The Chosen Ones Believe There Will Be Less Bling on the Red Carpet
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22 WWD, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009 As Hollywood prepares for the 81st annual Academy Awards on Sunday, E-Poll Market Research has ranked the nominees by scores based on their appeal. Gerry Philpott, president and chief executive of the firm, said the TheWWDList scores are higher compared with last year, especially for the actresses. “This could bode well for ratings,” he said. “Viewers want to see how these people look, and who will win. These are primarily well-known actresses, compared to the top five last year.” Overall observations for the Oscars this year? “There is always interest in someone glamorous,” he noted. “People are not going to give this up, no matter how down things are. But I do The Chosen Ones believe there will be less bling on the red carpet. Dresses and accessories Best actress and actor Oscar nominees ranked by their appeal. will be understated…actors will be showing some restraint.” — Cecily Hall ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE ANNE HATHAWAY Percentage of respondents who agree this person is appealing as an actress: 70 percent “Anne Hathaway has gotten some serious press this past year,” said Philpott of E-Poll. “With the exception of her ex-boyfriend [Raffaello Follieri, who is serving a federal prison term for duping investors], it’s all been related to her film roles.” Hathaway has selected versatile, challenging roles, such as Agent 99 in “Get Smart” and the rehab-tortured sister in “Rachel Getting Married,” which earned her the Oscar nod. Because of roles in 1 “The Devil Wears Prada” and “The Princess Diaries,” Hathaway appeals to a wide age group. “She really grasps that younger crowd, more so than other nominated actresses,” Philpott said. At the Golden Globes, Hathaway wore a royal blue silk gown from Giorgio Armani Privé (seen left). MERYL STREEP 66 percent Streep is one of the most honored actresses of any generation. She “has had an amazing, dynamic career — she can pretty much play any role she wants,” Philpott said. “On top of all this, she’s got a great reputation.” Streep gets high marks for her versatility, too. In the past year, she went from playing a singing, dancing bed-and-breakfast owner in a film version of the musical “Mamma Mia” to an unforgiving nun in the drama 2 “Doubt.” In accepting the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding female actor in a leading role for the latter role, Streep admitted that she hadn’t even purchased a dress for the event. Instead, she chose a loose-fitting black pantsuit. Streep has received 15 Oscar nominations and won twice: best actress for “Sophie’s Choice” in 1982 and best supporting actress for “Kramer vs. Kramer” in 1979. KATE WINSLET 65 percent “The bottom line for Kate Winslet: She’s just incredibly popular right now,” Philpott said. Indeed. She has picked up awards this season for her work in “Revolutionary Road” and “The Reader.” In the latter (the controversial role for which she is Oscar-nominated), Winslet plays an illiterate Holocaust war criminal who has an affair with a teenage boy half her age. Winslet first gained attention appearing alongside Emma Thompson 3 in “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), and her breakout role was Leonardo DiCaprio’s love interest in the blockbuster “Titanic” (1997). She has since chosen challenging roles in films such as “Iris” (2001), “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004) and “Little Children” (2006). The red-carpet favorite wore a blue Narciso Rodriguez gown (left) to the SAG Awards last month. MELISSA LEO 62 percent R E N Nominated for her work in the low-budget film “Frozen River,” Leo portrays a destitute mother of two sons who turns to smuggling illegal H C I E immigrants into the U.S. from Canada. Leo has been initiated into the whirlwind of red-carpet events, hiring stylist Cristina Ehrlich and telling E V E WWD at the SAG Awards, “I’ll let you know how it is in a couple of weeks, when I catch my breath.” WWD noted at the time, “While Leo has T S been an unknown fashion entity, she scored high marks for the custom emerald green taffeta gown from Simin Couture that she wore to the SAG Y B 4 S Awards.” Leo currently has a string of films in post-production. R E H T O L ANGELINA JOLIE L A ; 53 percent S E G This mother of six — and Brad Pitt’s companion — is one of the world’s highest-profile women. In addition to her film stardom and publicized A M I personal life, she is involved in her goodwill work with various charities and the United Nations. “Not everyone loves her as an actress,” Philpott Y T T said. “And her choices over the past few years haven’t been great, with the exception of her role in ‘The Changeling.’ E ” In this tear-jerking drama, G / Jolie stars as a mother whose son is abducted in 1928 — she conveys the grief, the shock of losing a child and trying to find him. This is Jolie’s P F A / 5 second Oscar nomination; she earned the best supporting actress award for her role as Lisa in “Girl, Interrupted” (1999). For the British Academy Y R R of Film and Television Arts Awards this month, Jolie chose a black silk Giorgio Armani Privé dress with yellow edging (left). U C N U A H ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Y B T T I P BRAD PITT D N A Percentage of respondents who agree this person is appealing as an actor: 60 percent E I L In “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Pitt plays a man who ages backwards. As for his appeal to movie fans, “Pitt is competing in a field” O J ; where some of the actors aren’t as well-known, Philpott said. “His reputation in Hollywood is pretty clean, too. Angelina received the brunt of A L L negative news with respect to his breakup with Jennifer Aniston.” Philpott said if Pitt were up against some of last year’s nominees, such as E D R 1 A George Clooney and Johnny Depp, “he would have ranked lower.” For the BAFTAs, Pitt appeared with Jolie on the red carpet wearing Tom Ford S O (left). He has two films in post-production: “Inglourious Basterds” and “The Tree of Life,” which also stars number-three-ranked T Sean Penn. A N O D Y B FRANK LANGELLA E K 51 percent R U O R There’s something about Richard Nixon that entices the Academy. Both Sir Anthony Hopkins and Langella have now received Oscar nominations D for portraying the 37th president. Acclaimed for his stage appearances, movie audiences may remember Langella as Bob Alexander in “Dave” N A O (1993) and as Count Dracula in “Dracula” (1979). Although he’s not famous relative to Pitt or Penn, “Langella is really well-liked in Hollywood,” E L , T Philpott said. “He actually may have improved Nixon’s overall image. He’s very charming and doesn’t have a huge body of work, but he stands out E 2 L S in public when he does perform.” Langella won a Tony Award for the same role in the stage version of “Frost/Nixon” in 2007. N I W ; S E SEAN PENN G A M I 44 percent Y T This five-time Oscar-nominated actor has come a long way since his days as Jeff Spicoli in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982). Penn, who won T E G / a best actor Oscar in 2004 for “Mystic River,” has been nominated this year for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist and politician in Y B T San Francisco who was assassinated in 1978. He picked up a SAG Award for the role. While Penn is certainly one of Hollywood’s most gifted actors, I H W he is also one of the more outspoken ones, as well: The actor took a three-day trip to Baghdad in December of 2002, and he completed a series of M I T 3 columns for the San Francisco Chronicle during a trip to Iran in 2005. He has been praised by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for his critical Y B stance against the war in Iraq. P E E R T S RICHARD JENKINS ; S E 38 percent G A M This is Jenkins’ first Oscar nomination. In the indie film “The Visitor,” he plays a lonely, washed-up college professor whose life changes the instant I Y he discovers two illegal immigrants occupying his New York apartment. “It’s great to see the Academy recognize performances from actors who T T E G aren’t always in the spotlight,” Philpott said. “For him to be singled out is huge.” Jenkins played dead patriarch Nathaniel Fisher in HBO’s “Six / N O Feet Under.” Last year, he appeared with George Clooney and Pitt in the Coen brothers film “Burn After Reading.” S 4 I R R A H R E MICKEY ROURKE Z A R F 30 percent Y B “Everyone loves a comeback story, and Mickey Rourke is that story this year,” Philpott said. “Similar to someone like John Travolta, he’s got this O T second break in his career now. He’s the classic story of an actor who was down-and-out and was resurrected” with his role in “The Wrestler.” O H P Philpott predicted that Rourke’s appeal score will rise after the Academy Awards.