Sir- the 86 award to Paul Newman for COM was NOT a Lifetime Oscar award- it was a specific category- best actor award - no one is saying it was Newman's best performance ever in a movie- it clearly was not! In 1986 the Academy deemed Paul the best actor in a movie that year.
Not that I want to weigh into this on either side, but I think that he knows that Newman won the Best Actor Award, specifically. I'm surmising that he means that it wasn't necessarily a worthy role for the award and that he got the nod based on his achievements in his career.
Yes, I would agree none of the male performances were so great that year, I would also agree that Newman receiving the award had a least something to do with him never winning in the past. I do think that Paul made the most of that script in terms of at least developing a character for us to get pulled into the movie beyond just Tom Cruise's antics.
I agree the Hustler had a better story line, and Newman and George C. were both outstanding. But COM has a lot going for it...the booze and how it continues to influence Eddies, turturo does a great job playing the smartass hustler that has moved on from booze to cocaine, the breakdown of how to make it on the road hustling, etc. A lot to like about both movies.
Cool Hand Luke was a real good movie.
I guess for you it was like a nightmare wasn't it.
I know they were both Joss cues, but did not think they were identical. I am going to have to watch it again tonight.
Of course COM was NOT Newman's best work! Nobody said it was! But he won the award for it bc the Academy deemed it the BEST male leading actor performance for 1986. Academy awards are annual events- you don't get an award just because it is your best work- it has to be considered THE best work in your category THAT year.
La Dolce Vita? Anita Eckberg!! she gets my voteSent me scrambling to the Google machine.
Newman was nominated in 1962 for The Hustler (best actor) and lost to Maximilian Schell (Judgment at Nuremberg). There was no nominee in that category from West Side Story. Interestingly there was a second nominee from Judgment at Nuremburg in the same category (Spencer Tracy).*
Other nominees from The Hustler were George C. Scott and Jackie Gleason (Actor in a Supporting Role), who lost to George Chakiris (West Side Story), Piper Laurie, who lost to Sophia Loren (Two Women), Art Direction for a Black and White (which did win), Cinematography for a Black and White (which did win), Directing (lost to West Side Story), Best Motion Picture (lost to West Side Story), Writing (screenplay based on another medium) which it lost to Judgment at Nuremburg.
So, The Hustler had nine nominations and two wins. Of the nine nominations, The Hustler lost to West Side Story (the BIG winner that year with eleven nominations and ten wins) in the following categories: Supporting Actor (two Hustler nominations), Directing, and Best Motion Picture. The Hustler was spared some of the West Side Story onslaught because there were a few different categories for black and white and color movies.
Other memorable films from that year were: Breakfast at Tiffany's (5 nominations, 2 wins), The Children's Hour (5 noms), Fanny (5 noms), Flower Drum Song (5 noms), The Guns of the Navarone (7 noms, 1 win), The Absent Minded Professor (3 noms), Judgment at Nuremburg (11 noms, 2 wins), La Dolce Vita (4 noms, 1 win), Pocketful of Miracles (3 noms), Summer and Smoke (4 noms).
*For more on multiple actors (including three!) being nominated from the same film in the same category, you can browse here:
Every Time Film Costars Were Both Nominated For Leading Role Oscars
Some movies are lucky to get an acting nomination at the Oscars, while others get nominations in multiple acting categories. But there are even fewer cases of costars nominated in the same category for the same film. While Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress are more likely than the...www.ranker.com
Agreed, his roles in Cool Hand Luke and The Hustler were tremendous.