And the Oscar for Best Actor goes to ... Mickey Rourke?

Just read an interview with him, and for what it's worth he insists he hasn't had plastic surgery. He says the change in his appearance is from quitting acting for boxing years ago, and getting hit in the face over and over and over.

Don't know if I buy that, but that's his story.

 

I read that, too, and don't believe him.

 

I'm really, really pumped to see this flick but am worried because it says limited release on December 17th and if the past means anything that means my state will get the shaft and I'll have to drive somewhere ridiculous to catch this one before the new year.

As for Best Actor talk, I think he'll get nominated but not win. I sense a lot of buzz around the upcoming Frost/Nixon movie and Milk and a lot of people are saying the guy who plays Tricky Dick and Penn are unbelivable in their respective performances.

As for supporting actor, giving it to anybody buy Ledger would be outrageous. Dead or not, that Joker was fucking haunting.

Best Movie? Well, expect The Dark Knight to be nominated (likely just to pay respect to one of those summer blockbusters) but I'd still say right now the likely winner has yet to be released.

 

I saw Frost-Nixon when it was a play on Broadway and it was fantastic. I believe it's the same cast that was in the play and Frank Langella, who played Nixon, won the Tony last year. I'm very excited about this film and I'd have to believe he might be in the running if his stage performance is captured on film.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3773747

Simmons with a damn good film review.

 

"The movie is highlighted by a Mickey Rourke performance that can only be described as incredible. "

"But for years, he was no different from Doc Gooden or Derrick Coleman, someone blessed with prodigious talent who simply refused to foster it."

You keep using this word "foster." I do not think it means what you think it means.

Yeah, roll over, Pauline Kael, and tell Andrew Sarris the news.

 

I don't have the link, but the New Yorker guy wrote a poignant, cool piece on Rooney in the new issue.

 

The four graphs that follow Fenian's lazy paste (a little different than taint, I'm told):


We see superb acting all the time, but only occasionally does someone enter the "I have no idea who else could have pulled that character off" zone. (More on that later.) A washed-up, down-on-his-luck movie star from the '80s portraying a washed-up, down-on-his-luck wrestling star from the '80s? Perfect. You'd want to find someone like Mickey Rourke to play Randy "The Ram" Robinson, right? Well, how about Mickey Rourke?

Sure! Absolutely! Is he alive?

Yes, he is. And if he hadn't been such an insufferable jerk, if his life hadn't fallen apart, if he had valued his gift instead of running from it—shunning the spotlight, carousing, disfiguring his face during a bizarre boxing career, pushing away everyone who cared about him—maybe Rourke would have been the next DeNiro instead of a cautionary tale. But for years, he was no different from Doc Gooden or Derrick Coleman, someone blessed with prodigious talent who simply refused to foster it. Now, suddenly, he stands for something else: redemption, hope, 15th chances, life's continuous surprises. Mickey Rourke—Mickey Rourke!—is going to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. He may even win.

To be honest, I still can't figure out how we didn't get Nicolas Cage in this movie. For $15 million, he gladly would have bleached his Con Air hairdo, bulked up to Kiss of Death proportions, made a few Nic Cage faces—and given us a thoroughly mediocre film. Director Darren Aronofsky should be applauded for avoiding the big-budget route, instead scaling down to an indie and rolling the dice with Rourke. Because Rourke carries this movie. Every frame.

 

Not a wrestler.

 

Simmons' review was fantastic, and that's coming from someone who thinks Simmons sucks now...

"There is a broader theme addressed here: the allure of fame and how poorly so many people react when it's taken away. The film captures the underbelly of washed-up celebrity culture, the irony of fans who snap pictures of ex-stars only because they meant something 20 years ago. And the filmmakers know the danger of being trapped in the past, when you've executed Plan A, lived it, loved it, made some mistakes, ultimately screwed everything up and then can't come up with a Plan B … so you keep trying to relive Plan A."

 

D'oh! Rourke.

 

Amen to every word of that.