Leonardo DiCaprio and the elusive Oscar

       Leonardo DiCaprio is considered one of the best-known actors of not only our generation but of all time. He started on the screen as a child actor over twenty years ago on the television show Growing Pains and still continues to wow audiences to present day. But even though Leonardo DiCaprio is arguably at the utmost highest caliber of actors he still does not possess an Oscar. The Oscar is considered the universally standard recognition of top quality performance in the American cinema industry, especially for acting, and yet it still has evaded DiCaprio’s grasp. Though he has been nominated five times already for an Oscar, once as a producer, once as best supporting actor, and three times for the best actor category he just never ends up on top.  

        It is true that Leonardo Dicaprio’s movies are brilliantly written but most times it is his enlightened acting that shines as the most prominent strength of the film. It is DiCaprio’s acting that for the large part makes the film memorable, which is why directors haven chosen him in their films. Some of DiCaprio's greatest films are: 

Titanic(1997)

Inception (2010)

Shutter Island (2010)

The Departed (2006)

Aviator (2004)

Gangs of New York (2002)

       A highly debated argument on why Leonardo DiCaprio has not won an Oscar is he is not that “type” of actor, as in contemporary rather than traditional. There are certain actors who are considered “cool” actors, ones who are successful and talented but they aren’t traditional actors or method actors. Actors similar to DiCaprio such as Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Pitt or Jonny Depp, who play thoroughly entertaining characters more centered toward teens and mid-20s audiences. 

       The unofficial standard for this coolness is the Pitt-Hanks spectrum, this predicts the likelihood of an actor to win an Oscar, the closer to “cool” Pitt the less likely to win. Actors who play characters who are perceived as weaker, or closer to a relatable person are the ones more likely to win. There are many issues with this ideology of cool actors not winning; it severely hinders actors experimenting with roles that don’t qualify as “Oscar worthy.” Although it is set that a certain character will win should indicate that actors should strive toward those characters is pretty intuitive, that should not be the basis of the win.        
       
          But regardless of academy award status and not being officially recognized by the academy itself, DiCaprio realizes thats not what it means to be a good actor and has been extremely positive about it all.    

Oscar Buzz

It's still a few months away, but I'm looking forward to watch this years Academy Awards as I do every year. I love watching the Oscars because it's an opportunity to see films at their best. Audiences get to see the best in the industry from Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Score, Best Original Screenplay, etc. I also love seeing the celebrities and how they come to support fellow actors/actresses and to watch the show. It's always a spectacular show to watch. 

This year, comedian actor Seth MacFarlane (creator of Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and the motion picture Ted) will be hosting the 85th annual Academy Awards and I predict it will be a great show as usual.

The first Academy Awards were given in 1929 at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood, California. The awards have changed for the decades and the awards currently are given to over a dozen categories and include various types of films. Annually, the Academy awards is televised in more than 100 countries, and is the oldest award ceremony in media.

Douglas Fairbanks

Wings

Again the first Academy Award ceremony took place on Thursday May 16, 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The First host was actor Douglas Fairbanks. Fairbanks was known in Hollywood for his roles in The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mask of Zorro.  

The First Motion Picture to win the award for best picture was the film Wings. Wings was a silent film about World War 1 fighter pilots.The first Academy Award ceremony I remember seeing as a kid was in 2004 when Million Dollar Baby took home the Best Picture award. I loved the experience of it especially watching Chris Rock host the show. Some awards that were given that night were Jamie Foxx for Best Actor for his role in Ray, Hilary Swank for Best Actress in Million Dollar Baby, Morgan Freeman for Best Supporting Actor in the film Million Dollar Baby, Cate Blanchett in The Aviator, Clint Eastwood for Best Director of Million Dollar Baby, The Incredibles received Best Animated Film, and Robert Richardson for Best Cinematography in the film The Aviator.

A lot of great awards have been given over the years and I look forward to seeing which movies take home the awards this upcoming year in February. Some films predicted to be in the Best Picture Category include: Lincoln, Life of Pi, Les Miserables, Argo, The Master, Anna Karenina, and Flight.