It's Slugger Versus The Lover As Local Boys Battle For A Globe
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday January 16, 2006
IN AUSTRALIAN terms, tomorrow morning's battle for best actor at the Golden Globes pits the Slugger against the Lover.
The Slugger is Russell Crowe, whose Depression era prize-fighter in Cinderella Man mixes it with Heath Ledger's turn as a love-crossed 1960s gay cowboy in this year's sleeper hit, Brokeback Mountain. The "others" in the Globes match-up include Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote (Capote) and David Strathairn for his portrayal of the newsman Edward R. Murrow (Good Night and Good Luck).The latest odds have Ledger and Hoffman in a tight race, with Hoffman a nose ahead. Crowe, whom the bookies put last, had a bad year and committed the sin of letting a personal meltdown - flinging a phone at a hotel worker - sabotage the launch of Cinderella Man. The film never recovered.Just 90 full-time, part-time or barely employable scribes from the eccentric Hollywood Foreign Press Association decide the Globes. Usual form guide science is not as important as imponderables such as which contender signed more autographs for fawning association members.Brokeback Mountain, with seven nominations, is the top contender. "The fact is [Crowe] is not that popular among the rank and file Oscar voters," a studio insider with Australian credentials noted. "They don't like being lectured at their big event and he's done that ... but the Heath Ledger thing is irresistible: from this young and callow teenager to brave and, finally, articulate."However, in the countdown to the Oscars, another Australian could feature.Steven Spielberg's thriller Munich, in which Eric Bana plays a Mossad assassin, is hailed as his finest film in years.It arrived too late to register as a Globes prospect but Hollywood insiders might be ready do something good on March 5 for their favourite son, particularly with a film that really showcases the town's long tradition of Jewish open-mindedness.
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald