I get very excited about the upturns some actors and actresses' careers take following awards season, especially when those performers end up Oscar winners. I always enjoyed reading the post-Oscar write-ups on "What's Next for ____?", though it's less of a thrill nowadays because I typically already know what is in their pipeline. For example, thanks to Variety, I now know that Amy Ryan will be co-starring in Paul Greengrass' "untitled Iraq war thriller". She joins the movie, along with Greg Kinnear, which already starred Matt Damon (who has worked with Greengrass on two Bourne films) and which reportedly began filming in Spain yesterday. While Kinnear and Damon will both play CIA agents involved in the search for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Ryan has been cast as a New York Times correspondent investigating the WMD investigation. A front-runner for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (for Gone Baby Gone), Ryan has already had one heck of a year (she also appeared in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and Dan in Real Life). In fact, I'm sure I'm not the only one to admit I'd never heard of her until 2007. But she may still not be a household name, and that should surely change following her expected win (she's also the best bet for the Golden Globe this Sunday). The supporting actress category is sometimes a bit of a joke, as it was throughout most of the 1990s (starting with Whoopi and ending with Angelina, with a Mira in the middle), but Ryan is hopefully going to be one of the few actresses that shows us how much she deserves the accolades by continuing to take respectable roles. In addition to Greengrass' film, Ryan will be co-starring in Clint Eastwood's The Changeling, which also stars Angelina (whose "What's Next ... " in 1999 included Gone in 60 Seconds and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider). By the way, for those not keeping track, after making The Changeling, Ryan will have worked with four of the ten 1990s supporting actress Oscar winners (Marisa Tomei is in Before the Devil; Juliette Binoche and Dianne Wiest are both in Dan). Perhaps Greengrass can find a part in his new film for Anna Paquin?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-10-2008 @ 11:19AM
Brian said...
I think only fans of "The Wire" would know who she was prior to 2007.
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1-10-2008 @ 5:52PM
Marty said...
Yet another film about Iraq and how Americans are so evil and barbaric and Muslim extremists are just misunderstood freedom fighters and Islam is a religion of peace. No doubt another box office flop!
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1-11-2008 @ 2:44PM
Jen said...
She's great in "The Wire" -- any accolades for actors attached to that show are much deserved. I need to see "Gone Baby Gone".
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1-13-2008 @ 11:19AM
elessar said...
It seems we have a Foxbot in our midst. Marty: why don't you wait and find out what the film is about before bashing it in such a racist manner--BTW, Islam IS a religion of peace and those preaching violence are no more representative of Islam than right-wing hypocrites like Ted Haggard and Larry Craig are representative of Christianity.
The film, which may be titled THE GREEN ZONE, is based on the book IMPERIAL LIFE IN THE EMERALD CITY, which chronicles the gross mismanagement of Iraq by the US Provisional Authority. The film itself will most likely center on the characters (Ryan's NYT corresspondent and Damon aand Kinnear's CIA agents) uncovering the depth of that incompetence. I highly doubt religion will figure in the film save perhaps in passing.
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