- Natalie Portman, current frontrunner for best actress for Black Swan, has No Strings Attached, a romantic comedy opposite Ashton Kutcher in which she, a busy medical resident, pursues a "friends with benefits" relationship. I'm willing to bet complications ensue and they end up falling for each other. I actually have some hope for this, since it's directed by Ivan Reitman, but has definite Norbit potential.
- Jeff Bridges, defending best actor and best actor contender for True Grit, has Tron: Legacy. Yes, it's a safe bet that Tron will get some technical nods (production design, effects, maybe score), but remember, Norbit was Oscar-nodded for makeup.
- Justin Timberlake, potential supporting actor contender for Social Network, has Yogi Bear. Need I say more?
- Ben Stiller, extreme dark horse actor contender for Greenberg, has Little Fockers.
- Geoffrey Rush, supporting actor frontrunner for King's Speech, has The Warrior's Way.
Any I've missed?
Norbiting definition please...
ReplyDelete<span>I think you're missing the potential of Natalie Portman's role in Your Highness, of thong bikini fame.</span>
ReplyDeleteTo norbit is to undermine one's chances at an Oscar by appearing in an inferior work at around the same time, as Eddie Murphy did post-Dreamgirls.
ReplyDeleteYour Highness is not out until after Oscar season.
ReplyDeleteI think Justin Timberlake is in the shakiest position because he also has to shake off the whole former boyband member residue. If he'd already been nominated for a serious acting turn before this, he'd be ok.
ReplyDeleteI think Stiller is too much of a longshot anyway for Fockers to hurt him.
Does Annette Bening have something trashy coming out? No, unfortunately. I'm not exactly sure how she stole the most-likely-to-be-nominated-from-TKAAR status from Julianne Moore, but there's still time to correct it! What can we do to Norbit Bening's chances?!?!? (And, yes, I'm biased, since I adore Julianne Moore, and hadn't loved a Bening performance since The Grifters.)
ReplyDeleteBrief threadjack: Thanks to Matt's post last week about NPH in the New York Philharmonic's "Company" in April, a production I almost certainly would not have known about without this list, I am now the very fortunate owner of tickets for two amazing seats for this show. My Sondheim-loving boyfriend is going to be THRILLED!!!
Even if Stiller weren't a longshot, Fokkers wouldn't hurt him. I am on record as saying that the whole Fokkers series is a crime against humanity, but it's the kind of bad to which the Academy is willing to turn a blind eye. It stars Academy darlings DeNiro, Hoffman, and Streisand, and it burnishes its farty shenanigans with the kind of production values that keep Academy members working and the kind of sweater-wearing upper crustishness with which the Academy identifies.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Dave, that trailer has ONLY been a boon for all aspects of Natalie Portman's career...
ReplyDelete<span>I still can't believe Portman signed on for "No Strings". She's made some silly movies, but reducing herself to a Kutcher vehicle? COME ON.</span>
ReplyDeletePortman's got an Executive Producer credit on that picture, too, and Ivan Reitman is the director. The mind boggles. She has two other production credits, one a Don Roos film that doesn't seem to have US distribution yet, and a smaller indy picture that comes out next month.
ReplyDeleteI guess she really believes in that project, or thinks it's a good investment, or the studio roped her into doing a crappy Kutcher RomCom by letting her cheaply pad her resume.
Another possibility--she really wanted to work with Reitman/do comedy, or she got a very nice paycheck for doing so.
ReplyDelete