| OCR Text |
Show If Shirley MacLaine wins an Oscar tomorrow night, she will do so not only because she gave a superb performance in Terms of Endearment but additionally because she is hitting 50, she has been around a long time (30 years), she has paid her dues to the industry, and, although nominated four times before for a Best Actress statuette, she has not yet walked off with one. Similarly, should Robert Duvall win an Oscar, he w ill owe much of the honor not only to his insightful work in Tender Mercies but also to his entire film record. Duvall received a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 1972 for The Godfather but lost out to Joel Grey for Cabaret. He was nominated in the same category in 1979 for Apocalypse Now, only to lose out to Melvyn Douglas for Being There. And he was nominated as Best Actor for The Great Santini in 1980 but saw the Oscar go to Robert De Niro for Raging Bull. Moreover, of the five Best Actor nominees this year. Duvall is the only American, competing against four Britons. Last year, Englishman Ben Kingsley won as Best Actor for Gandhi. It is unlikely that Academy members will vote Oscars to English actors in consecutive years. Hence, circumstances this year play in Duvalls favor. One can never tell for certain, however, where motion picture people are concerned. Most of them are strongly opinionated, highly individualistic characters who resent their opinions being taken for granted. In any case, herewith is this reporters tout sheet for tomorrow's 56th running of the Oscar sweepstakes. BEST PICTURE rights to the 1975 Larry McMurtry novel on which the film is freely based but sold them to Paramount, which let James Brooks make the movie. A shoo-i- n. The Dresser. A British film adapted for the screen by Ronald Harwood from his play, which first attracted audiences in London in 1980. It stars Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay Finney playing a bombastic determined to keep his acting company on the road in wartime England, and Courtenay depicting his kind, homosexual dresser. The Right Stuff. A work of nonfiction based on Tom Wolfes 1979 book, the film is a period piece about the astronauts and test pilots who participated in our space program from 1947 to 1963. It is far too long, lags in spots but excels in special effects. To date, about S40 million has been spent to produce and advertise the film, which has garnered some of the Academy's sympathy vote. 3-The Big Chill. Shot on location in Beaufort, S.C.. without one "big name in the cast, the movie deals with seven former activists from the University of Michigan who reunite at the funeral of Alex, once the campus radical. Most have become members of the Establishment they denounced in the '60s. The film was produced by the Carson Productions Group, whose leader, Johnny, is emcee of tonights Oscar show. 3-- 1 . Tender Mercies. An inspiring art film of sorts honest, simple and moving it was shot in Texas in 1981 but not released until last year. It is a compassionate love story about a legendary singer (Robert Duvall) and the young widow (Tess Harper) he meets. Good movie, but a long shot for an Oscar. 3. actor-manag- er 2-- 1. 1. 7-- 1. Terms of Endearment. A runaway favorite, commercially successful but in truth a slicked-u- p in which mother Shirley MacLaine and daughter Debra Winger engage in simplistic role reversals. The property had been around Hollywood for years. Actress Jennifer Jones once optioned the BEST ACTOR deserving of an Oscar for his leading role in Tender Mercies. His work has earned him three previous nominations. But tomorrow. the Best Actor prize is his, despite stiff competition from four British colleagues. Albert Finney (The Dresser). A superb English player who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , at 47 he is in constant demand by stage, screen and TV producers in Hollywood. New York and London. His acting as Sir in The Dresser is larger than life and memorable, but he has Duvall to catch. Michael Caine ( Educating Rita). Son of a charwoman and a fish market porter. Caine was bom and reared in East London, never thinking of an acting career until the British Army discharged him after service in Korea. Since then, he has developed into a star with 50 films to his credit. He likes to work and goes from picture to picture without a break. 2-- 1. n Robert Duvall, as a country music star, shows Allan Hubbard flashes of Tender Mercies. Duvall's real acting talent may win him an Oscar. old talent in nUUOC MAGAZINE AfWL 8, 1M4 HMJE S middle- Tom Courtenay (I) and Albert Finney in The British professor who falls for his student Dresser. Both are in Educating Rita, he among the four Britons gained 30 pounds before chasing Robert Duvall arriving in Dublin, where Best A ctor honors. for the film was shot. 3--1. Tom Courtenay (The Old-time- rs Dresser). Another graduate of the Royal Academy, Courtenay, 47, played Norman, the dresser, on stage for a long run in London and in New York. He and Finney are expected to split the Academy's British vote, since both were nominated in the Best Actor category for their work 1. in the same film. Tom Conti (Reuben, Reuben) was bom in Paisley, Scotland, where his Scottish mother and Italian father ran beauty salons, a business in which he was not particularly interested. Conti studied acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, worked in Scottish repertory for 10 years, then hit it big on Broadway with his fascinating performance in Whose Life Is It Anyway? Shot in North Carolina, Reuben, Reuben is his first American film. He plays a Dylan Thomas-lik- e poet with touching insight and humor; even so, he is a long shot. 6--aged 4-- Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies). One of the most talented, creative and resourceful character actors of our time. Duvall is truly 3. has-bee- To play the drunken, tend to rote for Oscars on a sentimental Itasis 1. BEST ACTRESS Because increasmiddle-age- d are actresses for roles movie good ingly rare, MacLaine agreed to star as the mother in this film for $300,000 and a profit percentage. It was a wise decision. Endearment not only serves as a fitting vehicle for her expanding dramatic range but also is a smash that should finally bring her the Best Actress award she was denied in 1958 (Some Came Running), 1960 (The Apartment). 1963 (Irma La Douce) and 1977 (The Turning Point). 6dds-o- n favorite. Jane Alexander (Testament) is recognized by her peers as a magnificent actress who has won almost every award worth winning except an Oscar. In Testament, she stars unforgettably as the mother of three children with whom she is trying to survive the aftermath of a nuclear attack. It is a frightening film. Alexander was nominated for Kramer vs. Kramer, All the President's Men and The Great White Hope. Inevitably, she will win an Oscar because she is so admired and respected in the profession but not this year. 3-Meryl Streep (Silkwood). In 1979, she won the Oscar Shirley MacLaine (Terms of Endearment). box-offi- 2. 1. continued |
