Are Angelina's giant lips the kiss of death? We say so. Clint Eastwood's only presence at this month's awards will be Ms. Jolie for Changeling, an overdramatic performance that loudly seeks compensation for her Mighty Heart snub the year before. And if there's one force that can pull attention away from everyone or anything else, it's Angie.
Too bad, too, since Clint's Gran Torino was, we dare say, his best flick in the last few years. It's like Dirty Harry was still alive and had moved to the Jersey 'burbs. Truly ironic and riveting stuff. Clint did a helluva better job resurrecting an old personality than Spielberg did with Grandpa Indy, that's fer sure.
Plus, in only two months, the flick's made more than $100 mil and counting—that's like five Slumdog Millionaire's. It's practically Spider-Man money. Looked like everyone was paying attention to the film—everyone except any Academy voters.
So what's up with the major snub? Are the Oscars just not that into Eastwood anymore? Will he have a chance at next year's nomination process, as has been whispered?
No.
A spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tells us Oscar will most definitely not be making Clint's day, come next Oscar season. We only asked, of course, because some eager film fans have wondered—since Gran Torino was just in limited release in December—could Clint maybe have a shot at next year's Oscars as the film's just now gone wide?
Like we said, nada chance of that happening: Academy spokesperson Toni Thompson says, "If a film is released in '08—it doesn't matter how many theaters—and qualifies for submission, it can only be considered for that year's Oscar contentions."
Damn, what a waste. And with what was clearly a career-pinnacle flick for the esteemed curmudgeonly genius. Looks like Clint's gotta go back to the drawing board for the 2010 awards. As far as leading actresses go—may we suggest Megan Fox?
—Additional reporting by Becky Bain