Directors Best Contemporary Actress Tournament (1 Viewer)

[Christ Reynolds]

no judy davis in this tournament? amazing.

CJ

 

[JohnRice]

What on earth is the point of coming into the tourney, commenting on who is not included, not voting, and leaving? This is the second time this has happened.

 

[Marc Fedderman]

Liv Ullman

Maggie Gyllenhaal

 

[Christ Reynolds]

i find it amazing that nobody thought to include her. i didnt realize it was an issue to make a comment.

CJ

 

[SteveGon]

I'll go with Liv Ullmann (could we have our first contender?) and Maggie Gyllenhaal, both of whom advance.

Managed to squeeze in Judy Davis.

Next matches in a few...

 

[SteveGon]

Round 1 - Bracket 7

Kathy Bates

Born in 1948, this solid and respected actress has appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes, Primary Colors and Titanic. Got naked in About Schmidt. Won an Oscar for Stephen King's Misery, but not for his Dolores Claiborne.

vs.

Gena Rowlands

Born in 1930, this grand dame of indie cinema is best known for her work with John Cassavetes. Films include A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria, Night on Earth and The Notebook.



Round 1 - Bracket 8

Diane Lane

Born in 1965, this still-super-sexy forty-something actress can be seen in Streets of Fire, My Dog Skip and Under the Tuscan Sun. She also appeared in television's Lonesome Dove.

vs.

Emily Watson

Born in 1967, this elfin actress has starred in Hilary and Jackie, Separate Lies and The Proposition. She was nominated for an Oscar for her debut performance in Breaking the Waves

vs.

Frances O'Connor (wildcard)

Born in 1967, this fine, if relatively unknown actress is best known for playing Monica Swinton in A.I. She's also appeared in Windtalkers, Timeline and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002). She's toast.

 

[Brook K]

Gena Rowlands

Emily Watson

Both have given two of the finest acting performances I've ever seen in Woman Under the Influence and Breaking the Waves

 

[Lew Crippen]

Not a problem to make a comment Christ, but I imagine that John is referencing an earlier post expressing surprise that a particular actress was missing from the field. Steve added that actress, but so far, that poster has contributed nothing else to the tourney.

I don’t know about John (or anyone else), but I pay more attention to those who contribute, rather than just complain.

So please join in, vote and comment on your preferences and dislikes.

 

[JohnRice]

That's pretty much it. I said it faster, but Lew said it with more tact. There are over 60,000 members here, but only 64 actresses included in the tourney. In fact, it was so difficult to get people to contribute that Steve ended up allowing, what, 12 nominations each? If people keep coming in and complaining about the actress who "obviously" should be there but isn't, and don't participate in the tourney, this will get incredibly dull.

 

[Rich Malloy]

A rare easy round for me!

Gena Rowlands
Emily Watson

Glad that Judy Davis made it in, though wishing Celia Weston were in, too. My fault for not getting here in time for noms! Very sorry to see Isabelle leave in the first round. Ah well, I also voted against her, Liv Ullman being one of only a handful of actresses deserving mention in the same breath.

 

[JohnRice]

I completely agree, though the fact she never plays lead roles probably would make most participants ask "who is she?" Now that you mention it, Patricia Clarkson isn't in either. Both of who are far more deserving than either Judy Davis or Juliette Lewis, IMO.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Gena Rowlands

Emily Watson

 

[Elizabeth S]

Gena Rowlands
Diane Lane (2 of my noms pitted against each other. . .my sentimentality has to go with Diane, one of my all-time favorites.)

 

[Bill McA]

Gena Rowlands
Emily Watson

I've met Emily Watson in person!

If it ever makes it to DVD, check out Milos Forman's first American film Taking Off. In the opening moments of the film, we see an audition/sing-in scene which features a very young and slimmer Kathy Bates singing a song of her own composition.

She is credited in the film as Bobo Bates!!!

 

[Kristian]

Kathy Bates

Frances O'Connor

 

[george kaplan]

Kathy Bates

Diane Lane

The first one is tough cause I agree with Brook that Woman Under the Influence was great acting. The second one was easy cause I disagree with Brook about Breaking the Waves which was horribly acted.

 

[JohnRice]

Gena Rowlands

Emily Watson

 

[Marc Fedderman]

Abstain (I haven't seen enough of Rowlands yet to make a fair assessment.)

Emily Watson

 

[SteveGon]

And I'll go with Gena Rowlands and Emily Watson, both of whom advance.

New matchups in a few...

 

[SteveGon]

Round 1 - Bracket 9

Nicole Kidman

Born in 1967, this scarlet-tressed Aussie actress first got noticed in Dead Calm. She has also starred in To Die For, Eyes Wide Shut, Dogville, Cold Mountain and Moulin Rouge! Won a Best Actress Oscar for her turn in The Hours. Married Tom Cruise. Divorced Tom Cruise. Smart move. Doesn't mind doing nude scenes even though she believes she has the body of a boy! Um, not quite.

"I would love to have boobs and a butt like Jennifer Lopez but I'm not having surgery so there it is."

vs.

Sigourney Weaver

Born in 1949, this respected actress got some raves for surviving Alien. She's also been featured in The Year of Living Dangerously, Gorillas in the Mist, Ghostbusters, Death and the Maiden and Galaxy Quest. Received an Oscar nomination for kicking ass in Aliens.

vs.

Mary McDonnell (wildcard)

Born in 1952, this understated actress received an Oscar nomination for her breakthrough role in Dances With Wolves. She then went on to appear in Grand Canyon, Independence Day, Donnie Darko and the television series Battlestar Galactica. Got another Oscar nomination for her part in Passion Fish.



Round 1 - Bracket 10

Jennifer Connelly

Born in 1970, this fan-favorite actress first got noticed for making her way through the Labyrinth, though she'd previously appeared in Dario Argento's weird horror flick Phenomena. She's since appeared in Dark City, Waking the Dead, Requiem for a Dream and House of Sand and Fog.

vs.

Samantha Morton

Born in 1977, this outstanding British actress got an Oscar nomination for her role in Sweet and Lowdown. You can also see her in Morvern Callar, Jesus' Son and Code 46. Flying under the radar of most viewers, her biggest movie has been Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. She received yet another Oscar nomination for her performance in In America.

vs.

Drew Barrymore (wildcard)

Born in 1975, the granddaughter of John Barrymore first distinguished herself in Steven Spielberg's E.T. (and Spielberg would later chastise her for posing in Playboy!). An engaging actress, she has since appeared in mostly innocuous fare: Bad Girls, Boys on the Side, The Wedding Singer and Charlie's Angels.