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I just know we’re gonna have that exact same discussion when Respect comes out next year, watch
I hope to God she does not get nominated for Respect. Lmao she probably will but im just conflicted that she’s doing the singing as opposed to lip-syncing to Aretha’s vocals. Like the movie is about Aretha, not JHud so I want to hear Aretha. Ik Renee tried to sing like Judy but it was pretty unnecessary imo. Idk it just doesnt make sense to do a whole biopic aiming for “authenticity” yet try to emulate the singer lmaoo im probably not making any sense
ReplyCopy URLThe “big showy song” reason is why they gave it to her. Plus, the others had too much going against them to win it. It was the only way to reward the film, too. Eddie Murphy should have delayed the release of Norbit to later in the year if he was going to win. BTW, my choice for Supporting Actor that year was Haley.
ReplyCopy URLHudson did well with the critic’s awards winning the first big one announced (New York) and coming in second at National Society (to Meryl Streep in Prada and Prairie Home Companion oddly.)
I remember once she won New York it kind of gave her credibility and she became more than just a reality TV loser who got a movie role.
(but then reality TV stars would go on to win other things too…..)
ReplyCopy URLLol. Laura Dern didn’t have any showy moment in Marriage Story. Like someone already pointed out, her family’s influence is the reason she won.
Lol, that monologue is the definition of an intentional ‘big Oscar scene’.
And note that in my original comment I said it ‘could be argued’ for Laura Dern, not that it was why she won.
ReplyCopy URLI will not stand for the Jennifer Hudson slander. Her performance in Dreamgirls is one of the most iconic debuts of. ALL. TIME.
Sis literally stole every scene, gave us undeniable vocals, sass, vulnerability, and did what tf she had to do!
It’s the only time a role has gotten a standing O in any screening I’ve ever seen. She was an awards favorite and the GP loved her. Point. Blank. Period.
ReplyCopy URL👑Cicely Tyson (1924-2021)
👑Mary Wilson (1944-2021)JHud is a borderline example of rewarding the role rather than the actress. So long as JHud was serviceable in the role and provided the necessary feels in her one big moment, she had the award in the bag.
“Effie White” is considered one of the best roles for a musical actress on Broadway, is reserved for a black actress (which is a big deal though American theatre has more roles for black actors historically than Hollywood), and at the time in 1982, it knocked the socks off America…garnering Jennifer Holliday (an even worse actress than JHud) a Tony and a Grammy and a lifetime of using that one triumph to sustain her whole career (though of course she ended up bitter that her career wasn’t better).
I think people think what JHud did was easy, but it’s not actually. People need to see some underwhelming Effies to understand just what JHud was able to do (thanks to Bill Condon). For example, Amber Riley won the coveted Olivier for playing the role in London (and not well actually even if she sung the notes she didn’t provide the feels and made me appreciate how Bill Condon got that performance out of JHud), and she got the award despite missing tons of performances because the role is that challenging (on Broadway, she wouldn’t be able to get away with that many absences…Brits take stage awards seriously but I don’t their standards for musicals are as high as plays).
JHud also reinterpreted the song somewhat. She didn’t just copy what Jennifer Holiday did (though some people would have loved it if she did) but put her own spin on it. The song belongs to Holiday, but there’s a bridge part that Hudson absolutely owns as she hit a super high note. I also prefer how Hudson doesn’t put so many “ha-has!” the way Holiday does now. She did it a lot in the original production but now in older age, she does it way too much. JHud gave it her all in that song and acted the hell out of that scene and through song.
Acting while singing is still acting…ask any well-respected Broadway performer. There’s a famous stage actress who did both serious, challenging plays and musical comedies and she said if you want do something hard, try musical comedy. It’s a real work-out and a true test of stamina to keep up the character and do the choreo and singing correctly as is expected from demanding choreogrpahers/directors 8-times a week. You have to live “like a f*ckin’ nun” to save your energy and body for the performance.
It’s funny, they really changed Dreamgirls a lot from stage to screen and added much more dialogue scenes and took away the almost fully-sung (and much more music-infused) structure of the original musical. Had they kept it like the original and had it fully-sung (and kept the Effie going “crazy” in the “Heavy” sequence to the point where you much more understand why Deena and Lorell had enough of their childhood friend to kick her out of the band), I think there would be less debate about JHud’s Oscar win because it would rely fully on her strengths.
Now, ask me about JHud actually doing Broadway in The Color Purple. Her limitations showed up big time and there’s a reason she wasn’t nominated for a Tony, which pissed her off.
ReplyCopy URLThat’s interesting about Jennifer Holliday. I consider Tony voters to be far more discerning than Oscar voters, so a debut Broadway actress just couldn’t bluff her way to a Tony win on the back of one standout song. Something else had to be there of worth too, acting wise, not just vocally. Maybe voting standards were different in the 80s, and the current-day trainwreck of Holliday colors her overall perception and worth then. I’d say J-Hud was serviceable in her dialogue scenes, but it was THE SONG plus how oddly her category ended up being as setting the perfect storm for her Oscar win. Could she have lost in another year? Certainly in lead, but in supporting where the standards are again different, maybe not. I’ll never begrudge her the Oscar, and I’m not one of those people who hold past and future career choices against an actor when all that’s being judged for Oscar consideration is a single performance in a single year. Part of me wished that she used the Oscar to push for a better acting career instead of being a coach on “The Voice,” but I know how Hollywood badly treats POC women, so you get the work as it comes, period. She’s a singer first at the end of the day, which is perfectly fine too.
ReplyCopy URLOveracting was the key to Oscar success in those days…oh wait
I enjoyed her performance, but yeah I guess there’s a reason she had no film career since
ReplyCopy URLFYC:
Vitalina Varela, Vitalina Varela (Actress)
Andrea Riseborough, Karim Saleh, Possessor/Luxor (Actress, Actor)
Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, I Care a Lot (Actress, Supporting Actor)
Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, The Duke (Actor, Supporting Actress)
Sophia Loren, Abril Zamora, The Life Ahead (Actress, Supporting Actress)
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman (Actress)She definitely had the narrative. People were crazy about her and just loved the idea that the underdog who could actually … you know, could win the oscar. That narrative is always a winner when no substantial buzz can be built up for any of the other nominees. I recall that there was strong support for the Babel women, but the fanboys couldn’t agree on a definitive frontrunner, so that went into thin air. As others have mentioned, Blanchett was not going to win due to her recent win. And Breslin was a kid – nobody wanted her to actually win.
For those who are interested, here’s my line-up:
01. Seema Biswas in Water
02. Carmen Maura in Volver
03. Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada
04. Rinko Kikuchi in Babel
05. Vera Farmiga in Breaking and Entering
ReplyCopy URLThat’s interesting about Jennifer Holliday. I consider Tony voters to be far more discerning than Oscar voters, so a debut Broadway actress just couldn’t bluff her way to a Tony win on the back of one standout song. Something else had to be there of worth too, acting wise, not just vocally. Maybe voting standards were different in the 80s, and the current-day trainwreck of Holliday colors her overall perception and worth then. I’d say J-Hud was serviceable in her dialogue scenes, but it was THE SONG plus how oddly her category ended up being as setting the perfect storm for her Oscar win. Could she have lost in another year? Certainly in lead, but in supporting where the standards are again different, maybe not. I’ll never begrudge her the Oscar, and I’m not one of those people who hold past and future career choices against an actor when all that’s being judged for Oscar consideration is a single performance in a single year. Part of me wished that she used the Oscar to push for a better acting career instead of being a coach on “The Voice,” but I know how Hollywood badly treats POC women, so you get the work as it comes, period. She’s a singer first at the end of the day, which is perfectly fine too.
Even Tony voters can’t help but fall for huge sensations on Broadway. See Idina Menzel winning the Tony for Wicked even though she was arguably the weakest actress among the nominees (by quite some way). That was was the power of “Defying Gravity”. Imagine the reaction to JHud and multiply that by like 100 for Jennifer Holliday. Holliday performed LIVE and seeing her sing the hell out of those songs and act the hell out of those songs live was, I’m told, a thrilling performance to witness. It was one of those “once-in-a-generation” experiences you hear about on stage. It also helped that the musical on stage is almost fully-sung and much more musical. Holiday had less awkward line readings to do than JHud did.
Also among the other nominees:
Jennifer Holliday – Dreamgirls as Effie White
Lisa Mordente – Marlowe as Emelia Bossano
Mary Gordon Murray – Little Me as Belle Poitrine
Sheryl Lee Ralph – Dreamgirls as Deena Jones (who did not have the song “Listen” or the same character arc that was written for Beyonce in the film version)I can see why Holliday took the award.
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