# Actors Whose Oscars Should be Recalled & Melted **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124 "2007-08-27T17:39:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![j00licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eada6e/32.png) [@j00licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j00licious)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/41 "2007-08-28T15:46:53Z")
Ohhh! Also: Anna Paquin. My irrational hatred of “The Piano” aside, that kid robbed somebody of an oscar (I’m too lazy to look up who the other nominees were.) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/42 "2007-08-28T16:03:05Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Many will disagree, but I’d revoke Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Oscar for _Capote_. He’s a great actor, but the performance just wasn’t imo all that, and it’s vastly inferior to Toby Jones’s performance in (the same movie-different title) _Infamous_ which wasn’t even nominated. I’d give it instead to either David Strathairn or Heath Ledger, both nominated the same year. [/QUOTE] I was out a while ago with a friend and we bumped into a guy he knows who is a standup comic. He told us about a bit of his that had been stolen by a TV show. It had occurred to him that although everyone was saying PSH would win the Oscar because he had “nailed” the part of Truman Capote, most of the people who said it had no idea what Capote was really like, they had never met him. He then postulated that Hoffman’s portrayal was the way he played everyone and proceeded to mimic Hoffman, as Capote, auditioning for other roles. The highlight was his haughty Col. Jessep lisping, ‘You want answers?’ ‘I think I’m entitled.’ Col. Jessep lisps, ‘You want answers?’ ‘I want the truth.’ Col. Jessep mincingly, ‘I mock your truth handlimg abilities.’ ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/43 "2007-08-28T16:12:06Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I must say that you, my friend, are sadly mistaken. Wayne earned that Oscar “far and squar” for _True Grit_. A great part in a great movie. [/QUOTE] Sure. But he was playing himself. Not exactly a stretch for an actor. And hardly the _Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role_. Not even close. Hoffman’s Rizzo was brilliant. Wayne’s Cogburn was just a caricature of all the cowboy parts he had played for so long. > [@](#): > > Besides, it amounted to a career honor anyway… Then that’s what the Academy should have done, given him a career award. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/44 "2007-08-28T16:26:48Z")
[QUOTE=SNenc] And what was so bad about Helen Hunt’s performance in As Good As It Gets? And what has she done since then to merit the award being taken away? [/QUOTE] I’d recall her Oscar merely for the fact that she starred in that god-awful sitcom _Mad About You_, but if that’s somehow unfair, it’s because she’s a drip who acted a mediocre role in a mediocre film, and hasn’t done anything noteworthy since. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/45 "2007-08-28T17:12:06Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Although we’re crossing categories here, Ben Affleck’s Oscar should be taken away. Just for the Bennifer thing if nothing else. [/QUOTE] I’ll help you: _Reindeer Games_, and _Gigli_. The man should not be allowed to make his own role choices. He has a friend named Matt who would be more than happy to help him make decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/46 "2007-08-28T18:30:53Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] I came in here to mention that Titanic fiasco. I see I’m in good company though. [/QUOTE] Fiasco? What you think of the movie is one thing, but it can hardly be called a fiasco, can it now? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/47 "2007-08-28T19:32:19Z")
[QUOTE=SNenc] Anyway, I came in here to suggest Whoopi Goldberg. She went from winning an Oscar for a charismatic role in an (admittedly pretty well-done) popcorn flick to being in a [buddy-cop/dinosaur](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114658/) movie. And now she’s going to be on The Freaking View. Live up to the statue you earned! [/QUOTE] See, I have never quite understood this criticism of Oscar winners. Why exactly, upon winning an Oscar, must they restrict themselves only to the most rarified and prestigious of projects? Shouldn’t they be allowed to make shitty films for paychecks like any other actor? ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/48 "2007-08-28T19:59:58Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] See, I have never quite understood this criticism of Oscar winners. Why exactly, upon winning an Oscar, must they restrict themselves only to the most rarified and prestigious of projects? Shouldn’t they be allowed to make shitty films for paychecks like any other actor? [/QUOTE] A good point. I read an interview with Robin Willams in (of all places) the [US Airways Magazine](http://usairwaysmag.com/2007_07b/verbatim.php) last month where he touched on this: > [@](#): > > **You’ve taken a lot of flak for crowd-pleasing comedies like RV, which some critics said was aimed at the lowest common denominator. What’s the appeal of a film like that?** > You do them to pay the bills. [Takes on a mocking tone] “You whore, you do this for money and the other things you do for love?!” But I have trouble with that, too. I mean, it’s a blast to work on films like that, but when you’re doing a serious movie like The Night Listener you take a pay cut because you’re not going to make a lot of money. There’s not going to be a lot of merchandising on The Night Listener, like a Toni Collette doll that comes with two sets of clothes and a little fake kid doll you can either have or not have. You take a pay cut for films like that or Man of the Year. Then there’s a movie like License to Wed, for which I got paid as a supporting actor, which is not huge but still great. Refreshingly honest, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/49 "2007-08-28T20:11:14Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] Refreshingly honest, IMHO. [/QUOTE] Perhaps it’s more of a theatre-based tradition, but acting is a _job_. Laurence Olivier was in _The Betsy_, after all. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/50 "2007-08-28T21:17:50Z")
[QUOTE=Elenfair] But… I can’t believe NO ONE said we should organize a Black Ops corps and fetch all the Oscars related to _Titanic_, melt them into a replica of the boat (in the appropriate number of pieces) and then sink 'em with the ship’s remains, at the bottom of the ocean. [/QUOTE] Really? What other film released in 1997 do you think had superior art direction? Cinematography? Costume design? Sound effects editing? Visual effects? Film editing? Original score? Sound? ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/51 "2007-08-28T21:21:28Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] Really? What other film released in 1997 do you think had superior…Costume design? [/QUOTE] _The Full Monty_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/52 "2007-08-28T23:28:16Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] John Wayne won for _True Grit_ over Dustin Hoffman in _Midnight Cowboy_. It was wrong then and it’s still wrong. [/QUOTE] :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: I’m gonna be sick. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/53 "2007-08-28T23:56:53Z")
[QUOTE=SNenc] Anyway, I came in here to suggest Whoopi Goldberg. She went from winning an Oscar for a charismatic role in an (admittedly pretty well-done) popcorn flick to being in a [buddy-cop/dinosaur](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114658/) movie. And now she’s going to be on The Freaking View. Live up to the statue you earned! [/QUOTE] I think it’s a shame she got more attention for that sidekick comedic role in _Ghost_. She really deserved to win for her performance in _The Color Purple_. For that injustice alone she can do no wrong, in my book. I also don’t know if we can blame Whoopie for not getting better parts. It’s hard being a 50-something, dredlocked, slightly pudgie, no-eyebrow-having black actress. If you want to eat, you take what you can get. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/54 "2007-08-29T00:00:30Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Sure. But he was playing himself. Not exactly a stretch for an actor. [/QUOTE] Marion Morrison wasn’t really a cowboy. John Wayne was definitely a character actor, but at his best, with a good script, he put on some pretty great performances; not only “True Grit,” but also “The Searchers” and “The Shootist.” Whether that means he was better than Hoffman I don’t know, and frankly I think comparing one actor to another is impossible except in the most extreme comparisons. I doubt Dustin Hoffman could’ve done Rooster Cogburn and I’m pretty sure John Wayne could not have been Ratso Rizzo, just as I doubt the Beastie Boys could sing “La Traviata” and I wouldn’t want to hear Pavarotti attempt “No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn.” Some actors fit some roles, and some REALLY fit some roles. Wayne and Hoffman were both perfect in the roles they played. There’s no system that involves handing out one Oscar a year that’s going to be fair. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/55 "2007-08-29T00:02:18Z")
[QUOTE=j00licious] Angelina Jolie in ‘Girl, Interrupted.’ [/QUOTE] Agreed! [QUOTE=j00licious] Ohhh! Also: Anna Paquin. My irrational hatred of “The Piano” aside, that kid robbed somebody of an oscar (I’m too lazy to look up who the other nominees were.). [/QUOTE] And agreed. Angelina can’t act her way out of a paper bag. She just sticks her big flabby lips and her boobs out, and people think she’s just swell (pun not intended, btw). I hate hate hated her in Girl, Interrupted with every fiber of my being. Anna Paquin has yet to prove any acting chops, IMHO. The Piano was a shitty ass movie, it just happened to be particularly wierd and violent, so people thought it was art. I’ll always regret not following my instincts and walking out of that movie. In 1999, when Denzel Washington did not win for The Hurricane I was extremely disappointed. However, Kevin Spacey deserved that Oscar almost as much as Denzel did. The Training Day Oscar was a make-up award, he was really getting it for The Hurricane, IMHO. I think they do that a LOT in the Oscars. They fuck up and then later they try to make up for it and fuck someone else out their deserved Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/56 "2007-08-29T00:11:03Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] Really? What other film released in 1997 do you think had superior…Cinematography? [/quote] I prefer any of the nominees (_LA Confidential, The Wings of the Dove, Kundun, Amistad_) that year, not to mention the non-nominated _The Sweet Hereafter_ and _Eve’s Bayou_. > [@](#): > > Costume design? _The 5th Element_ or _Wilde_ > [@](#): > > Film editing? _Boogie Nights_ or _Eve’s Bayou_ > [@](#): > > Original score? Plenty of takers: _The Sweet Hereafter, LA Confidential, Fast Cheap & Out of Control, Amistad, The Wings of the Dove_ for starters. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/57 "2007-08-29T01:12:08Z")
**’della**! Where you been at? ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/58 "2007-08-29T02:46:07Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] I prefer any of the nominees (_LA Confidential, The Wings of the Dove, Kundun, Amistad_) that year, not to mention the non-nominated _The Sweet Hereafter_ and _Eve’s Bayou_. _The 5th Element_ or _Wilde\*\*Boogie Nights_ or _Eve’s Bayou_Plenty of takers: _The Sweet Hereafter, LA Confidential, Fast Cheap & Out of Control, Amistad, The Wings of the Dove_ for starters. [/QUOTE] I don’t know…Titanic was pretty damned good. Celine Dion aside; the soundtrack as an album was listenable all the way through, and gave you emotions the movie wished it could have. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/59 "2007-08-29T04:58:02Z")
1997 Cinematography? Kundun was robbed, hands down. Ergoyan deserved the director’s nod, at least in my book. By far. Art Direction should have gone to Kundun or LA Confidential. Costumes to Oscar and Lucinda. As for score? Eh. What did we have that year? The usual suspects. Horner (who won), Williams (Amistad – which was an excellent score), Elfman (Good Will Hunting – another good score), Goldsmith (L.A. Confidential – jesus christ, the only major player missing here is… you know it… kaping! That’s right! Hans Zimmer!) Philip Glass was the only unusual composer here with the score for Kundun. He would have been my pick because, well, I like his stuff and it was really a perfect score for the movie. But yeah, it was a dark horse. Sound, Sound Effects… Special effects – Titanic was a groudbreaking film that year. I’ll give it that. But then, so was Men In Black and Fifth Element. Give my man Vincent D’Onofrio some credit as the Bug in MIB… 😉 YMMV… ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124/60 "2007-08-29T09:29:18Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] John Wayne won for _True Grit_ over Dustin Hoffman in _Midnight Cowboy_. It was wrong then and it’s still wrong. [/QUOTE] What? take back The Duke’s Oscar for _True Grit_? Fill yer hands, you sonofabitch! mm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-oscars-should-be-recalled-melted/417124.md?page=4)