04-02-2007, 09:12 PM
Women who act are act-ors, and I have no problem with a woman calling herself that. I do have a problem with anybody who claims to be an actor without actually, you know, acting. These poseurs are everywhere in Southern California, where, ironically, anybody who wants to act can get a gig. Maybe not a fun gig, or a paying one, but an actual acting gig. Shoot, even auditioning is a form of acting; I've met plenty of self-styled Actors who haven't been to an audition in six months. But I digress.
"Actor" is not specific the way "Mailman" is. And frankly, if the woman who delivers my mail calls herself a mailman instead of Mail Carrier or whatever, I'm fine with that, too. I refer to myself as a housewife from time to time.
I'm all in favor of having a Best Actor category open to men and women. It's not like they have a Best Directress category, or Best Original Screenplay By A Woman. I know many actors would prefer to have the two categories, but hey, there's a solution: a Best Impersonation category. Playing Idi Amin is impressive, but it's not the same as playing Dan Dunne in Half Nelson.
I'm not saying Forrest Whitaker didn't deserve to win. It's just not the same, is all. Copying mannerisms isn't the same as inventing them.
Then again, maybe we'll get tired of impersonations: Johnny and June Carter Cash, Queen Elizabeth, Ray Charles, Truman Capote, Frida Kahlo, Muhammad Ali, Edward R. Murrow, Aileen Wuornos, and Howard Hughes? Maybe all those nominations are a trend, just like for a while there, playing somebody with a disability was a sure bet with the Academy: I Am Sam, Forrest Gump, My Left Foot, Beautiful Mind, Nell, Forrest Gump, to name a few.
"Actor" is not specific the way "Mailman" is. And frankly, if the woman who delivers my mail calls herself a mailman instead of Mail Carrier or whatever, I'm fine with that, too. I refer to myself as a housewife from time to time.
I'm all in favor of having a Best Actor category open to men and women. It's not like they have a Best Directress category, or Best Original Screenplay By A Woman. I know many actors would prefer to have the two categories, but hey, there's a solution: a Best Impersonation category. Playing Idi Amin is impressive, but it's not the same as playing Dan Dunne in Half Nelson.
I'm not saying Forrest Whitaker didn't deserve to win. It's just not the same, is all. Copying mannerisms isn't the same as inventing them.
Then again, maybe we'll get tired of impersonations: Johnny and June Carter Cash, Queen Elizabeth, Ray Charles, Truman Capote, Frida Kahlo, Muhammad Ali, Edward R. Murrow, Aileen Wuornos, and Howard Hughes? Maybe all those nominations are a trend, just like for a while there, playing somebody with a disability was a sure bet with the Academy: I Am Sam, Forrest Gump, My Left Foot, Beautiful Mind, Nell, Forrest Gump, to name a few.