It’s been a busy morning on my side of the Net. The Academy Awards dropped their nominations list and as I fervently scanned over it I couldn’t believe what I saw:
Mark Ruffalo is nominated for an Oscar.
I jest. Ruffalo is a good actor and you should check out him in movies such as “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “The Brothers Bloom.”
This year’s “Oscar surprise” is that hometown actress Jennifer Lawrence is nominated for her work in the film “Winter’s Bone.” “Winter’s Bone” is based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell about a seventeen-year-old girl named Ree Dolly (played by Lawrence) who is tracking down her father who put their house up for bail and disappeared. The film won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Lawrence is steadily working her way into Hollywood notoriety and has the potential to be a serious contender against other actresses. I met her in October of 2009 at the Louisville International Festival of Film while she was promoting “The Burning Plain” with director Guillermo Arriaga. At that point in time she had only done a few bit parts before being in “The Bill Engvall Show.” Since then she has been nominated for and won several awards including the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for “Winter’s Bone.”
So the big question for her friends, family, and fans is: will she be taking an Oscar home? Her competition is Annette Bening (“The Kids Are All Right”), Nicole Kidman (“Rabbit Hole”), Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”), and Michelle Williams (“Blue Valentine”). If Jennifer Lawrence wins the Academy Award she would be the first actress from Louisville to do so. Best wishes and good luck to her.
And what would an Oscar nom article with Louisville connections be without a mention of “The Dude?” Jeff Bridges, whose character ‘The Dude’ from “The Big Lebowski,” helped to inspire the creation of “Lebowski Fest” by locals Scott Shuffitt and Will Russell, has a nomination as well. “True Grit” has ten nominations including one for The Dude as Best Actor.
For more information and the list of nominees checkout the Oscars site at: www.oscars.org and be sure to watch The Academy Awards on February 27, 2011.
Photo credit: Sebastian Mlynaski
