Oscar Buzz for 'Mamma Mia'?
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Awards, RumorMonger, Newsstand
Even when I started following the industry obsessively, I always wondered how it came to be that by October or November of each year, there would always be a fairly clear picture of who the Oscar "frontrunners" were, which films were falling out of the race, and sometimes even which movies are "locks" in certain categories I figured the buzz had to start somewhere -- and that to some extent, the tail had to be wagging the dog.Maybe it starts with glowing advance Hollywood Reporter reviews. Consider Ray Bennett on Meryl Streep in the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, due July 18th: "Streep is sensationally good in rendering the whole yarn credible and in making dramatically moving songs such as 'Slipping Through My Fingers,' sung to her departing daughter, and 'The Winner Takes It All' to a lost love. It's no stretch to think of her performance in Oscar terms, ranking with previous musical winners such as Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and Catherine Zeta-Jones."
So: is this that fabled "Oscar buzz" we keep hearing about, or just one dude sounding off about a movie he liked? Is this the first step toward Streep being a "Best Actress lock" come December? I wouldn't have put Mamma Mia! (or, for that matter, The Dark Knight) on my Oscar shortlist a few months ago -- looks too silly! The release date's all wrong! But I guess now that I've read The Hollywood Reporter, I'm supposed to think it's a contender. Right?
Or did you know that all along?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-02-2008 @ 4:53PM
Matty D. said...
I think that we can count on Streep being one of the five actresses nominated for the Best Actress category, but not for Mamma Mia. I think that her performance in this fall's adaptation of the John Patrick Shanley play "Doubt: A Parable" will create major Oscar buzz and perhaps place her as a frontrunner. Although I do expect a Best Actress - Musical or Comedy nomination at the Globes for her based upon her performance in this film. But, nobody knows anything, so this is just me guessing.
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7-02-2008 @ 12:44PM
Gordy said...
In my opinion, anything Ms. Streep touches is oscar worthy. I'm still mad bout 'The Devil Wears Prada.'
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7-02-2008 @ 4:43PM
Matthew Jones said...
I didn't have the same reaction as Ray Bennett. When I saw this trailer in the theater, I rolled my eyes about five times and cringed. I've never been a fan of musicals, so it's hard for me to read 'Oscar buzz' on this without spitting my coffee.
But I do agree with Ray that it will be interesting to see how many people see this rather than 'The Dark Knight' opening weekend. I will try to find one and make fun of them.
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7-05-2008 @ 7:51PM
Tim said...
Just a note - Zeta-Jones won Best Supporting not Best Actress.
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7-11-2008 @ 5:10PM
Robin said...
I think "The Dark Knight" will win the weekend just because of Heath Ledger. His death will bring in the money. Otherwise, the movie would not hae done very well (it's a remake!)
By the same token, "Mamma Mia" is an adaptation of a broadway musical to the big screen. What happened the last time someone tried to do this (ne "Rent")?
Abba fans will be flocking to see "Mamma Mia". If anything, the women will see that movie and the guys will head over to "Dark Knight". I'll just wait for the DVD's to come out.
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7-26-2008 @ 12:46AM
Shanda said...
I definatley hope Meryl is at least nominated for her role in "Mamma Mia!". I just seen the film a few hours ago.. and Meryl was fascinating in it. She delivered so well. It is all you can expect and more. Her performance singing "The Winner Takes It All" was beyond amazing. I really hope she is nominated. She absolutley deserves it!
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9-14-2008 @ 7:29PM
Brontegirl said...
I absolutely loved Mamma Mia and Winner Takes it All was amazing. I wasn't a Meryl Streep fan before this movies. What an incredible actress and an amazing performance!