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Marj
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:43 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
billyweeds wrote:
Gary and Marj--You are both so on the money about Spacey in this movie. And, yes, it's a better performance--myself, I would say far better--than either of his Oscarwinning performances. I think Spacey is a fine, excellent actor, but a bit oversold in general. However, when it comes to L.A. Confidential, no amount of overselling is possible. His performance is astounding, and his last moment is a great and memorable one.


Billy,

To give the devil his due, Cromwell is brilliant in that scene. But if Spacey had even a nano second of anticipatory behavior, there simply would have been no scene. And no brilliant last moment.
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Trish
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:57 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 2438 Location: Massachusetts
Marj wrote:
Gary,

I could never improve on what you said about Spacey. He is amazing in this film. Much better than either film he won his Oscars for. It's a more subtle performance then either Virbil Kint, or Lester Burnham, so of course it was overlooked by the acadamy.
.


it wasn't overlooked - what happened (and happens quite often unfortunately) is he was one of three (even perhaps 4 counting James Cromwell) equally brilliant actor/supporting actor performances (Crowe and Pearce) they split each other's vote - you'd need a really weak-acting year for that one category to get 3 nominees from the same film
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billyweeds
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 5:10 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
Marj wrote:
billyweeds wrote:
Gary and Marj--You are both so on the money about Spacey in this movie. And, yes, it's a better performance--myself, I would say far better--than either of his Oscarwinning performances. I think Spacey is a fine, excellent actor, but a bit oversold in general. However, when it comes to L.A. Confidential, no amount of overselling is possible. His performance is astounding, and his last moment is a great and memorable one.


Billy,

To give the devil his due, Cromwell is brilliant in that scene. But if Spacey had even a nano second of anticipatory behavior, there simply would have been no scene. And no brilliant last moment.


Cromwell is every bit as extraordinary as Spacey. It could be argued that Cromwell's contribution to the movie is the most overlooked of them all, because of the role he plays. Compare his performance with his equally excellent one in Babe in a poles-apart role and check out one terrific actor.
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billyweeds
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 5:16 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
Trish wrote:
Marj wrote:
Gary,

I could never improve on what you said about Spacey. He is amazing in this film. Much better than either film he won his Oscars for. It's a more subtle performance then either Virbil Kint, or Lester Burnham, so of course it was overlooked by the acadamy.
.


it wasn't overlooked - what happened (and happens quite often unfortunately) is he was one of three (even perhaps 4 counting James Cromwell) equally brilliant actor/supporting actor performances (Crowe and Pearce) they split each other's vote - you'd need a really weak-acting year for that one category to get 3 nominees from the same film


It was a strange movie for categorization. Pearce and Crowe are the obvious "starring" actors, yet each in his own way is in "support" of the other. Meanwhile, Spacey and Cromwell, the leading "supporting" roles and the ones who should have been nominated, share the screen with DeVito and Rifkin and several other actors in fighting trim. Everyone got shafted equally. And Robin Williams wins the Oscar in what is probably his best screen performance, which is saying approximately nothing. Cue tacky but entirely understandable look of pained shock from Burt Reynolds.
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billyweeds
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 5:21 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
Oh! And adding insult to injury, LAC's one acting nomination goes to its least worthy cast member, Kim Basinger, who snatches the prize from the hands of Julianne Moore, who gives what is still the best performance of her career in Boogie Nights. The ironic end result is that I wind up resenting LAC's one major Oscar victory. No wonder I genuinely hate the Oscars (even though I always watch them).
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marantzo
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:28 am Reply with quote
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I certainly agree that Moore's performance in BN was wonderful and she deserved the Oscar more than Basinger. I do think that Basinger did a very nice job in LAC though. What I can't fathom no matter how how fancifully I look at it, is how anyone with eyes in their head and ears that are functioning can possibly put Boogie Nights on a par with L.A. Confidential, never mind rate it higher. One is a flawed, uneven, rather artificial, though interesting effort by a talented, not quite mature director and the other is an accomplished and stunningly effective work that is A+ in every department.

Oh well, some things will always remain a mystery to me.
mo_flixx
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:51 am Reply with quote
Joined: 30 May 2004 Posts: 12533
I find it odd that there are so many Aussies in the cast of LAC. They do a great job, of course. Looked for an explanation on the imdb.com, but there wasn't much.

I noticed my fave Aussie heart throb Simon Baker (of TV's "The Guardian" & "Something New") in a small bit (the marijuana bust) at the beginning!
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marantzo
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 11:11 am Reply with quote
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Quote:
I noticed my fave Aussie heart throb Simon Baker (of TV's "The Guardian" & "Something New") in a small bit (the marijuana bust) at the beginning!


Yeah, I noticed that too. I didn't know he was Australian.
Marj
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:49 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
mo_flixx wrote:
I find it odd that there are so many Aussies in the cast of LAC. They do a great job, of course. Looked for an explanation on the imdb.com, but there wasn't much.

I noticed my fave Aussie heart throb Simon Baker (of TV's "The Guardian" & "Something New") in a small bit (the marijuana bust) at the beginning!


I would call it more of a coincidence, than odd. I would like to think when casting a film the director is looking for the best actor for the role. I hope that the country doesn't enter into it, unless and of course it's an integral matter.
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Marj
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:58 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
Just to clear up what I said about Spacey being overlooked by the acadamy. I meant that of course they would miss the better acting as opposed to the more splashy roles he won for. Obviously I can see there were so many great actors in LAC they tend to cancel themselves out. Still a shame no one was nominated other than Basinger, which may have been a nod to the movie. Obviously we'll never really know ...
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Trish
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:32 am Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 2438 Location: Massachusetts
marantzo wrote:
I certainly agree that Moore's performance in BN was wonderful and she deserved the Oscar more than Basinger. I do think that Basinger did a very nice job in LAC though. What I can't fathom no matter how how fancifully I look at it, is how anyone with eyes in their head and ears that are functioning can possibly put Boogie Nights on a par with L.A. Confidential, never mind rate it higher. One is a flawed, uneven, rather artificial, though interesting effort by a talented, not quite mature director and the other is an accomplished and stunningly effective work that is A+ in every department.

Oh well, some things will always remain a mystery to me.


I agree it isn't as perfect as LAC - but its probably just as entertaining - so that's why its mentioned again and again
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Trish
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:35 am Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 2438 Location: Massachusetts
mo_flixx wrote:
I find it odd that there are so many Aussies in the cast of LAC. They do a great job, of course. Looked for an explanation on the imdb.com, but there wasn't much.

I noticed my fave Aussie heart throb Simon Baker (of TV's "The Guardian" & "Something New") in a small bit (the marijuana bust) at the beginning!


I think that's mentioned in one of the extras on the DVD - but I haven't watched that part of the dvd in a while
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Trish
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:40 am Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 2438 Location: Massachusetts
Marj wrote:
Just to clear up what I said about Spacey being overlooked by the acadamy. I meant that of course they would miss the better acting as opposed to the more splashy roles he won for. Obviously I can see there were so many great actors in LAC they tend to cancel themselves out. Still a shame no one was nominated other than Basinger, which may have been a nod to the movie. Obviously we'll never really know ...


the unfairness (in some respects) to every film and its actors is that your chances for nomination are directed affected by the quality and prestige (and yes popularity) of the actors in other films in contention - so if a particular category is incredibly competitive for that year - many performances that would not only be nominated but most likely win in other years are ina sense "overlooked" - of course that sets up the equally frustrating factor of "make up" oscars bestowed on those same actors/actresses down the road
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marantzo
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:18 am Reply with quote
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I have a friend, well not really a friend (I avoid him like the plague), who used to be an information source for Confidential. He was mentally strange and a little on the perverted side. He would also procure women for many of the stars. Sammy davis Jr. was one of his good friends among other poon hounds. He would have fit in perfectly with the characters of LAC. Eventually he took a rap for Sammy Davis and was deported back to Canada. He would always complained that Davis never paid him what he promised.

At the movies yesterday I saw a preview of The Black Dahlia which is opening next fall. It looked like it might be very good. Sort of a coincidence. I had no idea they were making it.
Marj
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:39 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 10497 Location: Manhattan
http://imdb.com/title/tt0387877/

The Black Dahlia (2006)
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