Thursday, March 24, 2011

Double Best Actress Winners - Potential Candidates for 2011

There certainly seems to be a glass ceiling of only a potential for actors and actresses alike to receive multiple Oscar wins in the acting categories. Usually it stops at two awards, and when it comes to the lead categories for both men and women, the opportunity to win two lead acting trophies is certainly an honor, it's not an impossibility. But only Katherine Hepburn has ever received more than two lead acting trophies, and she received four.


After Katherine's record 4 wins, 11 actresses share the honor of having double Oscar wins in the lead actress category: Luise Rainer, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Vivian Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Glenda Jackson, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Jodie Foster and Hilary Swank.

Unless Jodie Foster's role in the film The Beaver, picks up major traction, I would imagine there is no change of any of the previous double nominees getting a nomination or win this upcoming year based on their current film commitments and release schedules.

But that doesn't mean we should completely overlook the potential of the 12th two time winner joining the list. Here's my analyst of the potential previous winners who could take the stage Agna in 2012 based on their work this year.

Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard or Gwyneth Patrow, Contagion
Previous Win: The Reader, 2008; La Vie En Rose, 2007; Shakespeare in Love, 1998
The genre and subject of the film (action thriller, deadly disease outbreak) doesn't match up with typical award material, but for some reason I always consider Steven Soderbergh's chances even though his award breakout year of 2000 (Erin Brokovich & Traffic) hasn't come close to being repeated. That being said, Soderbergh's assembled a talented cast of "in" actors with proven Academy success (in addition to Kate Winslet is the talented Mr. Ripley crowd of Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law as well as Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburn and John Hawks). Go ahead, count the nominations amongst the crowd.

Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Previous Win: Monster, 2003
Jason Reitman twice Oscar nominated for his limited feature length directing career (Juno, Up in the Air), works again with Juno scribe Diablo Cody to put together this film. Like Reitman's other films this story is a contemporary original piece of work, but the academy has looked favorably at least in terms of nominations when it comes to these roles and performances in these films. Charlize might have a great opportunity to pop to the top of the list if it's the right performance and the right role.

Helen Hunt, Aline & Wolfe
Previous Win: As Good as it Gets, 1997
The story of an affair between the author Thomas Wolfe and an older socialite Aline Bernstein. The film is directed by Lajos Koltai (Oscar nominated director for Malena). Aline is a biographic character, so that certainly can't hurt, and Koltai's small films tend to highlight the female performers.

Frances McDormand, This Must Be The Place
Previous Win: Fargo, 1996
I can't really figure out how This Must Be The Place figures into award season, and I think generally I assume it doesn't despite the star power of Sean Penn in the lead role and the connection of the film to WWII/holocaust themes. McDormand tends to be listed as a co-star of this film along side Penn who plays a rock star who discovers his estranged father was humiliated at Auschwitz and he attempts to track down the SS officer responsible years later. Where McDormand figures in, I can't be sure. Where this film figures in, it's hard to tell as well. So, I'll at least list it here.

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Previous Win: Sophie's Choice, 1982
Streep does have a supporting actress win to match her lead win (supporting actress win 1979 for Kramer vs. Kramer) and yet she keeps on getting nominated for the award show, writing speeches. And while she holds records for her multiple nominations, her two trophies (1 supporting, 1 lead) seems to exclude her from another win. The role in this film is a biographical portrayal of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and I'm sure the role will garner some attention. Yet, another win...I won't hold my breathe.

Pictured above are the actual Oscar trophys in the Katherine Hepburn collection.

1 comment:

joe burns said...

I don't think Meryl will win in Early 2012, but maybe she'll win for August Oscage County in Early 2013. She's playing the very baity role of Violet, and I'm excited to see her in that, though it's a long time from now, ha ha...