San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
A look at possible movie award winners. Pictured: Viggo Mortensen in “Green Book.”
Sex symbol Viggo Mortensen is virtually unrecognizable after packing on 40 pounds to play a nightclub bouncer in “Green Book.” Usually fit Christian Bale gained an equal amount to resemble Dick Cheney in the biopic “Vice.” This isn’t Bale’s first time going to extremes for a role — he dropped 60 pounds to play “The Machinist.”
Olivia Colman gained 30 pounds to play the hefty 18th century English Queen Anne. Meanwhile, Timothée Chalamet dieted down to 113 pounds to be persuasive as a crystal meth addict in "Beautiful Boy." The weight loss so exhausted him he remained in bed when he wasn't on the set.
Melissa McCarthy went through a different kind of metamorphosis for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” She left her funny persona at home to play a dramatic role as a frumpy misanthrope who falls into a life of crime and finds she enjoys it.
In “A Star Is Born,” Lady Gaga puts her flamboyant personality on hold and gives a quiet and surprisingly powerful performance as the title character. Bradley Cooper, her director and co-star, drops his voice a couple of octaves and proves he can not only portray a pop star but sound like one, too.
In the director category, Peter Farrelly achieves a complete turnabout. With his brother Bobby, Farrelly was the king of
The Academy Award nominations will be announced Jan. 22. The Oscar telecast will be Feb. 24. The Golden Globe nominations will be announced Dec. 6, and the awards ceremony will be Jan. 6.
gross-out comedies like “There’s Something About Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber.” But he shows an unexpected sensitivity directing the racial drama “Green Book.”
Factors relating to the business end of the movie business will be in play this awards season. Instead of ceding main races to indie films, as happened in past years, major studios are putting resources behind homegrown features like “A Star Is Born,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” “Green Book” and “Black Panther.” And for the first time, Netflix is in serious contention for a best picture Oscar for the critically lauded “Roma.” The TV and movie streaming service has changed its model and will show “Roma” in theaters before it goes on the site.
Rankings are slippery and are sure to vary in the weeks leading up to the nominations as voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences check out potential nominees.