099 – Proof

We’re looking to the stage for this week’s episode! After being awarded the Pultizer Prize for Drama, a Tony success, and two years on Broadway, Oscar obsessives looked to the big screen adaptation of Proof to continue its slew of trophies. With Gwyneth Paltrow reprising her role from the London stage (along with that production’s director and Shakespeare in Love helmer, John Madden), this intimate drama on math and madness felt like the surest of bets on paper. But Proof’s release was delayed by a year as Miramax began to fizzle, arriving on screen as an afterthought even in a Best Actress year with fewer contenders.

This week, we look back at recent adaptations of Pulitzer Prize winning plays and what has gotten lost from stage to screen. We also look at how Proof has aged over years of being over-produced, Hope Davis’s era of an expected eventual nomination, and Mary Louise Parker’s Tony win.

Topics also include Anne Heche at stage doors, the God of Carnage puke scene, and next week’s 100th episode!!

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083 – Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

For this week’s episode, we have another quintessential prestige picture that flubbed with Oscar: it’s-a Captain Corelli’s Mandolin! Coming off of a Best Picture win with Shakespeare in Love, director John Madden returned with a WWII romance set on a gorgeous Greek island between recent Oscar winner Nicolas Cage and next-big-thing Penélope Cruz. But this love story was instantly derided for its tepid sparks and cringe-worthy dialect work from Cage, making it more of a punchline come Oscar time than the viable contender it seemed to be before release.

This week, we look back at Madden’s very THOB-friendly filmography and the behind-the-scenes business maneuverings that crossed this film with Miramax. We also take an extended look at 2001′s acting categories and imagine what a Best Picture ten could have been in the year of A Beautiful Mind and the first Lord of the Rings installment.

Topics also include Cruz’s busy 2001 amid her relationship with Tom Cruise, how movie-going was impacted by 9/11, Christian Bale’s butt, and prostitute pasta.

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@Had_Oscar_Buzz
Joe: @joereid
Chris: @chrisvfeil