Academy Nomination for Best Actress - Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) Discussion

[–] thedrells-1 15 years ago

Even more bizarre when you look at who she was up against...

Best Actress in a Leading Role

WINNER
Monster's Ball: Halle Berry

NOMINEES
Bridget Jones's Diary: Renée Zellweger
In the Bedroom: Sissy Spacek
Iris: Judi Dench
Moulin Rouge!: Nicole Kidman

Everybody be cool...YOU be cool!

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[–] greenjae 15 years ago

i honestly think Kidman's satine is better. its just a better ROLE. bridget jones is a chick flick romcom light hearted

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[–] MarilynHack 15 years ago

Renee got the nomination because she deserved it. NO ONE could have done with the role what she did. The accent and gained weight were a plus but when you do something with a role only YOU could do and do it convincing/well received that will equal = nomination. plus she was basically overdue at that point - they could have nominated her for Jerry Maguire back in 97'

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[–] hypnosis 14 years ago

One of the most inspired nominations of the past ten years. She fully deserved it. She never took the sentimental route, and yet, I felt so much empathy for her.

Blue Valentine/Williams/Gosling/Weaver/Hawkes

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[–] jajceboy 14 years ago

She deserved it, and more! Bridget is kinda of a tricky character to play, and Renee did her justice. No one else could've played her as good or as sympathetic as Renee did.
Other actors could've maybe played on the comedic aspect more and made her a tragic character we could laugh at. Renee made her to a sympathetic chaarcter that feels real,and we have so much empathy for!

And dont forget the accent, plus the weight loss, and that's an achievement in it self. Especially the dialect, which must qualify as one of the hardest dialects to get right!

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[–] TheatreManiac7 14 years ago

You also have to realize how effortless she makes it look. I recall reading in the NY Times review for the movie, it saying something to the extent of "a performance that looks so effortless must've taken a great deal of work." Zellwegger worked her ass off to the get accent, look, and personality down for the character and managed to make her completely, 100% three dimensional without ever giving the impression that she was "acting." THAT is quite an achievement. Bridget Jones isn't the type of juicy role that an actress can bite into and therefore win the Oscar, but when done well (and Zellwegger did it flawlessly), it can really click with an audience. And it did.

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[–] buckland_mistress 14 years ago

Agreed. It's also great to see that she was the only actress in her category being nominated for a comedy role. Serious and dramatic roles don't necessarily equate to being a good actor. Comedy may actually be harder to pull off than drama. You can cast any actress in a rom-com (ahem, Jennifer Aniston), but it just comes off as cheesy if the actor has no comedic timing.

~ In the name of the Yoda, the Gandalf, and the Dumbledore ~

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[–] ladyoftheisland 14 years ago

Another reason why I didn't like the second movie, Renee was just SO good in the first.

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[–] rowenad 14 years ago

Can't believe that this film received any nominations at all and especially RZ

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[–] a-2003 11 years ago

She was fabulous and 100 per cent believable as Bridget, which is more impressive than it sounds.

More deserving than Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook, in my opinion.

What's truth got to do with anything?

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[–] conway3000 11 years ago

She deserved that nomination. After reading the book, I felt she was perfect in every way - her looks, accent everything. She showed the appropriate emotions on her face etc. RZ is a good actress.

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[–] movie80 10 years ago

She deserved that nomination.

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[–] WehoSteve 10 years ago

They say comedy is even harder to pull off than drama - and Renee did a splendid job here. She totally deserved the nomination.

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[–] Benedict_Cumberbatch 8 years ago

It was a VERY strong year, especially considering how the likes of Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher; I believe she wasn't eligible until the next year), Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive), Tilda Swinton (The Deep End), Audrey Tautou (Amelie) and Thora Birch (Ghost World) weren't even nominated (all wonderful performances). They could have had 10 worthy nominees, which is rare.

That said, I do not have a problem with Zellweger's nomination at all. Many felt she was snubbed the previous year for "Nurse Betty" (which earned her her first Golden Globe), and not only was she a perfect Bridget Jones, I love when comedic performances are rewarded by the Academy.

Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's.

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