# Jennifer Connelly - Oscar - for......? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958 "2005-11-20T18:02:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/1 "2005-11-20T18:02:44Z")
I’ve always wondered - Am I the only one convinced that Ms. Connelly received that Oscar for _A Beautiful Mind_ because the Academy couldn’t bring themselves to admit they’d seen _Requiem For a Dream_? They didn’t give it to Burstyn, either, although she was at least nominated. I thought the _Beautiful Mind_ Oscar was a strange choice, b/c she wasn’t particularly good IMHO - just too wooden. Either they were voting for Nash’s real-life wife, or giving it to Connelly for other work (for which she should have been recognized). ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/2 "2005-11-20T18:13:01Z")
I would have liked to give her an Oscar for being so hot in 1991’s The Rocketeer, but I’m just glad she won for something. She really is a solid actress, and one of the most gorgeous women in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/3 "2005-11-20T18:29:41Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > I’ve always wondered - Am I the only one convinced that Ms. Connelly received that Oscar for _A Beautiful Mind_ because the Academy couldn’t bring themselves to admit they’d seen _Requiem For a Dream_? They didn’t give it to Burstyn, either, although she was at least nominated. Two problems: (1) They were in different categories. Connelly won the Supporting Actress Oscar, Burstyn was nominated in the Lead Actress category. (2) They were in different years. _Beautiful_ came out in 2001. _Requiem_ came out in 2000. Julia Roberts beat Burstyn. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/4 "2005-11-20T18:49:12Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Two problems: > > (1) They were in different categories. Connelly won the Supporting Actress Oscar, Burstyn was nominated in the Lead Actress category. > > (2) They were in different years. _Beautiful_ came out in 2001. _Requiem_ came out in 2000. Julia Roberts beat Burstyn. Yeah I know. Connelly wasn’t even nominated AT ALL for Requiem. I’d forgotten that Julia Roberts beat Burstyn. Gah. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/5 "2005-11-20T19:24:13Z")
This is rather common. I mean, do you think Russell Crowe deserved the award for Gladiator? I really won for the Insider. Paul Newman won for Colour of Money, but should have won a number of times before that role(in fact, they gave him the honorary one the year before out of respect and guilt). ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/6 "2005-11-20T19:30:32Z")
Hmm…Didn’t know Crowe was Chinese… ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/7 "2005-11-21T00:30:09Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Two problems: > > (1) They were in different categories. Connelly won the Supporting Actress Oscar, Burstyn was nominated in the Lead Actress category. > > (2) They were in different years. _Beautiful_ came out in 2001. _Requiem_ came out in 2000. Julia Roberts beat Burstyn. I think he was saying that _Connelly_ should have won for Requiem. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/8 "2005-11-21T03:50:03Z")
Denzel won for Training Day but really they were making up for The Hurricane. I think this is a very common thing now. Thus all the articles that compare who will win with who should win. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/9 "2005-11-21T05:25:43Z")
Only\* movies that enough people care about win… If you gave the performance of the century in a really cheesey, bad, B movie, it is doubtful you would get an award for anything. - Generally ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/10 "2005-11-21T15:54:42Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > Hmm…Didn’t know Crowe was Chinese… Oh, I meant “he”. 原谅我 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/11 "2005-11-21T16:05:26Z")
Oscars are rather pointless. I mean, I enjoy when I like the same movie that wins, but you can’t pick a “best” in a field that has infinite possibilites and nuances. It’s just not possible. Jennifer Connolly was superb in Requiem, but she was also really great in House of Sand and Fog. It’s all about which way the wind is blowing that particular day. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/12 "2005-11-21T16:34:19Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > Only\* movies that enough people care about win… If you gave the performance of the century in a really cheesey, bad, B movie, it is doubtful you would get an award for anything. > > - Generally That’s what I call _Bubba Ho-Tep_ Syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-connelly-oscar-for/331958/13 "2005-11-21T17:17:40Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I think he was saying that _Connelly_ should have won for Requiem. Yeah, I think the wording was a little confusing. Still, Connelly’s win wasn’t surprising because she was a defacto lead. Although the story is about Nash, she had a much larger part than her competition and would’ve easily qualified for Lead if they had pushed her in that direction; in fact, the SAG awards nominated her for Lead Actress for _Mind_. Jim Broadbent, who won Supporting Actor for _Iris_ (an another spouse of a mentally deteriorating celebrity) that same year was also essentially a lead in that film, too.