That 13 year old kid from Whale Rider got an Oscar nomination????

[LynneSin]

Um.......I don't think so.

I just watched "Whale Rider" and it's um, a nice movie and the kid is cute. But Oscar-Calibar? I'm sorry but no.

Cold Mountain (2003) - Nicole Kidman
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) - Scarlett Johansson
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) - Uma Thurman
Thirteen (2003) - Evan Rachel Wood
Veronica Guerin (2003) - Cate Blanchett
Calendar Girls (2003) - Helen Mirren
Freaky Friday (2003) - Jamie Lee Curtis
Lost in Translation (2003) - Scarlett Johansson
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) - Diane Lane (I)

I mean, you're telling me that her performance was better than these folks who did get Golden Globe nominations but not an Oscar bid? Ok, I'm sure she was better than maybe 2 or 3 of them, but I can't believe they didn't take Scarlett Johansson and one of her 2 roles over what I felt was a blah performance from a 13 year old kid.

I mean, I saw Anna Paquin in the Piano (she won a best supporting actress at a very young age staring in a movie based in New Zealan) and I loved her in that movie. She had life and character. This kid had the emotion of a wet washcloth.

The fact that Scarlett did not get a nomination from one of her 2 roles and this blah kid did just makes me realize that the Oscars are not a judgement of good acting. But then again they thought Catherine Zeta Jones could act too.

:shrug:

Edit Note: The biggest problem with that movie - not enough Cliff Curtis!!! He is so freaking sexy and I've thought that for years!!

[morningglory]

1. We just watched the DVD of Whale Rider. Loved it and thought the

girl was great. Need to turn on the subtitles, though, unless you understand Maori and NZ.

[LynneSin]

3. The girl in Bend it like Beckham was so much better

I loved that movie.

This thing put me and my cat to sleep

:snore:

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. Freaky Friday (2003) - Jamie Lee Curtis Is this "Teeny Bopper"....

movie worthy of anything than a Razzie. Let's stop making fun of the highly talented young lady now, o.k!!!!!!!!!!!!

:eyes:

[AmandaRuth]

4. i guess taste is personal

I thought WR was much better than most of the movies nominated for Best Picture except LOTR:TROK and far better the Bend it LB, a movie that it gets compared to. I enjoyed her performance. I also thought that the scene of the elder teaching the youngsters to put on their game faces was the funniest thing in the movies this year. I guess taste is just so personal and subjective .

[Atman]

5. This was her first role

I think it had as much to do with her performance first time in front of a camera. If you listen to the director and crew, she was the best actress they ever worked with. Personally, I enjoyed the movie a lot. But re-watch it, and keep in mind that this is not an actress...just a kid the scouts pulled out of school. From that perspective, she was totally awesome.

But I have to agree...while it was "wonderful" movie and all -- I liked it enough to actually buy the dvd -- I don't see it as Oscar material. Quite frankly, any movie that is dubbed as a "feel-good movie" should automatically be excluded from the running. Just show me the pic and let me decide how to feel!

[jobycom]

6. What, you don't think staring blandly earns her an Oscar?

It was a good film, a nifty story, and for all I know she may be a great actress, but if anything in that performance was worthy of an Oscar, I must have missed it. Perhaps it occured while I was waking up my ten year old daughter so she could "enjoy" the movie. Not saying she was bad, just that nothing in that role required anything more than basic line reading.

I liked it a lot, but Mulan was better. This year, in that same age group, Holes and Bend it Like Beckham were better. So was Finding Nemo. Maybe it was as good as Brother Bear, but being an animal rights type person, I really liked Brother Bear. Whale Rider was tailor made for someone like me, always searching for positive young female roles for my two daughters. And I liked it a lot. But I don't get the hype over it.

[LynneSin]

7. THANK YOU - staring blandly does not make you a great actress

I couldn't have said it better myself

[SheilaT]

8. The kid they should have nominated

was that amazing little girl in "In America". Best performance ever by a child. NOTHING that seemed like acting, but pure real child. She broke my heart with her innocence.

[Djinn]

9. Me too

have had a wee crish on Cliff Curtis for a while now - have you seen Three Kings...he's very dishy in that

[LynneSin]

12. I own Three Kings

but I first had a crush on him when he was in "The Piano"

He has gorgeous hair!!!!

He's such a talented actor but he ends up playing terrorists and other bad people since he has a middle eastern/hispanic look.

However, he actually is a Maorian.

[Johnyawl]

10. too suble of a performance for you?

"the emotion of a wet washcloth"??!! If you didn't see the confusion & stoicism & determination, the hurt, betrayal and love that ranged through that girl's performance, if she didn't make you feel the pain of what its like to be second best because you're a girl, if you didn't weep from joy for her earning her rightful place in her society - with the love and approval of her grandfather - then you missed pretty much the whole movie.

Except for Cliff Curtis. I gather you were awake for that part.

I've seen much less deserving performances win. Gwyneth Paltrow comes to mind.

[Missy Vixen]

11. I disagree

>I just watched "Whale Rider" and it's um, a nice movie and the kid is cute. But Oscar-Calibar? I'm sorry but no.<

We saw "Whale Rider" the other night. I thought the young lady's performance was heartbreaking. As Johnyawl says further down in the thread, her character was so determined to make her grandfather proud, and he rejected her over and over and over. She did a great job, IMHO. Unless things go horribly awry, Charlize Theron will win.

The only other person I really was sad about being passed over for a nomination is Evan Rachel Wood of "thirteen". If there are those here who used to watch "Once and Again" you'll remember her. She's a very good actress, and "thirteen" offered an astonishing role for her. I'm sure that we'll see her on that stage sooner than later, though.

I'm relieved that Nicole Kidman wasn't nominated. (I'm even more relieved that her ex-husband wasn't nominated, but we're talking about chicks right now.) While I enjoy most of her movies, this wasn't her year. We actually saw "Freaky Friday" at the drive in last summer. It isn't Shakespeare, but Jamie Lee Curtis as a bratty teen was certainly better than some of the overhyped crap that hit the multiplexes this year ("Cat In The Hat", anyone?)

Julie

p.s. For the fashionistas reading the thread, Jamie Lee Curtis was also the best-dressed at the Golden Globes. She was stunning. Maybe she should give some fashion advice to Johnny Depp's significant other. Meow!