I am an abiding, perhaps even a pioneering, critic of acting awards. Because it has always been self-evident to me that who wins has far more to do with public relations than acting talent.
No less an actor than Meryl Streep threw this into disillusioning relief when she hailed PR guru Harvey Weinstein as God for helping her win more awards than any other living actress.
I just wanna thank my agent Kevin Huvane and God, Harvey Weinstein.
(SimplyStreep.com, January 16, 2012)
Which might lead one to suspect that, given Weinstein’s spectacular fall from grace, Streep can kiss winning any more goodbye.
In any event, it’s in this context that I read Bradley Cooper’s lamentations on awards shows. Here is how the September 5 edition of the Daily Mail reported on the essence of his lament:
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After receiving dozens of nominations throughout his illustrious career as an actor and director, Bradley Cooper has slammed awards season as ‘utterly meaningless.’ …
‘It’s quite a thing to work through, and it’s completely devoid of artistic creation.’
The Pennsylvania native, 45, went on to emphasize how acting and directing is more about passion, rather than awards and accolades.
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Again, he’s echoing what I’ve been saying about the awards season for over a decade – as “My Review of the 2008 Oscars,” February 25, 2008, attests. But some might see this just as sour grapes.
After all, despite “receiving dozens of nominations,” Cooper has yet to win the most coveted of all awards, the Oscar. In other words, this smacks of the final act of performative grief. Of course, the first act sees the actor, who fails to even get nominated, consoling himself by saying the script was the thing, and the experience of playing that role reward enough.
That said, there’s no denying that Cooper’s epiphany stems from the crushing disappointment he must have felt in February when he failed to win for his leading role in A Star Is Born. After all, that lucky-8 nomination was arguably his last, best chance to finally win the elusive Oscar.
Therefore, it must have seemed a cruel joke that Joaquin Phoenix won for his leading role in Joker. But, if Cooper truly believes awards shows are vainglorious and meaningless, he can have the last laugh. This, by making a public show of declaring that, henceforth, he will not
- acknowledge any nomination for any award;
- attend any more awards shows; or
- accept any acting award if he wins.
I suspect this would shame other A-list actors into following his lead. More to the point, it would begin ridding the movie industry of the crass lobbying and preening vanity that attend the awards season, which make a mockery of the talent so many actors display for pure joy. And that’s entertainment.
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