The 2009 Oscar Race just entered the Stretch Run as December is now one-week old.
Months ago, I decided to predict the 2009 Best Actor Nominations (Based Solely on Trailers) as one of my first posts.
Well, things have changed.
The original list included: Sean Penn, "Milk"; Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Jaime Foxx, "The Soloist"; Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"; & Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road."
The updated list has 3 Locks: Penn, Langella, & DiCaprio.
"The Soloist" was pushed back to April, 2009. Therefore, DQ'ing Foxx from 2009 contention.
Plus, the word around the campfire is that Ledger will be nommed for the Best Supporting Actor award to increase his chances of being only the second actor to win a major-acting award posthumously (Peter Finch, "Network" (1976)).
That means there are two spots open.
Well, one just got filled up pretty quick!
Watch the trailer below and see what I mean.
Mickey Rourke -- "The Wrestler" (2008).
Oscar Background: None.
The Clincher: (1:06-1:17) & (1:43-1:44).
Thoughts: Mickey Rourke. Yeah, that's not a typo. Now, if it was all about incredible physique, then Stallone would've been a contender for his HGH-induced role in "Rocky Balboa" a couple of years ago (but that film was garbage, worse than "Rocky 5", which I thought would be impossible to do!). Rourke looks absolutely amazing in this trailer. On face-value, it looks like Rourke has completely immersed himself into the role of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, an amalgam of 1980s washed-up, has-been wrestlers of yesteryear. Sure, it's a redemption-piece, and we've seen that a million times, but this feels different, it feels important. And the film seems to mirror his own up-and-down career in film. From his dazzling start in "Diner" (1982), to his amateur boxing days, to his freak-performance in the Dennis Rodman/Van Damme actioner "Double Team" (1997), to now.
Like his character says in the trailer:
"With a little luck, this could be my ticket back on top."
I hope it is.
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