Blog Stage - Acting in Film, TV, Theatre - Backstage

Jean Dujardin Continues His Charm Offensive

Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Last night, I had the pleasure of moderating a Q&A with Jean Dujardin, the ridiculously charming star of "The Artist," who bested the likes of George Clooney and Brad Pitt to win Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture--oh, for God's sake, can we just say Best Actor??? It was a bit of a surprise win, as Clooney was the perceived front-runner, but not so shocking to anyone who knows how much actor love the movie and Dujardin, who plays silent film star George Valentin.

I've talked to Dujardin before; you can see video clips of the Back Stage event we did here and a full video of the SAG Foundation Q&A with him and co-stars James Cromwell and Missi Pyle here. Last night he was his usual delightful self, although he confessed to being exhausted. That didn't stop him from sticking around long after the Q&A was done to talk to and take photos with the crowd, many of whom confessed to having seen the film up to five times.

Asked what the most difficult part of making "The Artist" was, Dujardin had two answers. First, was the tap dancing he had to learn for the final scene of the movie. They did the number 17 times for the camera, all as one long take, and he admitted to downing a giant energy drink midway through the day. His second answer was pretty funny; he discussed how, because it was a silent film, the dog trainer was able to shout directions to Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier playing Valentin's companion. This was sometimes distracting, particularly in a scene where Valentin contemplates suicide and puts a gun in his mouth. He revealed,  "It was hard to stay in the moment when I had someone behind me shouting, 'Up, Uggie, up!' 'Shut up!' "

Dujardin also revealed how he learned about his recent Oscar nomination; he, director Michel Hazanavicius and co-star Berenice Bejo were all together in a hotel room watching the announcement. And, he noted, "we cheered after every nomination!"

--Jenelle Riley

Thoughts from the SAG Awards

Okay, I predicted the SAG Award winners pretty well, though I don't know if anyone saw Jean Dujardin coming. Besting the odds-on favorite George Clooney, "The Artist" star walked off with the award for Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role. Which raises the question: Could Dujardin pull a Robert Begnini and walk away with the Oscar? In 1999, the Italian actor bested the likes of Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Nick Nolte, and Edward Norton to win the prize for his work in "Life is Beautiful." (Something that didn't please Nolte, if you read the last paragraph from our recent SAG Roundtable here.)

I'm hoping this means the race is still wide open, and Brad Pitt or even Gary Oldman might be able to pull off a win. I'm a little sad, as it feels like "The Descendants" has gone from front-runner to forgotten. It looks like the screenplay award will go to "Moneyball" and director Alexander Payne will lose to DGA winner Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist." For some reason, I feel like voters never completely connected with the film--how else to explain the lack of a SAG or Oscar nom for Shailene Woodley?

And while Dujardin won in his category, "The Artist" did not win Best Ensemble, which instead went to "The Help." Does this mean "The Help" could take Best Picture at the Oscars? Well, yes, but probably not. Best Ensemble is very different from Best Picture, and I think it's still "The Artist" for the win. It's just hard to argue with "The Help" cast--so many great actors at play, with not a single weak spot in the entire ensemble.

Some other questions from last night: Did anyone see Malcolm McDowell seemingly yelling at his date when they cut to him? Could Jessica Chastain be any more gorgeous? Did you know Amanda Plummer was Christopher Plummer's daughter? And don't you think Steve Buscemi deserved his dual wins for Actor and Ensemble of "Boardwalk Empire" just for his "Coach Bert" sketch on SNL?

Full list of winners from last night here.

--Jenelle Riley

SAG Award Predictions

The SAG Awards are this Sunday, 5pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern on TNT/TBS. You can follow my Twitter feed to and Back Stage's Twitter feed to see how we react to the winners. But first, a few predictions...

Female Actor in a Supporting Role:

BÉRÉNICE BEJO / Peppy - "THE ARTIST"

JESSICA CHASTAIN / Celia Foote - “THE HELP”

MELISSA McCARTHY / Megan - “BRIDESMAIDS”

JANET McTEER / Hubert Page - "ALBERT NOBBS”

OCTAVIA SPENCER / Minny Jackson - “THE HELP”

Who will win: Octavia Spencer should walk away with this one, barring an upset from Melissa McCarthy or a massive swell for "The Artist." Still, Spencer was beloved in a huge film, so expect her to go home with at least one award.

Male Actor in a Supporting Role:

KENNETH BRANAGH / Sir Laurence Olivier - “MY WEEK WITH MARILYN”

ARMIE HAMMER / Clyde Tolson - "J. EDGAR"

JONAH HILL / Peter Brand - "MONEYBALL"

NICK NOLTE / Paddy Conlon - “WARRIOR”

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER / Hal - “BEGINNERS”

Who Will Win: A great group of guys, and had "Warrior" been seen by more people, I think Nick Nolte might have a shot. But it's a guarantee that Christopher Plummer will continue his winning streak by taking home the SAG Award.

Female Actor in a Leading Role:

GLENN CLOSE  / Albert Nobbs - "ALBERT NOBBS” 

VIOLA DAVIS / Aibileen Clark - “THE HELP” 

MERYL STREEP / Margaret Thatcher - “THE IRON LADY” 

TILDA SWINTON / Eva - “WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN”

MICHELLE WILLIAMS / Marilyn Monroe - “MY WEEK WITH MARILYN”

Who Will Win: In the Viola vs. Meryl race, I give the edge to Viola Davis. More people have seen the movie, and you can't argue with greatness. Which is not to say that Streep isn't great...but her movie isn't.

Male Actor in a Leading Role:

DEMIÁN BICHIR / Carlos Galindo - “A BETTER LIFE”

GEORGE CLOONEY / Matt King - "THE DESCENDANTS” 

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / J. Edgar Hoover - "J. EDGAR" 

JEAN DUJARDIN / George - "THE ARTIST" 

BRAD PITT / Billy Beane - "MONEYBALL"

Who Will Win: Conventional wisdom says this belongs to George Clooney, and it probably does. But I still think Brad Pitt will ultimately take the Oscar home, and may even cause an upset at the SAG Awards.

Cast of a Motion Picture:

"THE ARTIST"

"BRIDESMAIDS"

"THE DESCENDANTS"

"THE HELP"

"MIDNIGHT IN PARIS" 

Who Will Win: Tough call. These are all great ensembles, I wouldn't begrudge any of them winning. Right now, "The Artist" has a lot of momentum, and people love the film. But the powerhouse ensemble of "The Help" might be too much to beat. Giving the edge to "The Help." For now.

--Jenelle Riley

 

New 'Iron Lady' Clip

Hot on the heels of Meryl Streep's Oscar nomination Tuesday, The Weinstein Company has released a new clip from "The Iron Lady." In the scene, Margaret Thatcher defends her choice to send troops to the Falkland Islands.

--Jenelle Riley

Dying Is Easy...

...but comedy is hard. So goes the old saying, and any actor worth their salt will tell you it's true. It's much easier to wring tears than laughs, so why are comedies so disdained when it comes to movie awards? The latest in this debate come to us courtesy of Mary Pols of Time Entertainment, with her piece on why Melissa McCarthy doesn't deserve her Oscar nomination.

First of all, I sort of loathe the whole "deserve" argument. I saw a lot of this yesterday against Jonah Hill's nod for "Moneyball," and it just reeks of an anti-comedy sentiment. Hill is terrific in the film, which is essentially a tw0-man show between him and Brad Pitt. If Pitt is so deserving, doesn't some of the credit lie with his scene partner? Isn't what Hill does the definition of a "supporting actor"? It seems people are more annoyed by the idea that a comedy icon like Hill is now an Oscar nominee. There were some very funny tweets along the lines of: "When '21 Jump Street' ads play, they can now say 'Oscar nominee Jonah Hill.' " But come on--no actor has a perfect record. Kim Basinger won an Oscar for the first good movie she ever made! (And personally, I think "21 Jump Street" looks awesome.)

My main problem with Pols' story--aside from the fact she misspells Carey Mulligan as "Cary," which is kind of unforgivable for a major website--is that she contradicts herself. She wants to have it both ways, saying how great McCarthy is, then calling her unworthy. While admitting McCarthy's work is "hilarious," Pols at first makes a strong case for the nod, saying: "Because of the level of improvisation involved in making Bridesmaids, it is safe to say McCarthy wasn’t just bringing smart words on a page to life." But then she turns around and calls it "a comic sketch that could comfortably live only within an ensemble." That's the point--McCarthy is a great supporting player. And of course, characters can only exist in world their film creates. And for the record, McCarthy actually made it more than just a sketch. The most tender moment in the film occurs when McCarthy's Megan assaults Kristen Wiig's character, telling her life is biting her in the ass. It's a wonderful, original moment that is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking.

Pols also complains that "it is a very broad, one-note performance," which I find odd, as she says Mulligan deserved the nomination more. Mulligan's role as a depressed, promiscuous chanteuse in "Shame" is the epitome of one-note. But because it's a drama, she gets praised.

Another thing I noticed: Pols feels the need to frequently point out McCarthy's size, sometimes disguising it as a compliment: "Before and after she hoisted her considerable bulk onto a sink to defecate, McCarthy did do something special — she played Megan as a large, red-faced person who did not understand, did not even consider, that people might recoil from her or treat her as anything less than a pretty, stick-thin bridesmaid." Actually, Megan's weight is never a factor. And "considerable bulk" is, at best, unkind--she also calls her character "grotesque." But then Pols tries to have it both ways, saying: "Yes, it was empowering that [she]...wasn’t ashamed of who she was or what she looked like, but she was also blindly intent on taking what she wanted." The subtle implication is that she should have been ashamed, just a little.

In a tweet posting the story, Pols said: "OK, get mad at me!" I'm not mad. I think Pols is entitled to her opinion, just as I'm entitled to think Albert Brooks should have been nominated before Max Von Sydow--though I wouldn't say Von Sydow didn't "deserve" his. And I don't think she believes her own argument, as she goes out of her way to praise McCarthy's performance. But the entire thing reeks of discrimination against people of size and comedy. When "Bridesmaids" first came out, I immediately said McCarthy deserved an Oscar nomination--but never really expected her to get one. I'm thrilled the Academy agreed. McCarthy doesn't just spout funny lines, she creates a fully realized character who expresses herself with all of an actor's tools. She's as good as fellow nominee Jean Dujardin is with facial expressions alone. As my friend Sarah said, "She deserves 10 nominations just for the shot with the van full of puppies."

--Jenelle Riley

 

James Cromwell on the Sounds of Silence

James Cromwell is a journeyman actor who got two of his biggest career boost with barely saying a word. First came an Oscar nomination in 1996 for his role as Farmer Hoggett in "Babe," a role that elevated him to a new level and made his casting in films like "L.A. Confidential" possible. In his own words, he hasn't had to audition since.

Now, Cromwell delivers another stunning performance without speaking in "The Artist," the front runner for Best Picture that today received 10 Oscar nominations. Cromwell plays Clifton, the servant to silent film star George Valentin (Oscar nominee Jean Dujardin) who is so loyal he even works without pay! The success of the film prompted Cromwell to pen a piece for Moviefone entitled "Why the Quietest Movie of My Career is Making the Most Noise."

Check it out. And if you haven't already, take a look at the videos of Cromwell and his co-stars speaking after a screening of "The Artist" on our site.

--Jenelle Riley

 

Oscar Noms Announced

Poor Albert Brooks. His lack of an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for "Drive" was probably the biggest snub this morning. At least he's got a sense of humor about it, as he took to Twitter this morning to say: "I got ROBBED. I don't mean the Oscars, I mean literally. My pants and shoes have been stolen."

Otherwise, not too many surprises today, other than the fact they managed to find nine films to nominate for Best Picture. Of course, "The Artist" made a great showing with 10 nominations. But it was "Hugo" that scored the most nods, with 11.

Happy for Gary Oldman, who snagged his first nomination for "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." And so glad Melissa McCarthy made the cut for "Bridesmaids."

Full list of nominations here and after the jump.  Read nominee's reactions here.

--Jenelle Riley

The Oscars: Last-Minute Predictions

So the Academy Award nominations will be announced live tomorrow by Jennifer Lawrence and Academy president Tom Sherak--word has it Lawrence has been practicing the pronounciation of several French names from "The Artist" in anticipation. So here's some guesses has to how it will finally all shake out.

Best Picture:

The sure things are "The Artist," 'The Descendants," "The Help," "Hugo," and "Midnight In Paris." I am hoping "Moneyball" makes the cut and would love it if "Bridesmaids" did. But I suspect "War Horse" will ultimately be overlooked. Possible spoiler: "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."

Best Director:

The sure things are Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist," Alexander Payne for "The Descendants," Martin Scorsese for "Hugo," and Woody Allen for "Midnight in Paris." While many people think Terrence Malick will slip in with "Tree of Life," I say don't underestimate the Academy's love for "The Help" or "Moneyball." Their respective directors, Tate Taylor and Bennett Miller, have been woefully overlooked in most of the races, and I think one will get that last slot--I hope it's Miller, but suspect it will be Taylor. Then again, Stephen Daldry has never made a movie for which he didn't receive a Best Director nomination ("Billy Elliott," "The Hours," "The Reader") so he could sneak in with "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." There's also the possiblity of David Fincher creeping in with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Still, if it's not Taylor or Miller, I'm guessing they'll just lazily give the nod to Steven Spielberg for "War Horse."

Best Actor:

The sure things are George Clooney for "The Descendants," Brad Pitt for "Moneyball," and Jean Dujardin for "The Artist." Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I truly believe Gary Oldman will finally be recognized for his work in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." That leaves one spot left, which most people think belongs to Leonardo DiCaprio, but I am holding out hope it belongs to Michael Shannon for his spectacular work in "Take Shelter." Both Oldman and Shannon have been making the rounds, while DiCaprio seems to be quietly sitting things out--and often that makes all the difference. As for "Shame" star Michael Fassbender...he's brilliant, but I just don't see the Academy embracing his sex addict character.

Best Actress:

The sure things are Viola Davis for "The Help," Meryl Streep for "The Iron Lady," and Michelle Williams for "My Week with Marilyn." At one point, Glenn Close was a sure thing, but "Albert Nobbs" never really took off the way it was supposed to. Still, I suspect it will end up being Close and Tilda Swinton for her great work in "We Need to Talk About Kevin." The only possible spoiler could be Rooney Mara for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," but I doubt it.

Best Supporting Actor:

As much as I hoped Patton Oswalt would make the cut, it doesn't look like the "Young Adult" star will triumph. That leaves a pretty great group anyway: Christopher Plummer for "Beginners," Kenneth Branaugh for "My Week with Marilyn," Albert Brooks for "Drive," and Jonah Hill for "Moneyball." I'm truly hoping enough people saw "Warrior" to give that last slot to Nick Nolte, so brilliant in the film. If not Nolte, I supose it would be Ben Kinsgley for "Hugo." Or, should the Academy give into the sap of "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," Max Von Sydow.

Best Supporting Actress:

The two sure things are Octavia Spencer for "The Help" and Berenice Bejo for "The Artist." The pretty certain things are Jessica Chastain for "The Help" and Melissa McCarthy for "Bridesmaids." That leaves one slot for Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs" and Shailene Woodley in "The Descendants" to battle it out. And don't count out Vanessa Redgrave in "Coriolanus." But as I said, "Albert Nobbs" never really gained momentum, so I'm guessing it will ultimately be Woodley.

Check in tomorrow to see how right/wrong I was and praise/chastise me.

--Jenelle Riley

 

 

 

Watch 'The Artist' Q&A

On Jan. 13, I was fortunate enough to moderate a Q&A with the cast of "The Artist," the very film that picked up the Producers' Guild Award top prize over the weekend. The entire Q&A is now available for your viewing pleasure right here, courtesy of the good people at SAG Foundation. In addition to star Jean Dujardin, actors James Cromwell and Missi Pyle were present, and it's worth watching just to hear Pyle's great audition story. This cast will do battle on Sunday at the SAG Awards for Best Ensemble, and it's a tough race with casts from "The Help" and "The Descendants" to compete with.

--Jenelle Riley

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill Talk 'Moneyball'

In case you missed the live broadcast of our Q&A on Monday with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, you can check it out in its entirety above. Well, almost...the beginning was cut off, in which I introduced Jonah and Brad walked out...but most of it is there. Or if you prefer your Brad in bite-sized bits, there are three short highlights from the event after the jump.

As I've already said several times, "Moneyball" is one of the best films of 2011--I would rank it higher than most of the films it's competing against at the Oscars. I know it has its fans, but I'm a little surprised it isn't getting even more love. Here's hoping when the Oscar noms are announced next week it will make it into the Best Picture race. I would also love to see director Bennett Miller nominated--I was disappointed he didn't snag a DGA nom. Part of the problem is that "Moneyball" is so masterfully done, everyone involved makes it look easy. It's not. This is filmmaking at it's best.

--Jenelle Riley