Award season heats up
Hollywood by Choice
The 2012 Academy Award Nominations were announced Tuesday and as hoped for and expected, both Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer were nominated for the coveted award.
Here’s how it stands; in the category of Best Actress: Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”; Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”; Viola Davis, “The Help”; Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”; and Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn.”
In the Best Supporting Actress category: Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”; Jessica Chastain, “The Help”; Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”; Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”; and Octavia Spencer, “The Help.”
It’s early in the game, but here’s my prediction; I do believe Octavia Spencer will win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in “The Help.” Her performance as Minny Jackson brought comedy relief to “The Help,” which was admittedly hard to swallow at times because of what the Black women went through back in the day. She played the role flawlessly, and she touched in some of us a sense of rebellion and in others a sense of retribution, all the while being true to the character she portrayed on the screen. Don’t forget her character had a tough home life as well.
Spencer recently won a 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in “The Help.”
Davis is no stranger to the Academy Awards. She played Mrs. Miller in “Doubt,” for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2010.
No doubt, Davis was superb as Aibileen Clark in “The Help.” Her portrayal of this broken yet strong woman in the face of adversity was exceptional. You could tell by her walk, those deep eyes that have seen many rivers, and her shoulders that subtly drop in times of anger and confusion, but at the same time lift when her character takes a stand because she knows she’s on the side of right. Davis conveyed all those emotions without saying a word.
But she’s up against some stiff competition for the award in Streep and; but Oscar has been known to surprise us all.
We heartily congratulate Davis, and Spencer for their Academy Award nominations, and our prayers are with you both.
Gail can be reached at gail@hollywoodbychoice.com.
Actress Octavia Spencer walked away with the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 84th annual Academy Awards Show Sunday. Spencer’s character Minny Jackson in “The Help” aptly displayed her comedic as well as dramatic abilities and demonstrated how grounded an actress she is. Her grace and beauty warmed the audience and her sincere words touched the hearts of many. Spencer is the fifth Black actress to win in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Cross your fingers and hold your breath. It’s awards season, and Hollywood is already sizing up who is going to win the big prize—the coveted Oscar.
Unfortunately, the only African American contenders for an Oscar win in the actress categories are Viola Davis in the Best Actress category and Octavia Spencer in the Best Supporting Actress category for the Dreamworks film “The Help.”
The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) recently announced their 2011 awards.
The Black critics organization will also honor the special achievements of iconic actors Richard Roundtree and Hattie Winston, legendary filmmaker George Lucas and Sony Pictures Entertainment, during its third live awards ceremony on Jan. 8, at Light Space Studios, located at the historic Helm Bakery in Culver City, Calif.
Check your family history, and you just might find someone that was once referred to as “the help.” Black women, who cooked, cleaned and cared for the children of their employers, generally Whites.
Set in Mississippi, “The Help” is a rich, funny and at times disturbing look at Black women in the turbulent 1960s who made their living working in White households. It’s rich because the story of these women seems to have been swept under a rug, almost like a Black reality we don’t want to remember.
Media mogul Cathy Hughes made headlines recently when she gave her honest opinion about the roles Black women have portrayed in films that have garnered them Oscars, namely Halle Berry for the 2001 film “Monster’s Ball” and Mo’Nique for the 2009 film “Precious.” Both played rather unsavory characters who shocked and dismayed some moviegoers. But their outstanding performances thrust them into American film history.
