This is not a surprise to me. I have complained for years about the Oscars inane ignorance about not recognizing mo-cap acting as real acting when it comes to acting nominations. Andy Serkis has been screwed over and over again thanks to the Academy not believing he was really acing as Gollum in the LOTR movies. Now, the Golden Globes is doing something similar. The Hollywood Reporter just announced that Scarlett Johansson is ineligible for acting nominations for Spike Jonze’s Her.
At least I can kind of see the problem here.
For those who are unfamiliar with the movie, Her is about a man (Joaquin Phoenix) in the future who falls in love with a computer operating system named Samantha (Johansson). The role of Samantha, which is only a voice the entire movie, has earned Johansson a lot of critical acclaim, including the Best Actress award at the Rome Film Festival. However, the Golden Globes, which is usually a lot more progressive than the Academy Awards, do not recognize it as proper acting.
They also followed the Oscar’s previous declarations and deemed Serkis ineligible for both Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. That makes the Johansson decision make sense because Serkis at least was acting and photographed for the rendered movements. Johansson was basically a voice actor, which would make animated performances eligible as well.
This probable will play out at the Academy Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, meaning that – barring a miracle – one of the best performances of the year will not be recognized. Look for my review of Her to hit Renegade Cinema over the next couple of weeks.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
