Thursday, March 28, 2024

Meryl Streep and Viola Davis Will Not Make Good Oscar Rivals

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Don’t we long for some hair pulling and cat fighting among the Oscar nominees? Well, with Meryl Streep and Viola Davis in the mix, it’s going to be very dullsville. First of all Streep–in the mix for “The Iron Lady”–has written a love letter to Davis in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. Then, I’m told, that Davis is presenting to Streep on January 9th at the New York Film Critics Circle dinner. Davis, of course, is in the mix for “The Help” as lead actress. So much love! So little sniping! Actually none!

Last night I ran into Viola Davis and husband Julius at the premiere of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Again, she only had nice things to say about everyone. And Davis got to meet Joely Richardson, so outstanding as Harriet Vanger in “Tattoo.” Viola said: “I have to sit down and ask Meryl how she has managed to live her life normally all these years. This is what I want to learn from her. She doesn’t let anything get to her.”

Meanwhile, the whole “Tattoo” crowd was there including director David Fincher, producer Scott Rudin, snazzy Sony chief Amy Pascal, plus Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright and Stellan Skarsgard. Their movie has opened late in the awards season, so they’re hoping to still catch a Golden Globe or Oscar nod. (We’ll see this morning on the former.) Rooney Mara is eye popping sensational as Lisbeth Salander, the punk bi-sexual investigator who doesn’t take any you know what.

Plummer, meantime, is glowing. On Tuesday he turned 82. He’s in the Oscar mix for Best Supporting Actor in “Beginners.” He’s superb in “Tattoo.” He doesn’t stop. What a year, huh? “It’s not bad,” he said, with a Cheshire grin.

By the way, the excellent American version of “Tattoo” boasts a couple of cameos from actors we don’t see so often: Embeth Davidtz, who made her name in “Schindler’s List,” and Julian Sands. Plus Alan Dale, who played the evil Charles Widmore on “Lost” so memorably, is a police detective.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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