Did Joaquin Phoenix just cost himself the Oscar?
Anyone who’s seen Joaquin Phoenix in ‘I’m Still Here’ should know that this is a man who’s not afraid to be different or unpopular. While his incredible work in ‘The Master’ has him at the top of most people’s Oscar predictions (including mine), it’s worth remembering that he’s not exactly tailor-made for the campaign circuit. Well, whether we were trying to forget about that or pretend that Phoenix is now a completely different sort of person, we got a strong reminder of that recently with his sure to be controversial comments while doing an interview with Elvis Mitchell. You can see interview here at Interview Magazine. I still think he’s going to get nominated, but there’s a chance that he just kissed the win goodbye, depending on what Harvey Weinstein has to say about things.
Here’s the part of the interview that’s sure to ruffle the Academy’s feathers:
MITCHELL: So what are you going to do when they put you on the awards circuit for The Master?
PHOENIX: You’re out of your mind, dude. You’re out of touch with what has happened.
MITCHELL: I think we’ve established that you’re the one who’s out of his mind. [Phoenix laughs] You don’t think that’s going to happen?
PHOENIX: I’m just saying that I think it’s bullshit. I think it’s total, utter bullshit, and I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t believe in it. It’s a carrot, but it’s the worst-tasting carrot I’ve ever tasted in my whole life. I don’t want this carrot. It’s totally subjective. Pitting people against each other . . . It’s the stupidest thing in the whole world. It was one of the most uncomfortable periods of my life when Walk the Line was going through all the awards stuff and all that. I never want to have that experience again. I don’t know how to explain it—and it’s not like I’m in this place where I think I’m just above it—but I just don’t ever want to get comfortable with that part of things.
So, it seems that he’s not too keen to campaign for any awards this year. That’s fair enough, and certainly his prerogative, but we know that Oscar does like their nominees and winners to not have completely contempt for them. My guess is that The Weinstein Company will soon begin spin control on this, as anyone who doesn’t think that Harvey is going full throttle to try to get him and Philip Seymour Hoffman wins (not to mention Amy Adams and Paul Thomas Anderson himself, plus the film) is nuts. What does this mean for the race? Well, there’s a few possible results…
One outcome is that nothing changes. Harvey Weinstein gets Joaquin Phoenix out on the trail anyway, he kisses the right babies and he still gets the nomination and goes on to win one of the most deserved Best Actor prizes in some time. Another outcome is that he still gets nominated but can’t win anymore, which leads to either the Weinsteins panicking and putting Hoffman in Lead too to try to keep the votes for Phoenix still in the camp of ‘The Master’…or it means that a different film entirely will have its leading man win. That certainly makes the people at Fox Searchlight, Paramount, and Walt Disney happy, as they’ll then be able push for a win for either John Hawkes in ‘The Sessions’, Denzel Washington in ‘Flight’, or Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘Lincoln’, respectively. The least likely but still plausible outcome is that he winds up getting outright snubbed for a nomination. I don’t see it happening but that would open the door for any number of second level contenders to try to sneak in, like Ben Affleck for ‘Argo’, Bradley Cooper for ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, Hugh Jackman for ‘Les Miserables’, or Bill Murray for ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’, just to name a few. One thing’s for sure…Joaquin Phoenix certainly made things interesting with this interview.
What’s my guess as to what will happen? I think this will ultimately blow over enough for an easy nomination, but the win could be far more in question now. A lot will also depend on how ‘The Master’ ages over the course of the season. If it’s still seen as a possible winner in certain categories, then that certainly helps Phoenix’s chances. If it’s looking more like a film that should be happy just to be nominated, well then that more or less kills his chances to win Best Actor. Maybe this all is forgotten by nomination time, maybe not. It definitely will bug certain voters, though who knows if that’ll do anything in the end. Stay tuned to see how this affects the race, if at all…
-Thoughts? Discuss in the comments!
You may also like...
38 Comments
Leave a Reply
Follow us on:
Kevin
October 19, 2012 at 2:03 pm
It would be bug me a little bit if I was an Oscar voter. If I liked the performance enough I would still vote for it, but at the back of my mind I’d think about how there are plenty of other actors deserving a nomination or a win that would actually appreciate it.
Kevin(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 2:15 pm
I think that’s not an uncommon way of going about it, so the impact is potentially noteworthy…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Matt
October 19, 2012 at 2:13 pm
It doesn’t seem that he is making negative comments about the awards themselves; what he is attacking is the circus act of campaigning oneself. The way I’m reading it is he’s perfectly gracious to be considered and would be happy if he won, he just hates the “pick me, pick me” mentality he’s expected to show.
Matt(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 2:16 pm
It’s not as bad as clearly saying he doesn’t like the Academy, but it’s not too dissimilar from a political candidate saying they didn’t want to campaign. It would hurt…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Guesto
October 19, 2012 at 4:45 pm
Which part of “I think it’s total, utter bullshit, and I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t believe in it.” makes you think he is “perfectly gracious to be considered and would be happy if he won”?
Guesto(Quote) (Reply)
Matt
October 19, 2012 at 5:06 pm
The campaign is utter bullshit, not the award. Maybe I’m interpreting it incorrectly, that’s just what I took from it. And it certainly will hurt his chances of winning, but Mo’nique refused to campaign for Precious, and that turned out fine. George C Scott, too. My point, essentially, was he’s not out of the race and he did specify that he doesn’t think he’s ABOVE it, he just never wants to be comfortable with it.
Matt(Quote) (Reply)
Clayton Davis
October 19, 2012 at 5:23 pm
I think you’re absolutely right on that.
The campaigning is crap and this is coming from someone who actually likes to cover it but it SHOULD be about the performance. Joaquin’s performance shouldn’t have to have anyone lift a finger to recognize it. It’s magnificent. If Brando can give the finger to the Academy and be continue to be rewarded time after time, I think it shouldn’t hurt him TOO much.
Clayton Davis(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Clay- We all think it should be all about the performance, but it also rarely is…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Matt- Agreed, he’s not out of the race in my eyes. I just mentioned it as a possibility…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 5:25 pm
Guesto- That’s the part that voters will be annoyed with…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Guesto
October 20, 2012 at 12:07 am
Joey & Co. I think you are still trying to downplay what is an incredibly direct message. When Phoenix is talking about the carrot he is most certainly not talking about campaigning. Whether he truly means it or not what he is saying is that he doesn’t want any and all parts of the process. And not just pertaining to the Oscars.
Guesto(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 20, 2012 at 1:01 am
We shall see what he means in the coming months…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
koook160 (Robert MacFarlane)
October 19, 2012 at 2:38 pm
If George C. Scott can get the gold fter telling the Academy where to stick said gold, anything is possible.
koook160 (Robert MacFarlane)(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Anything is indeed possible, though I don’t think he’s quite respected in the same way just yet…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Keith Dodge
October 19, 2012 at 3:42 pm
As I mentioned in my blog, Sean Penn used to thumb his nose at the Academy and refuse to show up to luncheons, etc, and ended up winning twice so far. I think that it’s not the smartest thing in the world to bite the wrinkly old hands of the Academy, but this goes to show that it may not make a difference.
Hopefully, it’s good news for Denzel or Bradley Cooper. I’m pulling for those guys.
Keith Dodge(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 3:55 pm
That’s true, but both times he was up against people the Academy wasn’t amazingly fond of for one reason or another, so that’s a factor as well…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Michael Ward
October 19, 2012 at 3:46 pm
One the one hand – I applaud the genuineness of his comments and if you pardon the possible blasphemy (and double negative), I don’t disagree with his comments. Matt’s interpretation was the same I had, he is honored to be considered but detests the whole beauty pageant/political office-style campaigning that awards season has become. I would not want to go through the ringer for three consecutive months and unlike those who embrace and frankly expect to be on the front lines the entire time, Phoenix is essentially telling The Weinstein Company and voters, I’ve done the work. It is entirely up to you. I find his comments rather liberating. And with a voting body that often go for what they want to see on that Oscar stage anyway, Phoenix was not going to win this Oscar probably anyway, despite his incredible work in the film and many of us (myself included) checking his name every time we update our Best Actor predix.
Michael Ward(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 3:56 pm
There is that too Mike, he may not have been in line to win either way…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Nicole Melkonian
October 19, 2012 at 3:51 pm
It’s probable that he’s put himself out there over the years and never got the proper recognition, so he’s trained himself not to care as much. I know I was incredibly frustrated when he didn’t win Best Supporting Actor as Commodus in Gladiator and it was still a disappointment when he didn’t win lead for Walk the Line. Call me twisted, but I’d be inclined to give him the trophy BECAUSE of this interview (and obviously the worthy performance). The Academy probably doesn’t have the same sense of humor…
Nicole Melkonian(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 3:58 pm
He mentions it in the interview that he was incredibly uncomfortable with the awards season for Walk the Line, so it does make sense that he’s done caring. I’m with you, but my guess is that Oscar isn’t…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Michael Ward
October 19, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Yes re Joaquin in Gladiator! And I thought he had a shot to win for Walk The Line as well, but it is hard to deny that Capote Oscar for PSH. And I will find it a travesty if he is not nominated for The Master.
Michael Ward(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Agreed…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Joseph Braverman
October 19, 2012 at 4:23 pm
My gut reaction was shock and frustration, but this could actually be a good thing. Mo’Nique also rebelled against campaigning, and she took home the gold. I think Phoenix has critics choice and SAG wins still firmly within his reach, but an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe win was always going to be difficult. I hope this didn’t make it impossible. The acting branch of the Academy is going to be his saving grace if he does win. I’d cross his name down for this performance a hundred times over, but I’m not the Academy…unfortunately.
Joseph Braverman(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 19, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Supporting Actress isn’t Best Actor though…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Jeremy DC
October 19, 2012 at 6:38 pm
That’s what I was thinking. Best actor is arguably the toughest award to win of all the categories and best supporting actress may be the easiest when you give a halfway decent performance, much less a great performane such as Mo’nique’s. Also, George C. Scott and Marlon Brando’s wins were from a different time. But if voters sole reason not to award Phoenix the oscar is because of what he said then I think it only proves his point of it being total bullshit.
Jeremy DC(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 20, 2012 at 1:02 am
There’s always that part too…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Jessie Makowski
October 19, 2012 at 11:16 pm
I hope it doesn’t hurt him since he’s amazing, but it didn’t help him, that’s for sure!
Jessie Makowski(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 20, 2012 at 1:02 am
Indeed…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Rohit Ramachandran
October 20, 2012 at 12:52 am
LOL. This just makes him a sure contender.
Rohit Ramachandran(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 20, 2012 at 1:03 am
I wouldn’t say that, even if it does endear him more to certainly people. Sadly those aren’t voters by and large…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Henry Z.
October 20, 2012 at 2:19 am
I wouldn’t say the best win in some time….besides, a lot of actors have done well without showing much regard to the Academy. Monique is an excellent example a few years ago.
Henry Z.(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 20, 2012 at 3:15 am
Yes, the best rarely win…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Tom
October 20, 2012 at 9:28 am
Didn’t he attack Harvey in the interview as well. I know Harvey will push him, but to what extent now. Like biting the Hand that Feeds Him.
Tom(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm
If Harvey was truly mad he’d move Hoffman to Lead also, but I don’t see that as too likely a possibility…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Holden
October 22, 2012 at 3:48 am
Joaquin Phoenix will win if people like his performance enough. That’s all there is to it. I think it would be a real testament to him as an actor and to his performance if he didn’t have to brown nose his way to a statuette.
Holden(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
October 22, 2012 at 2:31 pm
That it would be…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
Kim
March 24, 2013 at 10:07 pm
Just came across this, and it looks like you were more or less right
Kim(Quote) (Reply)
Joey Magidson
March 25, 2013 at 1:48 am
I guess so…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)