Whedonesque : Comments on 13733 : Waitress considered Oscar Bait.

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July 15 2007

Waitress considered Oscar Bait. "Last month, Fox Searchlight began offering passes for academy and industry guild members to see Waitress and Once free in theaters, a privilege studios usually withhold until fall." A profile of the director, the late Adrienne Shelly, can be found in this Observer article (Warning: may induce a mournful sense of unbelievable waste).

Kristin on our favorite myspace noticed this.

Anonymous1 | Cast&Crew | 12:59 CET | 21 comments total | tags: nathan fillion, waitress, keri russell, adrienne shelly, andy griffith

havent we all always thought Nathan was Oscar worthy
Mmm would a best supporting actor nod make Serenity II more viable

rivergirl | July 15, 15:11 CET

Well what could Waitress be nominated for? Best screenplay, that sort of thing?

Simon | July 15, 16:50 CET

Simon, I would say for direction, screenplay and several acting categories, most especially for Keri and Nathan. Their performances were singled out heavily in most of the reviews.

Ninja MALi | July 15, 17:12 CET

I've added starbreez's article to this blog entry. I'm trying to keep relevant items together.

Simon | July 15, 18:10 CET

I actually can see this film easily being nominated for best picture, director, and actress, as well as art direction and original screenplay. It's easily the best film I've seen this year in those categories. I'm not sure Nathan got enough screentime for a nod, though. Could get one for supporting actor for Andy Griffith, though.

Meltha | July 15, 18:37 CET

I'm not sure Nathan got enough screentime for a nod, though.

Maybe as Best Suporting actor. After all, Judi Dench won for Best Supporting Actress in "Shakespeare in Love," and she only had 8 minutes of screentime.

I think, though, Andy Griffith may be up for a nod, because he's a great actor and an American icon, but has rarely been honored throughout his career.

Nebula1400 | July 15, 19:01 CET

You can say that again, Nebula1400. Just rent a copy of "A Face In The Crowd", and you'd know he's much more than Andy Taylor and Matlock. If he had more chances, and the public would have accepted him as something besides those two roles, he would have been honored more.
I think it's much more likely Andy, Nathan and Keri may get more attention from the Independent Spirit Awards, but we can hope. Bribing Academy members with pie should work, too.

impalergeneral | July 15, 19:36 CET

Unfortunately I didn't get to see Waitress when it was out. But since it's mentioned as well... I did see Once, and it was excellent! I definitely recommend it. It's sort of a modern musical so I hope that it gets an Oscar nod for its music at least.

fortunateizzi | July 15, 19:45 CET

I think that Nebula1400 is right: Hollywood loves to recognize their aging icons before it is too late, and Andy Griffth's performance in Waitress was wonderful (a small role but pivotal to the plot).
I definitely think that it is a contender for Best Screenplay, and that Keri gave one of the outstanding performances we have seen so far (we'll have to see what the Fall releases bring, but I can't think of many great roles for women so far this year).

And fortunateizzi: Waitress is still in the theaters, mostly in smaller/independent theaters. You might check around for it (and I agree, Once is a lovely film!).

embers | July 15, 20:50 CET

I would see it getting something for its wonderful sets, but my guess is that Adrienne will get a sentimental (albeit well-deserved) posthumous nod for direction and/or writing.

OzLady | July 15, 20:52 CET

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about Adrienne getting the posthumous nod. She does deserve it, and not just because of her unfortunate circumstance.

I'm going to have to agree about Once. Wonderful film, and I hope we see it win something, opening the gate for more smaller indie/foreign films and modern approaches to the musical concept.

nathanieletc | July 15, 22:42 CET

Bribing Academy members with pie should work, too.
Yeah, the pie after the movie is a crucial mnemonic device. Maybe gift certificates to the nearest good pie place with the free passes?

dreamlogic | July 15, 23:01 CET

imdb.com US map of Waitress screenings

Also remember to check with your art and university theaters. They might get on the list. Waitress just came last weekend to a First run theater 30 minutes from me! It had been an hour away before.

So if theaters request it, Fox Searchlight is still sending Waitress out.

Anonymous1 | July 15, 23:01 CET

FYI: there are spoilers for Waitress in the Observer article. It is a great article, though.

I thought Waitress was full of excellent performances (including the Captain), but oddsmaking-wise I think Andy Griffith has the best chance at an acting nod. BTW, I heard an interview with Andy Griffith on NPR weekend edition back in May. I loved how he described reading the script for the first time, and then working with Adrienne Shelly. It's a quick listen if you're interested, and there's some interesting bits about Griffith's full career as well.

[ edited by ThereUR on 2007-07-16 22:45 ]

ThereUR | July 15, 23:16 CET

Bribing Academy members with pie should work, too.

Naughty Oscar Pie!

Nebula1400 | July 16, 01:15 CET

The Adrienne Shelly article is just heartbreaking. Ouch. The fact that she died over something as senseless as that just rips at you.

But yeah, chock full of spoilers. Made me very glad I'd already seen the film.

Emma | July 16, 02:35 CET

Have not seen Waitress yet but Once is by far the best film I've seen this year.

The Hey | July 16, 04:54 CET

Haven't had a chance to see the film yet so I'm glad I came to the "comments" first. From what I've read, shouldn't there be a SPOILER tag?
I agree that this kind of film usually has a better chance for awards at festivals and maybe the afore mentioned Independent Spirit awards. Although the Academy sometimes recognizes little indies with nominations .... Sideways comes to mind .... they hardly ever win, in any catagory.

Shey | July 16, 05:42 CET

I've been more or less spoiled rotten about "Waitress", but I still can't wait to see it when it's released on the 30th of August here in Australia. It sounds like a really moving film.

non sequitur | July 16, 14:57 CET

Here is your daily dose of trivia: Waitress was actually originally staged as an off-Broadway play in New York a few years ago. Gretchen Mol played the Jenna role and Paul Rudd played the Nathan Fillion gyno role. (See Waitress on Stage) This means that it couldn't be nominated for Best Original Screenplay but instead would have to be in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

Y'all can carry on now.

BrewBunny | July 16, 21:55 CET

Um, actually, BrewBunny, it's STILL a Best Original Screenplay. Your link leads to a story about a staged reading, which is not a play. Staged readings happen all the time, where a writer gets actor friends to read, literally read, their script on a stage (usually sitting at a table, not acted out) so that the writer can get a feeling of how the script sounds, what an audience's reaction is, what actors feel about the script, sometimes even using it as a way to "audition" the script for potential funders or producers. It's NOT a play performance.

As you say, carry on! :)

swanland | July 17, 02:27 CET

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