said...

What a great list! Shelley Duvall, Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Patricia Clarkson, Catherine Deneuve, Ewan McGregor, and Jeff Daniels were all thisclose to being my picks for those years. I've still never seen The King of Comedy, and as much as I love The Bernhard, I've gotta get my act together for that one.

1:55 AM, April 16, 2006  
Blogger JBW said...

I am limiting myself to the last five years, and nominating a full Oscar-format five performers in each category. I am pretty certain none of these performances were nominated (I dropped Michael Caine’s Quiet American because it was). Two actors make the cut because their films were released belatedly into US theaters. In any case, these are presences I have carried in my head, gratefully, since I saw their film.


Best Actress
Oksana Akinshina, Lilya 4-Ever (2002)
Emmanuelle Devos, Kings and Queen (2004)
Julie Delpy, Before Sunset (2004)
Marina Golbahari, Osama (2003)
Esther Gorintin, Since Otar Left (2003)

Best Actor
Kais Nashef, Paradise Now (2005)
Liev Schreiber, Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Jeff Bridges, Door in the Floor (2004)
Olivier Gourmet, The Son (2002)
Aurelian Recoing, Time Out (2001)

Best Supporting Actress
Zhang Ziyi, 2046 (2004/5)
Tilda Swinton, Thumbsucker (2005)
Essie Davis, Girl in Pearl Earring (2003)
Marie-Josee Croze, Barbarian Invasion (2003)
Julianne Nicholson, Tully (2000/2)

Best Supporting Actor
Michael Gough, Cherry Orchard (1999/2002)
Donald Sutherland, Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Phil Davis, Vera Drake (2004)
Albert Finney, Big Fish (2003)
Jim Broadbent, Moulin Rouge (2001)

8:10 AM, April 16, 2006  
Anonymous goatdog said...

Ooh, this was fun. My picks:

1980. Shelley Duvall (Supporting Actress, The Shining)
1981. Bill Murray (Actor, Stripes)
1982. Rutger Hauer (Supporting Actor, Bladerunner)
1983. Sandra Bernhard (Supporting Actress, King of Comedy)
1984. Frances McDormand (Actress, Blood Simple)
1985. Mieko Harada (Supporting Actress, Ran)
1986. Isabella Rossellini (Actress, Blue Velvet)
1987. R. Lee Ermey (Supporting Actor, Full Metal Jacket)
1988. Jeremy Irons (Actor, Dead Ringers) or Susan Sarandon (Actress, Bull Durham)
1989. John Cusack (Actor, Say Anything)
1990. Jennifer Jason Leigh (Supporting Actress, Miami Blues)
1991. Emma Thompson (Actress, Dead Again)
1992. Gong Li (Actress, Raise the Red Lantern)
1993. Bill Murray (Actor, Groundhog Day)
1994. Kate Winslet (Actress, Heavenly Creatures)
1995. John Travolta (Actor, Get Shorty)
1996. Chris Cooper (Actor, Lone Star)
1997. Debbi Morgan (Supporting Actress, Eve's Bayou)
1998. Patricia Clarkson (Supporting Actress, High Art)
1999. John Malkovich (Supporting Actor, Being John Malkovich)
2000. Michael Douglas (Actor, Wonder Boys)
2000. Joaquin Phoenix (Supporting Actor, The Yards)
2001. John Cameron Mitchell (Actor, Hedwig and the Angry Inch)
2002. Sean Harris (Supporting Actor, 24 Hour Party People)
2003. Patricia Clarkson (Supporting Actress, Pieces of April)
2004. Mark Wahlburg (Supporting Actor, I Heart Huckabees)
2005. Joan Allen (Actress, The Upside of Anger and Yes)

4:10 PM, April 16, 2006  
Blogger John T. said...

1980. Lily Tomlin (9 to 5)
1981. Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
1982. Henry Thomas (E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial
1983. I have got to start investigating this year
1984. Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone)
1985. Madeline Kahn (Clue)
1986. Jeremy Irons (The Mission)
1987. Diane Keaton (Baby Boom)
1988. John Cleese (A Fish Called Wanda)
1989. Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally…)
1990. Again, I've got to start seeing more
1991. Angela Lansbury (Beauty and the Beast)
1992. Brad Pitt (A River Runs Through It)
1993. Richard Attenborough (Jurassic Park)
1994. Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption)
1995. Sandra Bullock (While You Were Sleeping)
1996. Meryl Streep (Marvin's Room)
1997. Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic)
1998. Lisa Kudrow (The Opposite of Sex)
1999. Julia Roberts (Notting Hill)
2000. Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count on Me)
2001. Ewan MacGregor (Moulin Rouge!)
2002. Andy Serkis (The Two Towers)
2003. Sean Astin (The Return of the King)
2004. Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
2005. Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardener)

I'd like to point out in the cases of several of these, I am relying on very pleasant childhood memories. In the cases of others, well, sometimes I find it's best to love a film, even if everyone else finds it middling (that would be you, While You Were Sleeping).

4:12 PM, April 16, 2006  
Blogger tim r said...

And again...

QTA, we love you!


1980. Shelley Duvall (Actress, The Shining)
1981. Klaus Maria Brandauer (Actor, Mephisto)
1982. Rutger Hauer (Supporting Actor, Blade Runner)
1983. Robert De Niro (Actor, The King of Comedy)
1984. Bill Murray (Actor, Ghostbusters)
1985. Christopher Lloyd (Supporting Actor, Back to the Future)
1986. Isabella Rossellini (Actress, Blue Velvet)
1987. Karen Allen (Supporting Actress, The Glass Menagerie)
1988. Jeremy Irons (Actor, Dead Ringers)
1989. Laura San Giacomo (Supporting Actress, sex, lies and videotape)
1990. Ray Liotta (Actor, Goodfellas)
1991. River Phoenix (Actor, My Own Private Idaho)
1992. Virginia Madsen (Actress, Candyman)
1993. Sean Penn (Supporting Actor, Carlito’s Way)
1994. Brooke Smith (Supporting Actress, Vanya on 42nd St)
1995. Julianne Moore (Actress, Safe)
1996. Tea Leoni (Supporting Actress, Flirting with Disaster)
1997. Al Pacino (Actor, Donnie Brasco)
1998. Patricia Clarkson (Supporting Actress, High Art)
1999. Cate Blanchett (Supporting Actress, The Talented Mr Ripley)
2000. Juliette Binoche (Actress, Code Unknown)
2001. Naomi Watts (Actress, Mulholland Dr)
2002. Isabelle Huppert (Actress, The Piano Teacher)
2003. Peter Sarsgaard (Supporting Actor, Shattered Glass)
2004. Jude Law (Supporting Actor, I Heart Huckabees)
2005. Annette Bening (Actress, Mrs Harris)

8:10 AM, April 17, 2006  

Post a Comment

<< Home