Oscar Divas: Where Was Jack Nicholson, Javier Bardem, Etc ...?
Filed under: Awards, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand, Oscar Watch
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The Academy Awards are known for their traditions (among many other things), and this year you may have noticed that some of those traditions were broken. Jack Nicholson wasn't sporting a pair of dark sunglasses and a devilish grin from the front row, Javier Bardem wasn't in attendance to help present the Oscar for best supporting actor and, likewise, Daniel Day-Lewis wasn't there to help present the best actor award. Granted, Oscar's tradition of the prior year's best actor and actress winners (in supporting and lead) presenting the latest award to the opposite sex was ditched in favor of a same sex group thing -- but that still shouldn't have given last year's winners an excuse not to show up. After all, both Marion Cotillard and Tilda Swinton were there.So where was everyone? The Envelope did a little digging and were informed via a few secret sources that, originally, Jack Nicholson was asked to participate as part of a group for the best supporting actor award (and most likely be the one to speak of Ledger's Joker performance), but ducked out because he only wanted to present alone. Meanwhile, Bardem (who won best supporting actor last year for No Country for Old Men) didn't show because he was suffering from a back injury. Day-Lewis, however, had a much lamer excuse: he was tired. Not only was the best actor winner for There Will Be Blood against the group thing as well, but he was also apparently too tired from work on his new film Nine to show up and present.
Wow, so what's up with this group thing? Sure, I wasn't crazy about it, but it's a little sad when your ego is so big you demand to be on stage alone ... at the Academy Awards, no less. What do you folks think? Do these actors need to get over themselves or do they have every right to present solo?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-09-2009 @ 3:36PM
Kurt Munro said...
They have every right to present solo. Why would they want to be paired up with some punk they don't know just because some producer wants them to? What's so magical about having more than one person present?
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3-09-2009 @ 4:05PM
Dan said...
You could likely make a case for both, but it's a little silly to not be a part of it just because you can't be alone. And hell, it isn't as if they wouldn't be in good company! But really it sounds to me like the only one with a legit excuse is Bardem. I never liked Daniel Day Lewis, so it figures that he'd be a punk.
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3-09-2009 @ 6:44PM
Justin said...
Fuck it. Those guys are legends in their own right. If they don't feel like showing up to present, who says they are obligated?
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3-10-2009 @ 2:29AM
MIND DANCER said...
Agreed.
If I were successful in this field on the level of those three artists, than I would be focused on my craft and not too worried about going to some over glamorized vanity party.
They are at a point where they don't need to go and network or build hype for there name by attending and being 'seen'. They are established and talented and working regularly.
3-09-2009 @ 4:24PM
Mike said...
In their defense, maybe it wasn't the group aspect that turned them off the idea. Maybe it was the lame speeches they had to give about how brave the actors were and other such nonsense. But, then again, the speeches are always kinda lame.
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3-09-2009 @ 5:07PM
Jim said...
Mike has a point. Traditionally they had just read the nominees and announced the winner. In order to make the group idea work, they couldn't just say a name - that would have been dumb and awkward. So producers came up with idea of writing for them some sentimental crap (sometimes warranted, sometimes not) that each of the five had to read. So maybe it wasn't that Jack Nicholson thought that presenting with four other former talented winners was beneath him, but that laying sappy praise on another actor might come off as disingenuous (ESPECIALLY from Nicholson, who tends to like to goof around at those events).
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3-09-2009 @ 7:35PM
tgillett said...
Why is Daniel Day-Lewis a 'punk'? He's never been one who would seek out the spotlight. When he does a movie, he is well-documented as the hardest working actor in show business. So why is it far-fetched for him to be tired? So what if he wants to stay away and be with his family? Am I the only one who thinks this years nominations were more about puffing up the egos of the presenters than they were about the nominees themselves? I mean, when else in Oscar history did the presenters get a video package to introduce them?
People seem to loath Day-Lewis, the greatest actor of our time, because he refuses to conform to the life of a Hollywood A-List movie star. They hate that he doesn't live his life in front of a camera so everyone can put him under a magnifying glass. He wants to stay home instead of attending the Academy Awards? Well get over it, it's refreshing to see a star with a legitimate lack of self-importance.
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3-10-2009 @ 10:21AM
Astin said...
Day-Lewis saying he's tired is par for the course for him. He's never shown an interest in the Hollywood machine, and only does movies he finds interesting (and seemingly only after much convincing). It could be just as much about him wanting nothing to do with the dog-and-pony show this year as the group thing.
As for Nicholson - I agree with the sentiment that he was probably more against whatever lame script he'd be asked to read. I didn't watch the Oscars this year, but a 5-person presentation committee sounds convoluted and ridiculous. The academy once again shows it doesn't have a clue.
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3-13-2009 @ 1:02AM
Dan said...
I don't think " many " people loath Daniel Day-Lewis, I just think he's highly misunderstood. He doesn't like the Hollywood press machine, and he did a whole heck a lot of it last year. Three months worth every day. And after the hard training and concentration it took to do Nine, it's very understadable if he didn't want to show. Plus, I agree with anyone who thought the group presentations were lame. Reading off a teleprompter. Walken screwing up his dialogue for Michael Shannon. It was weak. Go back to tradition where the previous winner presents. Old school. Just works better and doesn't take as long either. Go back to showing a clip of their performance too. That was sorely missing.
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3-17-2009 @ 8:38AM
kitvancleave said...
Marion Cotillard is a team player; she's always on time, does what she's asked, works hard, is enormously gifted, polite and humble. Swinton is still building her Hollywood resume, and so would want to cooperate, but is also willing to work with others. But then, successful women are more flexible than men, with less to prove about their personal importance.
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