What's her movie about? BTW, congratulations, Ms. Adams! ;-)

billz | January 31, 20:40 CET

I knew she looked familiar! That made the trailer all the more creepy... now I have to see it. Here's Netflix's description:

gingeriffic | January 31, 20:54 CET

I've not seen it, but Junebug has been getting great reviews and most have singled Adams out as remarkable.

I've enjoyed seeing her in The Office (US). Note that she's not the only person with a Whedonverse connection in that show, the actor that plays Roy was the demon Skip on Angel in seasons 3 and 4.

Fun to watch the webs of Whedon spin their way through TV and film.

And with all those stream of consciousness jumps, I'm done.

Biff Turkle | January 31, 21:25 CET

Amy also took the 'SMG' role in Cruel Intentions II. And Hilary Swank from the original Buffy movie has won a couple of Acadamy awards.

Edited because spelling is our friend.

[ edited by zz9 on 2006-01-31 20:50 ]

zz9 | January 31, 22:20 CET

I laugh everytime I watch "Family" and Tara says: "Cousin Beth." There's something very funny about that to me...

MySerenity | January 31, 22:34 CET

That's all very well and good… but it doesn't change the fact that a regular from Dawson's Creek has been nominated for an Oscar before a regular from Buffy.

Sorry to be such a bring-down.

Son Of Shadow | January 31, 22:51 CET

In all fairness, MW was fantastic in Brokeback Mountain.

MySerenity | January 31, 23:28 CET

Dude, Michelle Williams deserved it! Can't begrudge her that. Actually, I think she should have been nominated for "Dick". She was killer in that. She's got the goods, and considering she's been trudging about her independent career while other Creekers got all the press, I'm pleased as hell she made good. Same goes, of course, for Amy, who's a sweetie, and apart from being supertalented, sang all of "Part of your World" at lunch with me while we were filming Buffy, and has a slightly -- SLIGHTLY -- better Ariel-voice than I do. On the whole, I'd say these are the least offensive oscar noms I've seen in a while.

joss | January 31, 23:29 CET

I think it's kind of cute that for a moment in The Office it seemed like Adams' character and Denman's character really got along whereas their respective Buffy-verse characters would probably have loathed each other.

...And now that I've got a Buffy connection out of the way, I'm just really bummed that Gong Li didn't get a nod for best supporting actress given how vicious her character is in Memoirs of a Geisha when English isn't even a primary language for her (or even in the top three if I remember correctly).

Also, no Serenity but I guess that shouldn't have really been hoped for anyway. I'm surprised it's Sci-fi competition of Star Wars didn't get a visual effects nomination though.

orangewaxlion | January 31, 23:30 CET

I've been itching to see Junebug ever since Roger Ebert started heaping praise on it. Plus it has Ben McKenzie in it, and that never hurts.

The Oscar noms overall were pretty great, and I'm especially proud of Brokeback and its stellar cast being nominated. Too bad something like The 40-Year-Old Virgin couldn't have wrangled a Best Screenplay nod...but ya know, they can't nominate a COMEDY.

MindPieces | January 31, 23:36 CET

My Oscar dream is that Heath Ledger's name is called and upon taking the stage to receive his Oscar, her glares down at the crowd and pronounces, "You have been weighed. You have been measured. And you have been found wanting."

rbt | January 31, 23:40 CET

His purple (mountains?) majesty is right, all in all these are the least offensive (and that is the right word) oscar noms in a while, all things considered. Now if we could get similar from the Grammy folks.

bobtaylor - That would be fine by me :D Must see TV, that would be ;)

zeitgeist | January 31, 23:46 CET

I've actually SEEN Junebug. And yes, it was quite good. Definitely deserving of an Oscar nod.

Septimus | January 31, 23:54 CET

Amy was also in the bizarro beach thing with Nicky Brendon, wasn't she?

Son of Shadow, it's about the actors, sure, but it also hugely about the material. I can see the BtVS/AtS regulars getting Oscar nods if they're involved in the kind of movie that gets Academy attention. Talent, good agent, luck in the timing - yep, that about covers it.

SoddingNancyTribe | January 31, 23:55 CET

Cousin Beth, yo! Must see the movie now. Her character looks like a trip.

MW was the best thing about Dawson's Creek (yes, I admit I watched it). I hated it when they left for college. I finally saw Brokeback Mountain the other night, and MW's character broke my heart. That was some damn, fine acting.

Did anyone catch the SAG awards? Is it just me, or did Heath Ledger act odd while he was presenting with Jake? It was almost like he was embaressed by the fact that he played a gay man. Was it just me? Hubby and I both were like "OK, what was *that* about?". I hope it was just me. Maybe he was acting funny due to lots of alcohol consumed that night. He was amazing in this film.

Harmalicious | February 01, 00:15 CET

I had no clue Amy Adams was in "Family!" That's why she looked so familiar to me in Junebug. If you haven't seen it, the movie is definitely worth checking out. I loved it when I saw it a number of months ago, and particularly loved Amy's performance - she was luminous, and brought such an innocence and grace to her role.
Also, I second Joss's contention that Michelle WIlliams fully deserved that nomination - She was brilliant in Brokeback Mountain. Still, having seen both performances, I'm pulling for Amy....

acp | February 01, 00:16 CET

Harm, I thought they both (Jake and Heath) giggled like little girls, although Jake did try to pull it together towards the end of their intro. You'd think they'd be prouder of Brokeback, and try to present it with more dignity, instead of shyly tittering at one another throughout.

The SAG awards were ok, but it seemed like every few seconds Desperate Housewives was winning something else. Can't stand that show, or those over-exposed women (well, that's not really true, I love Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman is also great - in OTHER things).

Willowy | February 01, 00:35 CET

Willowy - with you on the DH thing. I was actually amused by it (largely because of Felicity (can I get a shout for Sports Night? and Teri), but I found that I stopped caring and deleted a half dozen unwatched eps off my TiVo a while back.

zeitgeist | February 01, 00:44 CET

Willowy, so you noticed too? It wasn't just us. Too bad. It's like, "OK, we all know you *aren't* gay, we get it". I did enjoy Sean Haye's acceptance speach, poking a little bit of fun at them.

Harmalicious | February 01, 00:55 CET

Maybe they were stoned.

I enjoyed Sean H's speech also. He's a very funny guy (and looks exactly like one of my instructors at art school, which really has nothing to do with anything except that it always amused me...).

Willowy | February 01, 00:59 CET

Gah... I can't believe that god-awful 'Hard Out Here for a Pimp' is nominated for best song - it's so painful, and it was even more painful listening to them making it in the movie

(cue lame melody) "what about... You know it's hard out here for a pimp?"
terrence howard - that's amazing! you rock!

I roll my eyes in shame.

aapac | February 01, 01:05 CET

Well, I'm hoping at least that the fact that there were only three "best song" nominees might be some indication that Academy members are finally waking up to the fact that it's a lame category that should be done away with. As should the tradition of playing all those songs during the Oscars.
I haven't seen Hustle & Flow yet, but i just got it on Netflix and am looking forward to it... So i know nothing about the song, but I did love Terrence Howard in "Crash," and have heard he's excellent in H & F as well.

All in all, I found the oscar noms hardly surprising, but for the most part pretty satisfactory. There are only a few things I would have wished truly different, unlike most years (and for the life of me I can't understand all the accolades for Good Night and Good Luck - it was perfectly fine as a movie, and certainly an extremely compelling topic, but I thought it was poorly directed and not nearly as great as it could have been. But I guess I'm the only one who thinks that....)

acp | February 01, 01:12 CET

bobtaylor said...



And if he loses, maybe Alan Tudyk could get up on stage and threaten to 'Fong everyone, and pain, lots and lots of pain' ;).

Don't have too much trouble with these noms, they seem to be pretty merit based (I thought 'A History of Violence' might get a best picture nod but I guess 'Good Night...' was considered worthier - haven't seen it yet so can't comment either way).

BTW, check us out, the big man weighs in and here we are all like cool 'n' shit and whatever ;).

Saje | February 01, 01:54 CET

It seemed like Amy Adams was heading somewhere, because she seems to be in EVERYTHING.

Good Night, and Good Luck was a very good movie, but it wasn't a "big" movie. If nothing else, I'd love to see David Straithairn get an Oscar for it, because he was perfect in it (as he is in anything he's in). Still, the choices this year are the best I've seen in a long time.

Joss should have written a song for "Serenity." There's no competition in that category! Could you imagine him singing at the Oscars? ;-)

Nebula1400 | February 01, 02:09 CET

Saje, I was sorry about the virtual shut-out for "A History of Violence," too. I thought it was brilliant. I also thought The Squid and the Whale deserved more love, and it infuriated me that the documentary committee didn't think Grizzly Man was worthy even of being considered a candidate for nomination - it was SO much better than the penguin fest that's getting all the attention (not that that wasn't cute, but in terms of great documentary? I'd go with Werner Herzog).
I was also sorry that Caché wasn't eligible for the foreign language category. And would have liked to see some more supporting actor noms for Crash. And there's that whole not understanding the greatness of "Good Night..." that I mentioned earlier. But for the most part, I don't have big complaints, unlike in other years. And so many of the performances I loved - Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who was brilliant, Heath Ledger, Amy Adams, Michelle Williams, Paul Giamatti, Rachel Weisz, Catherine Keener, etc - actually got recognized.

ETA: My problem with Good Night wasn't its smallness, Nebula1400 - I generally prefer small movies. I just thought it was very poorly paced and directed. I too love David Strathairn, but compared to the other competition this year I have to say he's the weakest. Not that he wasn't great, just that i didn't think it was as challenging a role as the others, or that he pushed himself particularly.
As for a Serenity song... Yes! That could have been its in in the nominations! Plus, the chance to hear Joss sing. Next time... :-)

[ edited by acp on 2006-02-01 00:19 ]

acp | February 01, 02:14 CET

I actually reviewed "Junebug" at Sundance last year and didn't recognize Amy -- but boy, did she impress me in that movie. Now that I think about it, it might easily have been the single most impressive performance I saw last year by anybody. I had mixed feelings about the film itself, though not about the acting.

I too would have liked to see more noms for "A History of Violence" which is my official favorite movie this year. (I took "Serenity" out of competition.) But at least William Hurt's truly spectacular contribution got recognized.

[ edited by bobster on 2006-02-01 00:23 ]

bobster | February 01, 02:22 CET

I knew I'd seen that girl somewhere before. Aww, check out the one-shot Buffy alum getting down with their bad Academy-Award-nominated selves. And a fan of 'The Little Mermaid' too! Uberkudos Amy. I can see her up there collecting her Oscar now.. "Look at this stuff, Isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the giiiiirl, The girl who has.. everything" (*stopping now*)

I gotta say I'm pretty damn thrilled that 'Brokeback..' has done as well as it has. I never would've thought it possible. They're predicting near-on 100million box office by Oscar time. That just blows my mind. Being a total Annie Proulx book snob, I was VERY apprehensive to hear Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams had been cast, but by gum if they didn't (both!) drop an a-bomb on my snooty preconceptions! They're both amazing in the film. Really. How Michelle managed to deliver that "Jack Nasty" line convincingly is beyond me...

And here's a sentence I would've bet a kidney I'd never type; I think Heath Ledger should win that Oscar. Yes, even after seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman in 'Capote', I still think Heath should win. Boy sold his soul to something to come out with that performance, I swear.

And Ang Lee. Ang Lee. Give him his damn statuette now. The man doesn't storyboard. How, HOW, is that possible?? Tai Chi? I tell ya, I could tai my chi to a dolly track for a month.. I'd STILL have to storyboard 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'.

(Oooh, does anyone want some gossip? Apparently quite a few people were seriously not-amused by Jake and Heath's gigglefest at the SAG awards. Apparently there had to be damage-control phonecalls made post-show. Apparently (some are saying) it could actually hurt their chances at the Oscars.. :o )

Bad Kitty | February 01, 02:29 CET

I haven't seen any of those films that got nominated (and that includes the ones for Best Supporting Lobster). Does that make me a bad person?

Simon | February 01, 02:29 CET

Yes, Simon, I'm afraid it does.

Special hell. Go.

Bad Kitty | February 01, 02:34 CET

Oh no, the apparent news about Jake and Heath kind of sucks. I'm pretty sure they were drunk, and also, consider the horrid lines they had to speak, as well as the problematic teleprompter that I hear only Dakota Fanning had no issues with. (That girl's kinda creepy, when you think about it...) They certainly could've acted more professionally in that presentation, but, again... The lines, dammit! Who the hell writes that crap?!

hrlo | February 01, 02:42 CET

I've seen none of the big guns either. Not a one. Aside from Matchpoint, the only movies I've caught this year have been either the big fantasy epics (Kong, Batman, Sith), or anything that I could take the kids to (Narnia, Goblet of Fire, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). So, as usual, my Oscar opinions will be uninformed to the max. OTOH, not having seen the films increases my chances of winning the sweepstakes.

SoddingNancyTribe | February 01, 02:50 CET

I really don't believe Heath is embarassed over playing a gay man, or embarassed about Brokeback Mountain at all. I watched Oprah's Brokeback Mountain show last week and both Jake and Heath said they were proud of the movie and they would do anything for it, meaning all the publicity.

The vibe I got from Heath is that he's very shy (this was even pointed out in the show) and kind of embarassed to have all that attention. I mean, those Oprah women were screaming when Heath and Jake came out on stage, like they were The Beatles or something. They both looked suprised and amusedly embarassed by it all.

From what I've heard of awards shows is it's entirely contrived and awkward when presenting and receiving awards. I imagine both Heath and Jake needed the silliness to deal with all that fake Hollywood hoopla.

I wouldn't think much of it. I'm sure they both are happy and proud of their performances or they wouldn't be out there promoting the film the way they are.

[ edited by ElectricSpaceGirl on 2006-02-01 01:36 ]

electricspacegirl | February 01, 03:32 CET

Ah, good to see Joss agreeing about Michelle Williams. She was absolutely fantastic in Brokeback Mountain, and most definitely deserved her Oscar.

And, yes, Amy Adams is wonderful in Junebug and most certainly deserves her nomination...and to win. I didn't even know she had been on Buffy until after I saw the film.

Of course, Joss, you deserve some Oscar love for Serenity, but unfortunately, that did not happen. Y'ask me, I'd take you over Ang Lee any day. ;-)

UnpluggedCrazy | February 01, 03:36 CET

I'll admit, I didn't make it to any of the top5 movies, which is a rarity for me, but, this was an odd movie-going year for me. I did, however, go see Serenity 8 times.

I wish Serenity had appeared on the nominations, but, am not at all surprised it didn't.

Anyway, I have Crash Netflixed, and will go and get tickets to the others soon.

k8cre8 | February 01, 03:50 CET

acp, not seen Squid... or Grizzly Man (both due out in the spring over here I think) but History was excellent, probably my best of 2005 (tho' I think Serenity was my most enjoyable, hey it's my twisted rationalisation and i'm sticking to it ;). As bobster says William Hurt was fantastic, not necessarily his usual type of role but he filled it completely, tho' I also think Viggo Mortensen did a great job with a much less showy part, really capturing the progressive pollution of his present by his past (the way his face changed during the violent episodes was eerily convincing). In fact all the parts were well played and I kind of expected it to be all over the nominations. Is Cronenberg out of favour for some reason ?

Re: Serenity song, am I the only one that immediately thinks of 'Paint Your Wagon' and Mal rumbling out an almost sub-sonic 'Wandering Star' ? ;)

Saje | February 01, 03:51 CET

Which, in all fairness, they would pretty well have to say in order to work in Hollywood again, regardless of their actual feelings. Not saying they aren't proud of it, or that they, just that things that people say on press junkets or appearances aren't necessarily anyones feelings but the studios'.

zeitgeist | February 01, 03:58 CET

There's a little thing about this years' Oscar "seriousness" on the Yahoo news (UK) frontpage at the moment (all my talents and yet I can't.. seem to.. hotlink..), if anyone wants to read it.

Personally, I can't wait to hear what Bill O'Reilly has to say about the five nominated pictures... I think the Academy might've actually voted JUST to annoy him this year. Great stuff.

Bad Kitty | February 01, 04:10 CET

I couldn't agree more. I'm happy about the William Hurt nom, but would have also loved to see them for Viggo, Maria Bello (who i thought was terrific) and for Ed Harris. But for some reason, as you say, Cronenberg - and this movie - seems to be out of favor. Too bad....

acp | February 01, 04:12 CET

Damn straight, Saje.

And then afterward, the would-be sequel, "A Pirate's Tale," will be greenlit immediately.

Ahh, the dreams of a unabashed "A Knight's Tale" fan...

rbt | February 01, 04:30 CET

Rightly or wrongly, it seems to me if Heath Ledger (or Jake Gyllenhaal) had a serious problem with playing a gay man, or with the content of the story of 'Brokeback Mountain', he probably would not have taken the role. I would assume Ledger and Gyllenhaal are two actors lucky enough to have reached a stage where they do not need to pursue every role that happens to come there way. My guess is they signed up to this film because they really wanted to be involved in it.

Having said that, I must admit I have not seen the Screen Actors Guild footage referred to in this thread, although none of the reports I had read before now make specific reference to Ledger's behaviour.

On the the more general subject of the Oscar nominations, it's definitely a very strong line-up this year. I do hope Reese Witherspoon gets Best Actress. Other than that, I have no particular favourites, although I have to say 'Brokeback Mountain' was a wonderful film with several fine performances. If Best Supporting Actress were to go to Michelle Williams it would be a deserved win, I think.

alien lanes | February 01, 04:59 CET

Question (which I don't think has a logical answer): Why is Reese Witherspoon considered a "best actress" nominee while Rachel Weisz is "best supporting." Their roles were certainly equal. I would have considered Rachel Weisz best actress as well, although arguably both women were somewhat in the shadow of their respective films' men, Joaquin Phoenix and Ralph Fiennes (in a criminally overlooked performance).
I think it just comes down to which award the studio thinks the actor as a better chance of winning, but it bothers me that there's no real distinction between the two categories.

acp | February 01, 07:44 CET

Well, concerning Heath and Jake, I think I've heard that they're are a little bit embarrassed about the pure physical stuff in the movie. Sort like if you've, after one very wet night out, made out with some one you probably shouldn't and the next day EVERYONE knows it. Which I think is fair, after all they're two straight guys playing two gay guys. To boot they come across as kinda shy, especially Heath. But when it comes to the movie and the concept itself they're nothing but immensely proud of it.

I'm pretty happy with the nominees overall aswell. Only thing that kinda bugs me is that there were too few surprises and apparently every movie worth watching is still made in North America, or possibly in the UK (or not). Most notably, there's a thundering lack of Caché in that list but I'm not gonna grovel. Atleast Howl got a surprise nom there in Animation which makes me happy.

Oh, someone mentioned choosing Joss over Ang Lee. Got me thinking and... Anyone else that feels that a Joss directed "The Ice Storm" would just be one of the most interesting ideas ever?

Djungelurban | February 01, 07:55 CET

I agree, completely. I heard that Caché wasn't eligible for the best foreign language picture since its director is Austrian but the movie is French, so neither country would submit it – and according to the Academy's ridiculous rules for foreign-language eligibility, each country has to enter the one movie they want considered. (There are also ridiculous rules for the documentary competition, well explained in this NYT article.)
And, of course, the Academy would never - or very very rarely, with occasional exceptions for people like Almodóvar and Meirelles) – recognize a foreign-language film in a mainstream category.

acp | February 01, 08:12 CET

Actually, I think Austria submited it but it was rejected, probably due to the movie being produced in France. The Oscars eligibility rules are really truly terrible.

Djungelurban | February 01, 08:38 CET

It's actually not too surprising that "A History of Violence" didn't get a boatload of nominations. Oscar loves movies that wear their thoughtfulness/social concerns on that sleeves -- not ones that make unsettling insinuations the way Cronenberg and Josh Olson do. This also may be another reason, aside from the vagaries of the Best Foreign Language category, that Cache was ignored, despite being so powerful that, for me, anyway, it was impossible to sit through!

And the Ledger/Gyllenhall thing puts me in mind of the time I went to see the premiere of Greg ("Mysterious Skin") Arraki's little known first feature. I was sitting next to the older brother of one of the stars and when the story had him kissing a guy, the brother -- a highly intelligent lefty political activist and thoroughly non-homophobic -- became, for lack of a better express, as giggly as a schoolgirl. It was just hysterical to him to see his younger brother kissing another guy.

bobster | February 01, 09:29 CET

I need to see Cache. I loved Haneke's Le Pianiste, so if I have time this weekend, maybe I'll see Cache.

Invisible Green | February 01, 09:32 CET

Argh, as always when the Oscar noms come around, I'm highly annoyed at the Dutch release dates. Crash has been out for a while over here, and as such I've seen it. Munich has been out for less than a week now, so I haven't gotten round to seeing it yet, but I probably will soonish. The other three movies haven't even hit theatres here yet, with Capote being the worst offender, only hitting Dutch theatres in June, for crying out loud. Sigh.

GVH | February 01, 11:24 CET

Oh my god, I just realized that Joss responded to my post. Just for the record, I was joking. I have no problem with Michelle Williams. I'm also a big fan of Dick…umm, the movie that is, and I wish her all the best.

Wow, I've become such a glib ironist (or as the British say, sarcastic git), that I've fooled Joss Whedon. I don't know whether to be highly proud or deeply ashamed.

Son Of Shadow | February 01, 13:52 CET

Such a cutie, that red-head is. Okay, enough about Joss, more on the current Oscar nominee. I just read a little blurb about Junebug and it sounds like a nice little movie. I would see it if I had easier access to those movies.

Joss + The Little Mermaid singalong = A dream come true!
No, seriously. There's nothing that would could me happier. Nothing. Seriously.

Arabchick | February 13, 11:21 CET