The Supporting Actress Oscar Nominees
The Oscar nominations are just days away...time to break out the ol' Defamer Predictions! In our first installment, we take a look at Supporting Actress, a category filled with tears, defiance, and nipple jewelry.
SURE LOCKS
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Viola Davis, Doubt
Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Penélope Cruz was the early favorite in this category, but she's since been usurped by two actresses who run the gamut of what can be defined as a supporting performance: Viola Davis, whose Doubt role is brief but ferociously focused, and Kate Winslet, whose Globe-winning Reader performance would almost certainly be slotted in the lead race any other year. Also, Davis cries (with a snot trickle, even!) and Winslet gets naked. This is how the Academy likes to see its actresses.
LIKELY NOMINEES
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Speaking of nudity, unlikely Oscar alumna Marisa Tomei had her third nomination in the bag as soon as she revealed that her Wrestler stripper wore nipple rings. Now that's Jumbo's Clown Room-worthy verisimilitude! The fifth slot is harder to fill, but we give it to Taraji P. Henson, the warmest thing in the often-Arctic Benjamin Button.
DARK HORSES
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married
Amy Adams, Doubt
The Academy has nominated Amy Adams once before for playing a naive young woman who wants to see the good in people. We have a feeling they'll decide "been there, done that"—especially since Davis might siphon votes from her costar in this category. If anyone is poised to upset, it's Rosemarie DeWitt for putting up with Anne Hathaway, the dishwasher sequence, and all those musicians in Rachel Getting Married. If not an Oscar, give the poor woman a medal!