Why Actor instead of Supporting Actor?

I do feel the same way, but arguments can be made for both sides.

This can be interpreted in two ways:

That the film focuses on Leonard's battle and how Doctor Sayer helped him experience an 'awakening.'

Or

The film focuses on Sayer and his experiences with his patients and how he formed a tight bond with them -- especially Leonard.


Personally, I would have liked to see both nominated in the leading category, but the academy rarely does that so I would have liked to have seen De Niro in the supporting catergory and Williams in the leading. Then both of them should have won because, quite frankly, they were the most deserving in that year.

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Last seen films:

Awakenings: 10/10
Elysium: 9/10
Secret Window: 9.5/10

I found the back half of the film focused more on Leonard, whereas Williams' screen time decreased. Really there is argument for both. Films can have two leads, in fact most films do, in this case both the leads were men.

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Kevin Spacey in the Usual Suspects also has th majority of screentime.

And in Training Day, Ethan Hawke is clearly the main character, yet he gets nominated for Supporting Actor while Denzel gets the chocolates as Lead Actor.

Something to do with billing peraps?



Never defend crap with "It's just a movie"
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There's no understanding Academy nominations because they are neither rational nor logical. The AMPAS nominates primarily upon subjective response: How does the role "feel" to you as the viewer?

So screentime has very, very little to do with categorizing nominations. It's more about the overall impact of the role to the film as a whole when compared to the other roles.

Now, I'm not saying it's a good system. But getting just the actors who vote (several thousand) to agree upon objective guidlines gives me a headache just thinking about it.

Also, nominations are discussed amongst the voting bodies and can, I'm sad to admit, be influenced by aggresive campaigns, both public and private. If you know the reference it's kinda like how democratic Presidential nominees used to be picked (during and prior to the 1950s). There's a silent consensus on the nominations by the time they are made public.

In the case of "Awakenings" I have no problem with the acting nods. Penny Marshall's lack of directing nomination is entirely about her gender and that's sad even if it was nearly 25 years ago. I hope she makes more great films, and soon.

"Runnin' Things; it ain't all gravy." Casper in "Miller's Crossing" (1990)

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