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The Oscars for Supporting Performances Will Be Going to Leads
Zoe Saldana and Keiran Culkin are not supporting players
Were I an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences member, I would have balloted Zoe Saldana as one of my top choices for an Oscar for Best Performance by a Leading Actress.
Yes! A Leading Actress for her work in Emilia Perez.
Her performance as a hard-working struggling attorney who transitions into whatever Robert Duvall was in The Godfather, some sort of wealthy and powerful consiglieri, but working for the head of a Mexican cartel rather than the New York Mafia, is haunting.
Plus her stellar singing and dancing, especially in that breathtaking red-suited tabletop “El Mal” rap dance, are unforgettable.
I have admired Saldana for two decades, not only in blockbusters like the Avatar, Star Trek and Avengers movies, but also in smaller films, such as in Frank E. Flowers’ Caribbean-set Haven.
Yet instead of being considered for a Lead Oscar, Saldana has been sweeping awards season as the Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Perez, winning the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG.
Her co-star, the transgender Spanish actress, Karla Sofia Gascon, now disgraced due to her past hateful social media rants…
