Tom O’Neil’s Gold Derby has begun hammering home the idea that Christian Bale has damaged future chances at an Academy Award with his recent tirade on the set of “Terminator Salvation.” O’Neil’s assertion stems from the idea that “Bad boys don’t win Academy Awards.” Naturally, at this point of the year, writing about 2010 Oscars is naturally silly, but then again, that’s what O’Neil blogs about, so more power to his idiocy. Chances are, of all the A-Listers in Hollywood, Christian Bale really doesn’t give a shit about an Oscar (can you believe he’s never even been nominated?), but what O’Neil writes is interesting, in spite of itself.
While there may be juice to O’Neil’s assertion that the Academy doesn’t like bad boys- guys like him always discuss shit like that, but seem to NEVER be concerned over what’s the most deserving nominee- the article is most interesting for how it positions Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies,” the film that Bale would hypothetically be nommed for. For one, a lot of the sheep-like nominating body reads and is often guided by these silly Oscar season blogs, so the sudden mention of “Enemies,” due for release this summer, places the film squarely in the company of other fall releases like “Ashecliffe,” “The Lovely Bones,” “Tree of Life,” “Nine,” “Green Zone,” and “Inglorious Basterds.” Voters know the heat they have been receiving for not only skipping over the year’s biggest hits, but also living up to their stereotype in only honoring films released in the final months of the year, so with a filmmaker like Michael Mann releasing a prestige project in the summer that’s ALSO meant to be a crowd pleaser and with Oscar bloggers talking up potential nominations, regardless of context, “Public Enemies” likely gets in the game by virtue of Christian Bale blowup.
We’ve got a “Public Enemies” script review coming up too- needless to say, it’s easy to see awards season prognosticators become fond of this film.