Animal Kingdom To Rack Up Awards (...In Australia)

Remember that one year (2001) when the list-happy AFI (American Film Institute) decided to compete with the Globes and the Oscars in year end prizes? No, that didn't last long. But there's another AFI, The Australian Film Institute, that has been around for a long time and is in no such danger of being a one-off. This year, they're all about the amazing family crime drama Animal Kingdom which they awarded with a record breaking 18 nominations. Sure, the film is in danger of being way overhyped for people who are coming to it late (which is just about everyone given the sorry state of international distribution for dramas of virtually any kind) but for those who can slough off the "omg" raves, I guarantee you'll think it at least an insinuating and well executed crime drama.

AFI Favorites with multiple nominations

Its main competition for the coveted prizes, if you go by nomination counts, is Bright Star (different eligibility calendar over there in Australia). I haven't really covered the Australian Awards before -- we lean on Glenn for that -- but since i've seen three of their Best Picture nominees this time around (the two leaders plus the aborigine musical Bran Nue Dae), why not?

Complete nomination list -- with more Oscar adjacent & actor related comments -- after the jump.




AFI Members’ Choice Award

• Animal Kingdom. Liz Watts.
• Beneath Hill 60. Bill Leimbach.
• Bran Nue Dae. Robyn Kershaw, Graeme Isaac.
• Bright Star. Jan Chapman, Caroline Hewitt.
• The Boys Are Back. Greg Brenman, Tim White.
• Tomorrow When The War Began. Andrew Mason, Michael Boughen.

SAMSUNG Mobile AFI Award for Best Film

• Animal Kingdom. Liz Watts.
• Beneath Hill 60. Bill Leimbach.
• Bran Nue Dae. Robyn Kershaw, Graeme Isaac.
• Bright Star. Jan Chapman, Caroline Hewitt.
• The Tree. Sue Taylor. Yaël Fogiel.
• Tomorrow When The War Began. Andrew Mason, Michael Boughen.

I'm actually not sure which of these categories Australian's consider their "Best Picture" but it's mostly the same competition anyway with only the widower drama The Boys Are Back and the widow drama The Tree working Swing position. Maybe Clive Owen  &  Charlotte Gainsbourg, who star as those grieving single parents, should've just gotten married to end their suffering: The Tree is Back!  

AFI Award for Best Direction

• Animal Kingdom. David Michôd.
• Beneath Hill 60. Jeremy Hartley Sims.
• Bright Star. Jane Campion.
• The Tree. Julie Bertuccelli.

Macquarie AFI Award for Best Original Screenplay

• Animal Kingdom. David Michôd.
• Beneath Hill 60. David Roach.
• Bright Star. Jane Campion.
• Daybreakers. Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig.

It'd be nice to see Michôd fighting for a spot with Oscar in the Original Screenplay category, but even with screeners going out so early, that could be a tough sell. But still, his is an unusually taut and smart script.

Macquarie AFI Award for Best Adapted Screenplay

• Bran Nue Dae. Reg Cribb, Rachel Perkins, Jimmy Chi.
• The Boys Are Back. Allan Cubitt.
• The Tree. Julie Bertuccelli.
• Tomorrow When The War Began. Stuart Beattie.

AFI Award for Best Cinematography

• Animal Kingdom. Adam Arkapaw.
• Beneath Hill 60. Toby    Oliver ACS.
• Bright Star. Greig Fraser.
• The Waiting City. Denson Baker ACS

With apologizes to the two films here I haven't seen I'll be disappointed if Greig Fraser loses this. I'm still mortified that he collected so few nominations and wins here in America. Bright Star is jaw-droppingly beautiful. It's a shame the way it was treated in last year's Oscar race. 

AFI Award for Best Editing

• Animal Kingdom. Luke Doolan.
• Beneath Hill 60. Dany    Cooper ASE.
• Bright Star. Alexandre de Franceschi ASE.
• Tomorrow When The War Began. Marcus D’Arcy.

AFI Award for Best Sound

• Animal Kingdom. Sam Petty, Rob Mackenzie, Philippe Decrausaz.
• Beneath Hill 60. Liam    Egan, Alicia Slusarski, Mark Cornish, Tony Murtagh.
• Bran Nue Dae. Andrew Neil, Steve Burgess, Peter Mills, Mario Vaccaro, Blaire Slater, David Bridie, Scott Montgomery.
• Tomorrow When The War Began. Andrew Plain, David Lee, Gethin Creagh, Robert Sullivan.

AFI Award for Best Original Music Score

• Animal Kingdom. Antony Partos, Sam Petty.
• Beneath Hill 60. Cezary Skubiszewski.
• Bran Nue Dae. Cezary   Skubiszewski, Jimmy Chi, Patrick Duttoo Bin Amat, Garry Gower, Michael Manolis Mavromatis, Stephen Pigram.
• Bright Star. Mark Bradshaw.

Bran Nue Dae does have fun musical numbers though typically the trailer doesn't really play that up.

AFI Award for Best Production Design

• Animal Kingdom. Jo Ford.
• Beneath Hill 60. Clayton Jauncey.
• Bright Star. Janet Patterson.
• Tomorrow When The War Began. Robert Webb, Michelle McGahey, Damien Drew, Bev Dunn.

AFI Award for Best Costume Design

• Animal Kingdom. Cappi Ireland.
• Beneath Hill 60. Ian Sparke, Wendy Cork.
• Bran Nue Dae. Margot Wilson.
• Bright Star. Janet Patterson

AFI Award for Best Lead Actor

• Brendan Cowell. Beneath Hill 60.
• James Frecheville. Animal Kingdom.
• Ben Mendelsohn. Animal Kingdom.
• Clive Owen. The Boys Are Back.

AFI Award for Best Lead Actress

• Abbie Cornish. Bright Star.
• Morgana Davies. The Tree.
• Charlotte Gainsbourg. The Tree.
• Jacki Weaver. Animal Kingdom.

I had assumed that Abbie Cornish could finally collect a trophy for Bright Star until I realized that Jacki Weaver was sharing this category. Though she is absolutely the centrifugal force in Animal Kingdom, she's not really the lead (that'd be Frecheville... and arguably Mendelsohn) and she's offscreen quite a lot and sometimes backgrounded within the scenes she is in.

AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor

• Joel Edgerton. Animal Kingdom.
• Guy Pearce. Animal Kingdom.
• Kodi Smit-McPhee. Matching Jack.
• Sullivan Stapleton. Animal Kingdom.

Tattoed and Tormented: Sullivan Stapleton in Animal Kingdom

I need to take this opportunity to thank the AFI for not nominated Geoffrey Rush who is typically so far over the top he's back down again in Bran Nue Dae. But I am surprised that they saw through his extravagant hamming given his Master Thespian rep. This is a war of cops vs. criminals from Animal Kingdom with wee Kodi as the potential beneficiary of vote splitting. My favorite of the three Kingdom men is Sullivan Stapleton as the tattooed and tightly-wound comparatively tender Craig. But not knowing anything about AFI politics or Australian favoritism, I'm assuming that Pearce is most likely to win given his stardom that he gets the film's big theme-speaking moment.

AFI Award for Best Supporting Actress

• Julia Blake. The Boys Are Back.
• Kerry Fox. Bright Star.
• Deborah Mailman. Bran Nue Dae.
• Laura Wheelwright. Animal Kingdom.

In case you're wondering, Wheelwright plays the teen girlfriend of Animal Kingdom's lead character. I'm pleased to see Fox given props for her subtle but very well modulated reactive mother role in Jane Campion's romantic biopic.

AFI INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR

• Simon Baker. The Mentalist, Season 2. Nine Network
• Ryan Kwanten. True Blood, Season 3. Showcase
• Kodi Smit-McPhee. The Road
• Sam Worthington. Avatar

I haven't yet seen Season 3 but it's nice to see acclaim for Ryan Kwanten who is True Blood's secret weapon, if you ask me. He's just so funny. He offers up a very smart take on a very dim character. As for Kodi, I wrote extensively about The Road here.

AFI I International Award for Best Actress

• Toni Collette. United States of Tara, Season 2. ABC1
• Bojana Novakovic. Edge of Darkness
• Mia Wasikowska. Alice in Wonderland
• Naomi Watts. Mother and Child

Um. Ewwww. on the Wasikowska nomination. I think she's quite a good actress but I think she's quite ungood in that movie. Meanwhile: Go TONI!!!

AFI Young Actor Award

• Ashleigh Cummings. Tomorrow When The War Began
• Morgana Davies. The Tree
• James Frecheville. Animal Kingdom
• Harrison Gilbertson. Beneath Hill 60

AFI Visual Effects Award

• Daybreakers. Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig, Rangi Sutton, James Rogers, Randy Vellacott
• The Tree. Dave Morley, Felix Crawshaw, Claudia Lecaros, Tim Walker
• Tinglewood. Wil Manning
• Tomorrow When The War Began. Chris Godfrey, Sigi Eimutis, Dave Morley, Tony Cole

AFI AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN’S TELEVISION DRAMA

• Dance Academy. Joanna Werner ABC
• Dead Gorgeous. Ewan Burnett, Margot McDonald. ABC
• Lockie Leonard. Kylie     Du Fresne. Nine Network
• My Place. Penny Chapman. ABC

AFI AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN’S TELEVISION ANIMATION

• dirtgirlworld. Cate McQuillen. ABC
• Erky Perky. Kristine Klohk, Barbara Stephen, Tracy Lenon. Seven Network
• The Legend Of Enyo. Avrill Stark, Michael Christensen. Seven Network

AFI Award for Best Television Comedy Series

• Lowdown. Nicole Minchin, Amanda Brotchie, Adam Zwar. ABC
• Review With Myles Barlow, Season 2. Dean Bates. ABC
• Wilfred II. Jenny Livingston, Tony Rogers, Adam Zwar, Jason Gann. SBS

AFI Award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series

• The Gruen Transfer, Series 3. Andrew Denton, Anita Jacoby, Jon Casimir, Debbie Cuell. ABC1
• Hungry Beast, Series Two. Andrew Denton, Andy Nehl. ABC1
• MasterChef Australia. Margaret Bashfield, Judy Smart, Caroline Spencer. Network Ten
• Talkin’ ’bout Your Generation. Peter Beck. Network Ten

AFI Award for Best Television Drama Series

• The Circuit, Series 2. Ross Hutchens, Colin South. SBS
• Rush, Season 3. John Edwards, Mimi Butler. Network Ten
• Spirited. Claudia Karvan, Jacquelin Perske, John Edwards. W
• Tangle, Season 2. John Edwards, Imogen Banks. Showcase

AFI Award for Best Telefeature, Mini Series or Short Run Series

• A Model Daughter: The Killing Of Caroline Byrne. Karl Zwicky. Network Ten
• Hawke. Richard Keddie. Network Ten

AFI Award for Best Direction in Television

• Dance Academy – Episode 2, ‘Week Zero’. Jeffrey Walker. ABC
• Hawke. Emma   Freeman. Network Ten
• Rush, Season 3 – Episode 308, ‘Train’. Grant Brown. Network Ten
• Tangle, Season 2 – Episode 16, ‘Lost and Found’. Emma Freeman. Showcase

AFI Award for Best Screenplay in Television

• Hawke. Glen Dolman. Network Ten
• Review With Myles Barlow, Season 2 – Episode 6, ‘Happiness, Escapism, Acceptance’. Trent O’Donnell, Phil Lloyd. ABC
• Tangle, Season 2 – Episode 15, ‘Sleepwalking’. Fiona Seres. Showcase
• Wilfred II – Episode 7, ‘Dog Star’. Jason Gann, Adam Zwar. SBS

AFI Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama

• Garry McDonald. A Model Daughter: The Killing Of Caroline Byrne. Network Ten
• Corey McKernan. Lockie Leonard. Nine Network
• Aaron Pedersen. The Circuit, Series 2. SBS
• Richard Roxburgh. Hawke. Network Ten

AFI Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama

• Cheree Cassidy. Underbelly: The Golden Mile – Episode 7, ‘Full Force Gale’. Nine Network
• Justine Clarke. Tangle, Season 2. Showcase
• Poppy Lee Friar. Dead Gorgeous. ABC
• Catherine McClements. Tangle, Season 2. Showcase

AFI Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama

• Damien Garvey. Underbelly: The Golden Mile – Episode 10, ‘Hurt on Duty’.  Nine Network
• Rhys Muldoon. Lockie Leonard – Episode 11, ‘Snake Hide Oil. Nine Network
• John Waters. Offspring. Network Ten
• Ben Winspear. My Place – Episode 5, ‘1968 Sofia’. ABC

AFI Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama

• Linda Cropper. Satisfaction, Season 3 – Episode 8, ‘Not Vanilla’. Showcase
• Sacha Horler. Hawke. Network Ten
• Asher Keddie. Hawke. Network Ten
• Deborah Mailman. Offspring. Network Ten

AFI Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy

• Paul Denny. Lowdown. ABC
• Jason Gann. Wilfred II. SBS
• Phil Lloyd. Review With Myles Barlow, Season 2. ABC

AFI Award for Best Feature Length Documentary

• Contact. Martin Butler, Bentley Dean. ABC1
• Inside The Firestorm. Lucy Maclaren, Alex West. ABC
• The Snowman. Rachel Landers, Dylan Blowen.
• Strange Birds In Paradise – A West Papuan Story. Jamie Nicolai, John Cherry.

AFI Award for Best Documentary Under One Hour

• A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes In Australia. Sharyn Prentice, Marianne Latham, Lavinia Riachi. ABC
• Rudely Interrupted. Susie Jones, Benjamin Jones. ABC1
• Surviving Mumbai. Andrew Ogilvie, Andrea Quesnelle. ABC
• You Only Live Twice – The Incredibly True Story Of The Hughes Family. Ruth Cullen. ABC1

AFI Award for Best Documentary Series

• Addicted To Money. Andrew     Ogilvie, Andrea Quesnelle. ABC
• Disable Bodied Sailors. Karina Holden, Nick Robinson. SBS
• Kokoda. Andrew Wiseman. ABC1
• Liberal Rule- The Politics That Changed Australia. Nick Torrens, Frank Haines. SBS

AFI Award for Best Direction in a Documentary

• A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes In Australia. Amanda Chang. ABC
• Contact. Martin Butler, Bentley Dean. ABC1
• Inside The Firestorm. Jacob Hickey. ABC
• Strange Birds In Paradise – A West Papuan Story. Charlie Hill-Smith.

AFI Award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary

• Disable Bodied Sailors – Episode 3. Nick Robinson. SBS
• Miracles - Episode 1, ‘Miracle in the Storm’. Tony Oliver ACS. ABC1
• Strange Birds In Paradise – A West Papuan Story. Angus Kemp.
• Surviving Mumbai. Jim Frater. ABC

AFI Award for Best Editing in a Documentary

• A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes In Australia. Karin Steininger. ABC
• Contact. Tania  Nehme. ABC1
• Inside The Firestorm. Steven    Robinson. ABC
• Surviving Mumbai. David Fosdick. ABC

AFI Award for Best Sound in a Documentary

• A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes In Australia. Brett Aplin, Andrew McGrath, Erin McKimm. ABC
• Inside The Firestorm. Jock Healy, Tristan Meredith. ABC
• Kokoda – Episode 1, ‘The Invasion’. David Bridie, Chris Goodes, Ian Grant, Patrick Slater. ABC1
• Strange Birds In Paradise – A West Papuan Story. Mik la Vage, Doron Kipen, David Bridie.

AFI Award for Best Short Animation

• The Lost Thing. Sophie Byrne, Andrew Ruhemann, Shaun Tan.
• Zero. Christopher Kezelos, Christine Kezelos.

AFI Award for Best Short Fiction Film

• Deeper Than Yesterday. Ariel Kleiman, Benjamin Gilovitz, Sarah Cyngler, Anna Kojevnikov.
• The Kiss. Sonya Humphrey, Ashlee Page.
• The Love Song Of Iskra Prufrock. Lucy Gaffy, Lyn Norfor.
• Suburbia. Antonio Oreña-Barlin, Richard Halsted.

AFI Award for Best Screenplay in a Short Film.

• A Parachute Falling In Siberia. Sarah Shaw, Ian Meadows.
• Deeper Than Yesterday. Ariel Kleiman.
• Glenn Owen Dodds. Trent Dalton.
• The Kiss. Ashlee Page

I know the Film Experience has plentiful Australian readers -- i can see the stats, don't hide! --  so let us know: How did the AFI do this year? As for the rest of you, do you think Jacki Weaver is going to pull off that Supporting Actress Slot with the American Academy? And do you share the love of Kwanten on True Blood and Collette as Tara?

Hit Me With Your Best Shot: "Night of the Hunter" (1955)

"We've reached the Season 1 Finale of "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" I've had a lot of fun doing this shot-based series, wherein we choose our favorite images from films though sometimes, like tonight, when we're covering the great noir THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955) things haven't gone remotely as planned.

<--- This is the disc as I received it in the mail this morning for this post.

Obviously a disc cracked in half won't due for a rewatch and a screen capture. But, alas, I can't postpone the series every time "something comes up" which is roughly every week (and various other duties approach) so we have to wrap this up.

The Night of the Hunter (1955) tells the story of a criminal (Robert Mitchum) who is seeking the final resting place of money stolen by another criminal. Only his dead cellmate's children know the location so he's after them. The freaky shadowy movie was directed by the actor Charles Laughton, who was a three-time best actor nominee (see our "Best Pictures From the Outside In" episode on the undervalued Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935). It was his only feature film as director and as with most actors who maneuver themselves behind the camera after their leading man heyday, he wrangled fine work from his leads: Robert Mitchum, the hunter, and Lillian Gish, the guardian, are both completely fantastic in the movie. (The less said about the child performances --as I recall -- the better, but directing child actors is an entirely different skill.)

If the disc hadn't been cracked I would have had a chance to rescreen it but that will have to wait. Yet there is one image, I suspected would compete for the prize before ordering the disc. It's forever branded on my brain.

This is Lillian Gish as "Rachel Cooper" who will not sleep but keeps a vigil, certain that evil incarnate (Robert Mitchum) will visit her home. The image is so indelible and gorgeously lit by cinematographer Stanley Cortez  (look at the sharp divisions of light complicated by the slow curves of Gish's profile silhouette... it's just stunning.) One thing that fascinates me about the image, out of context, since I haven't rewatched it in, is that it reminds us of how trustingly subservient the best actors are to confident directorial visions. You can't even see Gish's face here, but damned if her work isn't absolutely crucial to the movie's success, giving it exactly the grand maternal spiritual fortitude that it needs.

Gish had to make do with an honorary Oscar in April 1971 but if there was ever a time for Oscar to thank her for her place in film history with a competitive statue, it was arguably right here. The film received zero Oscar nominations. I can't fathom why other than that it's a harsh movie that in no way coddles its audience. Perhaps it felt entirely too mercenary for the times. "Love" we can handle tattooed on a shifty man's hand. But "Hate" on his other?
*

Had Laughton no mercy?

*_______

*
*
I hope you've enjoyed this series. Maybe more of you will join as participants if there's a second season? Contrary to imagined belief this blog is not powered by Nathaniel's imagination alone. That's part of it, and the imaginations of the Film Experience columnists too, but a lot of times, posts are inspired by your comments or egged on by your e-mails or generally prepared with you in mind. Be an active participant in your own Film Experience!

We'll take suggestions in the comments for Season 2 and thoughts on the series as well as, naturally, discussion of this amazing noir. If you haven't seen it, you won't be disappointed.

"Best Shot" Friends

• Amiresque, who joins the best shot party for the first time, chose amazing silhouettes of hunter and hunted. So many great shots featured in his posts. 
• Brown Okinawa Assault Incident, a frequent Best Shot club member -- thank you! -- wonders about the dimensions of Laughton's studio. How did he get so much depth?  (Though his friend incorrectly attacks the great mother of screen stardom Lillian Gish for the racism of Birth of a Nation.) 
• Antagony & Ecstasy celebrates this "grim bedtime story" for adults.
• Serious Film compares picking a favorite shot in this picture is like trying to pick a favorite note from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony."
• Movies Kick Ass "Grimm like (and outstandingly grim)"
• Nick's Flick Picks can't choose just one which works out in our favor -- more of his inimitable cinematic observations for our reading pleasure.
• Pussy Goes Grrr  "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" Mitchum is part of the landscape, an omnipresent boogeyman  
• My New Plaid Pants reminds that he already covered this amazement in 8 shots. Hey, it's hard to narrow down.

Previously on "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

• Angels in America (2003), X-Men (2000), Showgirls (1995), Bring It On (2000), Black Narcissus (1946), A Face in the Crowd (1957), Pandora's Box (1929), Se7en (1995), Requiem for a Dream (2000),  La Dolce Vita (1960) and Mean Girls (2004).

The Dark Knight Rises: A Review Starter Kit.

Christopher Nolan has revealed the title of his third Batman film (Batman 8 if you're counting*) to Hero Complex and it's The Dark Knight Rises. We also know that the villain will not be The Riddler so stop that photoshopping of Tom Hardy in green tights even though his musculature is undoubtedly fun to move one's cursor around. What? Okay, you may leave the question mark upon his chest because we still don't know who he is. We just know he's not The Joker, Mr Freeze, Two Face or The Riddler.

Now that we have this much info the reviews can practically write themselves. Blurb Whores all over the internet nation may now commence structuring their reviews...

Little intro --  The Dark Knight is the best -- It's been 4 years since The Dark Knight blah blah blah but in that time, Nolan has proven himself the greatest director who ever lived, even without the pointy cowl etcetera etcetera  Inception is a masterpiece ...more here. And other stuff yadda yadda but it must have been daunting as The Dark Knight is untoppable!


[Provocative question here] 'OR IS IT?' [insert "after the jump" here. Increase page views!!!]

Very thorough plot description.  [spoiler warning] plot point someone dies / is not who they appear to be / becomes  [/spoiler warning] Describe favorite action scene (reference truck flipping from Dark Knight -- even cooler than that no really) end with more plot.

Christian Bale continues to be [insert whatever I thought of him before] proving that he had more fight left in him, bulking back up after his Oscar nominated emaciation in The Fighter. But blah blah Batman has the best rogues gallery of any superhero and once again blah blah villains etcetera. Something about whichever girl gets cast and a defence of Chris Nolan's critiques that he's no good with female characters etcetera etcetera  -- But Tom Hardy steals the show. He's AWESOME as The Riddler _______ and deserving of Oscar attention. 

And here's some concluding hyperbole. If the Academy knows what's good for them they'll nominate this one for Best Picture. Grand finish with hopeful plea for a fourth Nolan Batman picture. 

Done!

* I know I'm the only one who is counting but it's not like people claim there's only 6 or 7 James Bond movies just because that series stops and starts with new Bonds and new decades and creatives and whatnot.

Oscar's Collection: The Youngest Best Actress Nominees

Another Oscar Trivia Explosion. This time it's the Actresses. 

Jennifer Lawrence made quite a film-carrying impression in Winter's Bone this past summer. It was one of the leggiest arthouse hits in some time, playing for months, and wracking up $6+ million without a huge advertising budget or bankable stars and with grim subject matter. Well done. At Christmas Hailee Steinfeld will lead us on a revenge journey in True Grit. While we suspect she's the lead actress as well, people her age are almost always demoted to "Supporting" if they're sharing the screen with a big star as co-lead and she is. Hi, Jeff Bridges! But we're pretending she's an Oscar lead today so as to have double the excuse to make this list. Humour us, won'cha?

 Imaginary Movie: STEINFELD. LAWRENCE.  WINTER'S TRUE BONE.

36 Youngest Best Actress Nominees

And where Jennifer or Hailee would fit in, were they to be nominated. (Winning performances are in red.) Disclaimer/Bragging: You won't find info this extensive elsewhere! The Official Oscar site / Wikipedia only offer top tens. However the following info is approximate. Though the Academy's top ten is down to the day of the actual nominations, they don't provide official nomination dates only ceremony dates. Inside Oscar and Wikipedia also only list the ceremony dates so we're just using February 1st, ∞ as a general calculation date for when nominations happened for given years.

Youngest "Best Actress" Wins: Matlin & Gaynor

1. Keisha Castle Hughes, Whale Rider (2003) was 13.
   Wow, well would you look at this? Either Jennifer Lawrence or Hailee would become #2 if nominated for Best Actress.
2. Isabelle Adjani, The Story of Adele H (1975) was 20. [more]
3. Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice (2005) was 20 going on 21. [more]
4. Ellen Page, Juno (2007) was about to turn 21. [more]
5. Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God (1986) was 21
   She's the youngest winner of all time in this category.
6. Elizabeth Hartman, A Patch of Blue  (1965) was 22.
7. Kate Winslet, Titanic (1997) was 22 and 4 months [more]
8. Janet Gaynor, Seventh Heaven/Sunrise/Street Angel (1927/1928) was just a few days older than Winslet.
9. Leslie Caron, Lili (1953) was 22½
10. TIE! Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman (1990) and Winona Ryder, Little Women (1994) [more on Julia, more on Noni]
    They were both 23 years and 108 days old when they were Best Actress nominated. And here's another twin moment: it was the second nomination for both as they'd been previously honored in Best Supporting Actress.
    

    

    What's in the box? Your first BEST ACTRESS nomination!

    As you can already see this list skews quite a bit younger than the parallel "Ten Youngest Best Actor List which ends with a 27 year old.
    
11. Lynn Redgrave, Georgy Girl (1966) was 23. 
12. Liza Minnelli, The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) was 23. [more]
13. Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace (2004) was 23.
14. Carol Kane, Hester Street (1975) was 23.
15. Natalie Wood, Splendor in the Grass (1961) was also 23. [more]
16. Joan Fontaine, Rebecca (1940) was 23. [more]
17. Laura Dern, Rambling Rose (1991) was 24. [more]
18. Merle Oberon, The Dark Angel (1935) was 24. 
19. Jennifer Jones, The Song of Bernadette (1943) was 24. [more]
20.  Julie Christie, Darling (1965) was 24. [more]
21. Shirley Maclaine, Some Came Running (1958) was 24. [more]
22. Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday (1953) was 24. [more]
23.  Jeanne Crain, Pinky (1949) was 24.
24. Carey Mulligan, An Education (2009) was 24. [more]
25. Joan Fontaine, Suspicion (1941) was 24. (becoming the youngest actress to earn Two-Time Best Actress Nominee status.)
26.  Teresa Wright, Pride of the Yankees (1942) was 24. [more]
27. Elizabeth Taylor, Raintree County (1957) was 25. [more]
28. Audrey Hepburn, Sabrina (1954) was 25.
29. Carrol Baker, Baby Doll (1956) was 25.
30. Maggie McNamara, The Moon is Blue (1953) was 25.
31. Natalie Wood, Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) was 25.
32. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry (1999) was 25 [more]
33. Greta Garbo, Anna Christie/Romance (1929/1930) was 25. [more]
34. Carrie Snodgress, Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) was 25.
35. Gene Tierney, Leave Her To Heaven (1945) was 25. 
36. Grace Kelly, The Country Girl (1954) was 25. [more]

Audrey & Natalie (♥) are the runners up to Joan Fontaine's "youngest 
woman to achieve 'Two-Time Best Actress Nominee' status." They both did it 
by 25. (It was Natalie's 3rd nom, see also supporting, but she never won.)

26 year olds in chronological order are (winners in red): Katharine Hepburn, Morning Glory (1932/1933), Luise Rainer, The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Wendy Hiller, Pygmalian (1938), Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind (1939), Joan Fontaine, The Constant Nymph (1943), Jennifer Jones, Love Letters (1945), Elizabeth Taylor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Shirley Maclaine, The Apartment (1960), Samantha Eggar, The Collector (1965), Faye Dunaway, Bonnie & Clyde (1967), Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl (1968), Liza Minnelli, Cabaret (1972), Jodie Foster, The Accused (1988), Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love (1998), Samantha Morton, In America (2003), Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married (2008) and Gabourey Sidibe, Precious (2009).

Why did I stop there when the male list went to 30? Well, have you ever seen William Wyler's The Collector (1965) with Samantha Eggar and Terence Stamp?

Sexy Stockholm Syndrome: Stamp & Samantha in Sixty-Five

In the movie Terence Stamp plays an unbelievably sexy charismatic creep --perhaps he's just meant to be a creep but it's Stamp so --  who stalks and then kidnaps a beautiful young redhead (Eggar) who he takes to his lair intending to wine and dine her. It's easy to interpret it as a deeply symbolic film about The Academy Awards and their annual mauling/coopting of young actresses into Oscar's circus. "Get in the van missy, you're going to the Kodak!" [Where am I going with this?  Abort. Abort... Note to self: Blog Tourettes Medication. Look into it. Not all trains of thought need airing.] 

Ahem... You'll notice, perhaps sadly if you're a trivia nut like me, that this list does not include everyone up to the age of 30 as the corresponding Best Actor list did. Let me put it to you this way: in the whole history of the Academy Awards the Oscars have only nominated a leading man under thirty 22 times in 80+ years. I had planned to make this list exactly parallel, but I wasn't yet out of the 1930s (the 1930s!) and I was already past a top 25 and there was no way the list would ever be finished given that there were still 70+ years to go! So I decided I'd have to stop at age 26 and even then you can see that the numbers just explode.

In other words... Terence "Oscar" Stamp in The Collector! Here are The Girls from the past decade.

  Youngest Lead Actress Nominees of the Aughts

Do these lists make you feel old? Perhaps you aged just trying to make it through?

"Every Ending... Has a Beginning."

The Birds (1963) gets the prequel we definitely needed...


The Birds (The Prequel) from NYSUfilms on Vimeo.

... because everyone hates movies without exposition / backstory. [/sarcasm] I love the gentle spoofing of our modern need for all mystery to be explained to us "We had no answer... until now". Ha!

Apparently this prequel trailer for Alfred Hitchcock's classic The Birds is a year old. But I'm just seeing it now thanks to @mattriviera and @mattzollerseitz so it's new to @me... and a delightful start to my morning it was, too. Good morning!
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This Link Goes to 11

Live Feed Glee inspired political attack ad. Who knew an attack ad could be cute?
Kenneth in the (212) my friend Kenneth will be seen briefly in the new Mindy Cohn gay flick Violet Tendencies. When was the last time you heard "new Mindy Cohn flick"... let alone a gay one?
Pop Justice "Bad Romance" is one year old today. Kinda. Still love it.

This Leonardo TotallyLooksLike double got
saved on my computer months ago. Every time I
notice it I start giggling. So I must finally share.

Vulture worries that Thor's Frost Giants will battle for the home tree in Avatar. Please. Thor should be so lucky to be (favorably) compared to Avatar. I'm guessing. I am just sensing a terrible terrible movie coming our way.
IndieWire assures us that the Spirit Awards are returning to their Saturday afternoon by the beach tradition.
ArtsBeat Broadway cools down its celebrity lust... for the current moment at least.
Popbytes Speaking of... can you believe that The King's Speech is already planning its Broadway bow? It hasn't even opened in movie theaters yet!
MTV Ang Lee's Life of Pi gets one step closer to production by casting its lead actor 17 year-old Suraj Sharma
Just Jared Tom Hardy for Snow White and the Hunstman? I'm in. Just please let some of these new fairy tale movies NOT view Tim Burton's hideous Alice as something to emulate.

...and some artwork for you
Y'all don't comment on the art related posts but you're going to keep getting them because Nathaniel likes to draw and he loves the artists out there making the internet a more beautiful / whimsical / imaginative place. Deal!
Becky Cloonan "Sluts of Dracula" omg love these sketches. And the title is to undie for.
Austin Translation "Bitter Moments with Count Chocula" a wee Twilight dig.

Which movie...

...most reminds you of a happy night in your life? (It doesn't even have to be a happy movie to do so.)