0 Page 4 -The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. -March 4, 1993 Judy Davis combines the intensity of old movie stars like Bette Davis with a modern feminist sensibility. The Groeat Australian One... I 1 1 E t l 1 c 1 E I i i i I i I 1 Hypocrisy at th( by Chris Lepley That's all well and good, but that's It's Oscar time once again. A time not how the Academy works, child. when the rest of the free world gets a Hundreds of thousands of films come glimpse into just how those wacky outinoneyearandthosepoorAcademy people in Hollywood think. A time for members have to narrow the nomina- those egomaniacal actors, writers and tions down to just five in each category. directors (and all those other unneces- They can't possibly hope to include sary people who alsohappen to workon every fine performance, and some just movies like editors, composers, cin- get overlooked. So you really shouldn't ematographers, etc.) to drop their pre- complain - they do the best they can. tensions and give credit where credit is Bullshit. Their best just isn't good due. After all, the ballots are secret, enough, that's the plain truth. And to right? There's no popularity contest at solve the problem they use a little con- work here, the Oscars are based entirely vention known as tokenism. This year, on merit. the token independent film is "The Cry- It'd be nice if it worked that way. ing Game." By sheer luck Hollywood Unfortunately, Oscar time is just an- has managed to find one film to take out other time during the year when the several token categories: they have their movie-viewing public gets its collec- token British actors, their token low- tive intelligence insulted. It's alsoa time budget film and, joy of joys, their token for snubs, glaring omissions and, above homosexuals. Luckily, "The Crying all: gracious humility. That's right. In Game" deserves all of its nominations, the land that turned the word "ego" into and probably should've gotten a few something Freud never intended, any- more. one who gets left out on March 29 is British independent films were expected to grin and bear it. But why? treated more than fairly this year. Why not hit the talk show circuit and "Howard's End" grabbed a handful of nominations, and four of the five Best Not that all of the Supporting Actress nominees are for- nominees aren't eigners. Where are the American inde- pendent films? Not that all of the nomi- nees aren't deserving, but this was abig a big year for American year for American filmmakers and the filmmakers and the nominations don't reflect that in the nominations don't least. If the Academy offers no recogni- reflect that in the least. tionofyoung,independent,homegrown If the Academy offers talent-the future Demmes, Scorseses, . and Sayles - these budding filmmak- no recognition of ers may never reach audiences outside young, independent, of the N. Y.-L. A. arthouse circuit. How homegrown talent ... about some recognition for filmmakers these budding like Quentin Tarantino or Abel Ferrara filmmakers may never or Carl Franklin? Time was when gutsy audiences outside American movies could find their way reach uinto the Best Picture category, such as of the N. Y.-L. A. "Taxi Driver" or "Midnight Cowboy." arthouse circuit. Now, to get the token "art film"nomina- Oscars tion the movie has to be British, from "My LeftFoot" to"The Crying Game." Maybe that explains why the actors who frequent independent films got the shaft in the acting categories. Where the hell is Harvey Keitel? Sure "Bad Lieu- tenant" is rated NC-17, and that's per- sona non grata at the Oscars, but what about "Reservoir Dogs"? Speaking of the Quentin Tarantino masterpiece that is"ReservoirDogs,"where isTimRoth's nomination? WhataboutSteve Buscemi for Best Supporting Actor? Other inde- pendents deserved nods. Bill Paxton in "One False Move" is Best Actor mate- rial, and both "Reservoir Dogs" and "One False Move"deserved BestOrigi- nal Screenplay kudos. As usual, comedies got the short stick this year. No one's suggesting a Best Actor nomination for Mike Myers or Dana Carvey, but comedy has been considered undeserving of Academy recognition for too long. Warren Beatty can win Best Director for "Reds" buthe can't even pull off "Ishtar" with Dustin Hoffman's help? And they say comedy isn't art? Maybe that explains why "Aladdin" didn't come close to a Best Picture nod. The highest grossing ani- mated film of all time has been sadly relegated to the tried and true Best Song and Best Original Score categories of yore. And speaking ofBestSong, where is the bulk of the immensely popular "Singles" soundtrack? If Prince could win an Oscar for "Purple Rain" why can't Alicein Chains take home a statu- ette for "Would?" Or even Screaming Trees for "I Nearly Lost You?," Pearl Jam for either "State of Love and Trust" or "Breath?" The rule of thumb in Hollywood is "it's nice to be nominated, but if you're not, don'tbitchaboutit."Does this seem hypocritical to anyone else? There are probably few actors in Hollywood who have such a unique cult following as Judy Davis. Stars like Kevin Costner and Julia Roberts have Aheir fans, but nothing can compare to thie sheer adulation received by the Great Australian One. Does Judy Davis really deserve all this attention? As aproud card-carrying member of the Judy Davis cult, my answer is a resounding YES. Davis is not new to American film films like "Kangaroo" and "High Tide." In 1991, however, Davis took the arthouse crowd by storm, appearing in three instant artsy-fartsy classics about writers andartists.Firstcame herexplo- sive performance as Georges Sand in the romantic farce "Impromptu."Davis' exuberantbanter brings back memories of Katharine Hepburn in the best of the great screwball romances like "Bring- ing Up Baby" and "The Philadelphia Story."Like the GreatKate, Davisdomi- nates the screen with her commanding manner and intelligence. Davis surfaced again in "Barton Fink," the Coen brothers' ode to weird- ness. As the ghostwriting secretary to JohnMahoney's William Faulkner-like author, Davis exhibits an unusual touch- ing vulnerability. Despite hercharacter's reticence, we are glued to Davis every frame she's in, as if we want to make sure we know what she's up to. This direct association with the audience is a trademark of Davis' work. Next came "Naked Lunch," where Davis not only had to play two different characters, but had the added challenge of competing with the genius of David Cronenberg sex muppetcreations. Davis more than holds her own in a part that might have been a mere gratuitous love audiences. Though herelevation to saint- hood has evolved in the past two years, Davis made her smashing debutin Aus- traliandirectorGillianArmstrong's "My Brilliant Career." She was even nomi- nated for an Oscar for her low-key (in comparison to her later performances) portrayal of Miss Quested in David Lean's "A Passage to India." Even though the critics liked Davis' work, the actor never really made a name for herself in the States and re- turned to Australia where she starred in interestin anyone else's hands. Who can' forget the scene where she kills a row of insects by breathing on them? Having conquered Hollywood, there was nothing else to do but appear in a Woody Allen film. After biding time in a forgettable adaptation of E. M. Forester's "Where Angels Fear to Tread," Davis rocked "Husbands and Wives" off its foundation with the sheer energy with which she imbues her char- acter. Everything about her, the way she paces about the apartment of a date, yelling at her estranged husband over the phone, or how she pins her chin to her chest and stares out at the other characters in the film with her burrow- ing eyes, screams out intensity. What is it about Davis that makes her performances so special? The an- swer may not lie with Judy herself, but with a screen icon of the thirties and forties, also named Davis: Bette. The two Davises have the same gripping fortitude and iron will that drubs the viewer into submission. You get the feeling that they are volatile volcanoes, ready to explode at any moment, which makes them stand out from their placid surroundings. The two Davises are part of a rare breed of actors that can yell at the top of their lungs without seeming bitchy or insane. Instead they are pas- sionately convincing. Now it seems that even Oscar is jumping on the GreatJude bandwagon. Aftersweeping thecritics' awards, Davis received a nomination for Best Sup- porting Actress for her turn in "Hus- bands and Wives." Hopefully, the mo- mentum from all this attention will en- able Davis to get alead role in apart she can really sink her teeth into. p 1 rail about the injustice of it all? Forone thing, if yourmoviedoes get ignored and then you make no secret that you're very annoyed about that; you risk getting snubbed again and again. Take Spike Lee. "Do The Right Thing" gets overlooked and Lee pouts in a corner for a while. The Academy sure seems to hate a crybaby, so "Malcolm X," unarguably one of the best films of the year, doesn't get the attention it deserves. Sure Denzel Washington is up for Best Actor, an Oscar he very much deserves, but where are the other nominations? Best Costumes? What about Best Adapted Screenplay? What about a Best Song nomination for Ar- rested Development's "Revolution"? What about, God forbid, Best Director? Best Picture? a. b DEPARTMENT OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS w. INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM VOLLEYBALL Entries Taken: Tuesday 3/9 (Instant Scheduling) 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. IMSB Main Lobby Play Begins: Thursday 3/11 For Additional Information Contact IMSB 763-3562 -SENIORS OR RECENT GRADS- Buy or Lease a New Civic - Accord - Prelude - del Sol Brighton Honda's College Grad Program Please contact: ALAN GRAHAM BRIGHTON - - 8704 w. Grand River Brighton, MI (313) 227-5552 Available 995-DEAD ONLY At: 215 S. 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