Best Actress...

WindSock

Just watching the Baftas there and Stephen Fry made a joke about women wanting to be called actors until there is an award category for 'best actress'
Do you think that there should be separate categories or just have one single 'best actor' to cover both? Surely it is still just acting, regardless of gender? Or are the two categories necessary for displaying m/f role models?

FouxDaFaFa

Had this conversation with someone about whether foreign films should be separate from the "main" films, along with animation and shorts. I would guess that it's for the sake of prolonging award broadcasts (because they make quite a bit of money). Otherwise, there would only be one acting award (male, female, supporting all in one) and one film award and that wouldn't do because the advertisers need to get their money's worth.

I guess to sum up, I think that acting is acting but that if there is going to be such a thing as "awards season" and all these award shows, there needs to be categories to justify having them.

Dubhlinner

I'd keep it as is but call it the "best female or best male actor" award

kraggy

They're two different roles so there should be two different awards.

You can't give the hurler of the year award to the footballer of the year. Playing a woman and all the physical, emotional characteristics of such requires different skills to playing a man.

WindSock

Yeah but its still women playing women and men playing men. And its all just acting. Whats the difference between acting as Thatcher to acting as Hoover? ( J Edgar, not a vacuum cleaner )

Dravokivich

WindSock wrote: »

Yeah but its still women playing women and men playing men. And its all just acting. Whats the difference between acting as Thatcher to acting as Hoover? ( J Edgar, not a vacuum cleaner )

You just happened to pick 2 characters who wore frocks!

lilmissprincess

I agree with the person who said they should be "Best Male Actor" and "Best Female Actor". They fulfil different roles, but either way the person is an actor regardless.

pickarooney

WindSock wrote: »

Yeah but its still women playing women and men playing men. And its all just acting. Whats the difference between acting as Thatcher to acting as Hoover? ( J Edgar, not a vacuum cleaner )

Hilary Swank won and Oscar for Boys Don't Cry and Felicity Huffman got nominated for Transamerica, both in the Best Actress category.

Das Kitty

pickarooney wrote: »

Hilary Swank won and Oscar for Boys Don't Cry and Felicity Huffman got nominated for Transamerica, both in the Best Actress category.

Cate Blanchett should have got one for I'm Not There too.

I dunno, I don't have a problem with it being split by gender provided the same accolade is given to both winners.

It would be interesting to see if there was an overall acting prize, who would win.

The Oscars are a circle-jerk popularity contest in a lot of ways, especially for the top prizes.

old hippy

FouxDaFaFa wrote: »

Had this conversation with someone about whether foreign films should be separate from the "main" films, along with animation and shorts. I would guess that it's for the sake of prolonging award broadcasts (because they make quite a bit of money). Otherwise, there would only be one acting award (male, female, supporting all in one) and one film award and that wouldn't do because the advertisers need to get their money's worth.

I guess to sum up, I think that acting is acting but that if there is going to be such a thing as "awards season" and all these award shows, there needs to be categories to justify having them.

The awards season always gets me down. But if I had to sit through a ceremony; it would be for "foreign films" as a lot of stuff that comes out of the UK these days is self-congratulory award chasing bumf. IMHO, of course.

WindSock

pickarooney wrote: »

Hilary Swank won and Oscar for Boys Don't Cry and Felicity Huffman got nominated for Transamerica, both in the Best Actress category.

Yes, but it is still just acting out a role. It doesnt require either to be male or female. Neither possess seperate strengths and weaknesses, not in the same sense as sports.

krudler

pickarooney wrote: »

Hilary Swank won and Oscar for Boys Don't Cry and Felicity Huffman got nominated for Transamerica, both in the Best Actress category.

Jaye Davidson was nominated for best actor as a man playing a woman, and Linda Hunt won a best actress awared for playing a man, not even a trans character she just played a male role in The Year Of Living Dangerously, same as Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs.

The only good thing that would come out of there being only one category for best actor and best supporting actor would be the oscars would be about an hour shorter :pac:

WindSock

Well the point isnt even about males acting in female roles and vice versa. Again, its all just acting so separating them into categories seems irrelevant. They don't have a best female director category for example.

LegacyUser

I work in film and most people on set just say actor, none of this actor/actress rubbish. They are all just acting regardless of wither some people think playing a male or female character requires "different skills"....by that logic we'd have a dozen different awards for best teen, best middle age, best historical, best OAP etc etc You just have director, producer, cinematographer - no need to gender assign those roles. Drives me mad sometimes, just like when people say "male nurse" - he's a bloody nurse, get over it!

But I get the logic behind it as that's what people are turning on the show to see so the more acting awards they have the better as far as the award show producers are concerned. The average viewer wants to see Brad Pitt or other random "celebrities"

Having different awards for foreign films is slightly different as those are generally not open awards but ones the country puts forward for selection and are very helpful in getting countries with much smaller film industries some recognition on an international stage plus films nominated for that award can still be nominated for the main best picture nod while an actor can't also be nominated for best actress or vice versa.