Is there only room for one It guy from Britain?

Dave Chapelle once said that there's only room for one black comedian and that was Chris Rock before he came along. I'm just using this as an example, but it seems like public attention really only stays glued to one British guy at a time.

Jude Law was that guy from 99-04 with Talented Mr Ripley,

Paul Bettany with his 2 collaborations with Russell Crowe (ABM and M&C) and his career beginning to go solo with Dogville and Wimbledon gave him a run for his money.

Some people were pegging Orlando Bloom a successor in the hype for Elizabethtown and Kingdom of Heaven but he panned out.

Then it was Clive Owen with his GG win in Closer and then going on to star in (I believe) Domino and Children of Men.

Then Daniel Craig with James Bond in Casino Royale and picking up a pretty busy schedule over the next couple years with the sequel and Defiance.

Now it looks like Colin Firth with A Single Man and King's Speech. I originally was curious to know what might have happened if Bettany, Law, and Owen might have even been denied the starring Oscar-bait role for The King's Speech because they weren't hot in the now before finding out that that's exactly what happened. The film's production crew was considering Paul Bettany but the studio vetoed it because he wasn't as much of a star. Theory validated!

This, of course, is absurd. Not that long ago, Bettany had the second largest role in a Best Picture nominee (Master and Commander, 2003), had a prominent role in a Best Picture winner (A Beautiful Mind, 2001), and was tapped to become a star of his own in Wimbledeon. Meanwhile, Colin Firth was pretty much placed in movies to make Hugh Grant look more attractive to ladies (to be fair, this observation was first made on Saturday Night Live).

TV actors who I wouldn't hesitate to watch if they were in a show

This past fall stars a number of stars who I have missed are returning to TV in a new role:
-Keri Russell, previously of Felicity comes back in the form of Running Wilde
-Will Sasso, previously of Mad TV and Less than Perfect, now comes back on Shit my Dad Says
-Will Arnett, previously of Arrested Development comes back on Running Wilde
-Maura Tierny of ER and Newsradio comes back to TV in The Whole Truth
-William Shatner, previously on Star Trek and Boston Legal comes back in Shit my Dad Says
-Skeet Ulrich of Jericho comes back in Law and Order: Los Angeles

This inspired me to make a long somewhat frivolous list of TV actors and actresses currently not working in TV as a series regular, who I wouldn't hesitate to watch the pilot of if they were cast in a new series. I'm including TV shows on their filmography that I've personally seen them in (not their entire filmographies):

AJ Langer: It’s Like You Know, Three Sisters-The vet of My So Called Life is very charming and has a good free-spirited ditzy vibe to her. She is also beautiful in a very Earthy way.

Alan Ruck-Going Places/Mad About You/Spin City-If anything, Spin City was not the right role for this guy. He's a lot gentler (think "Cheaper by the Dozen") than his Stuart character and there's a good role for that somewhere.

Andreas Anders-Joey, The Class, Better off Ted-The perky girl next door type is rediculously easy on the eyes and can play a love interest or foil to the protagonist like no one else. She's adept at playing those situations in sitcoms where the characters find themselves over their heads and on verge of panic.

Anna Belknap-Deadline/Handler/CSI: New York-Not particularly well-known, I was drawn to her in The Handler because of the way she conveyed a lot of emotion without ever taking over a scene. Like Mary McCormack or Amy Brenneman, she's capable of being bigger if the right part every suits her but she might got stuck in supporting roles for a while.

Amber Tamblyn-Joan of Arcadia-She was good in Joan of Arcadia and that TV show earned great reviews. There's no reason why she can't give TV a second try and play a character a little older.

Amy Peitz-Caroline in the City, Aliens in America, The Office-Her sexy Midwestern mom on Aliens in America was Emmy-worthy. There aren't many actresses at her age who could pull off grounded sex appeal so well.

Cheri Oteri-Saturday Night Live/Just Shoot Me/Sit Down Shut Up/Life and Times of Tim-This woman is simply nuts. Her characters are high energy and wonderfully absurd.

Chris Parnell-Saturday Night Live/30 Rock/Miss Guided-I see him as the perfect off-kilter straight man. With Leo Spaceman, he's the straight man to Tracy Morgan's character but he himself is a little bit off as well. He serves scenes well.

Christina Applegate-Married with Children, Jesse, Samantha Who-Has rebounded nicely from projects which didn't work out and her performance in Anchorman shows she can mold herself to whatever comic situation a script needs her to be.

Faith Ford-Murphy Brown/Maggie Winters/Hope and Faith-A competent lead who's worked in a number of shows.

Fred Willard-Roseanne/Maybe It’s Me/Everybody Loves Raymond/A Minute with Stan Hooper/Back to You/Modern Family-The man from Christopher Guest films is a witty improviser and digs his teeth into absurdity. If the show centers too much around him in a highly-anticipated way like "Back to You," it doesn't work as well.

George Takei-Star Trek/Heroes-He's like Betty White or David Hasselhoff in being a guy who gets a lot of random love later in life. He's a cult hero of sorts. I'd like to see him take that energy to a TV show. Besides if Shatner's on the air, why not Takei?

Harriet Sansom Harris-It’s All Relative/Frasier-She has a wonderful provincial accent that generates half the laughs you need alone.

Heather Page Kent-Life with Roger/Jenny/Stark Raving Mad/That’s Life-She was on four shows between 1996 and 2000 and then I have no idea what happened to her. In That's Life, the show that centered around her, she was a vulnerable spunky semi-independent woman in the mold of Ally McBeal and all the female heroines going back to Mary Tyler Moore.

Jamie Pressley-Jack and Jill/Happy Family/My Name is Earl-My Name is Earl deservedly won her an Emmy but she's played more dialed-down roles pretty well in the other shows I've listed.

Jennifer Esposito-Spin City, Samantha Who-With her Jersey accent, she has a little bit of an acerbic Chelsea Handler vibe to her and can play vulnerable just as easily as she can play condescending.

Joe Pantolillio-Handler/Sopranos/Dr. Vegas-In Handler and Dr. Vegas, he was less of a ham than James Caan is in Las Vegas as the tough guy in charge. I think he can depict more shades of grey in the kinds of cop procedurals and dramas that require someone to look serious and act as if they're doing something of grave importance.

John Stamos-Full House/Jake in Progress-Like the Hasselhoff, Stamos is turning into somewhat of a novelty item on TV. Seeing him appear on screen is an event in and of itself. He earns my fondness because he's self-conscious of his negative association with the schlock of "Full House" and the fact that the last time he was the epitome of cool was 15 years ago.

Jacinda Barrett-Real World/D.C./Citizen Baines-Like A.J. Langer, I've seen her play the ditzy, free-spirited girl to great effect but she also can do more, I'm sure. Another one of those cases of a personal crush as well.

Jessalyn Ginsing-Boston Public/Prison Break/Heroes/Glee-Ginsing is great at grey areas. She was the sort-of-heroine of Boston Public and can play dramatic in Heroes or melodramatic as in Glee. She was the "hot"-but-tepid teacher on Boston Public and hasn't faded.

John Michael Higgins-Arrested Development/Raising the Bar/Kath and Kim/Community-Many actors from Christopher Guest's list of actors can be plugged into a sitcom with good results (fun fact: Jane Lynch was primarily known for her association with Guest before Glee). John Michael Higgins is one of those guys that is great in a lot of things. He's particularly good as dumb boorish figures who don't second guess themselves.

Judy Greer-Arrested Development/Miss Guided/Archer-Miss Guided convinced me that she can play a very likable lead in a Mary Tyler Moore mold. Come to think of it, a great great number of female TV leads are in the mold of Mary Tyler Moore.

Julia Sweeny-Saturday Night Live/Maybe It's Me/Frasier-Most famous for her androgynous character Pat on SNL, Julia Sweeny was actually one of the more underused actresses on SNL and one who tended to enhance a sketch more often then detract from it. She can be a good side character and I have no doubt she can make that character funny and/or interesting. Interesting tidbit: She beat out Friend's Lisa Kudrow for her Saturday Night Live spot.

Lori Loughlin-Full House/Hudson Street/Spin City/90210-In retrospect, I've discovered Full House was an awful show if you're over 12 years old. Tanner, Coulier and Stamos were all pretty corny but Lori Loughlin's acting still holds up suprisingly well.

Mark McKinney-Kids in the Hall/Saturday Night Live/Wanda at Large/Studio 60-Nostalgia for the 95-96 season of SNL will go a long way with me. McKinney is a funny guy who can also play a good straight man and blends in on comedies pretty easily.

Paula Marshall-Cupid, Snoops, Webber Show, Gary Unmarried-She's bounced around on more pilots and guest spots that I have room to list here and she's had a few roles that have given me somewhat of a crush on her. She's versatile and has some degree of sex appeal.

Rachel Bilson-The O.C./Chuck-How often is the rich and shallow girl who's been cruel to the hero his whole life been the girl you root for in a love triangle? That's what Rachel pulled off on the first season of The O.C. She's sassy, smart, can play young and she can convincingly be a vehicle for Juno-esque dialogue.

Rena Sofer-Saved by the Bell/Just Shoot Me/Coupling/Heroes/24-Her New York accent might have been much in Just Shoot Me, but for the most part, she's an actress who always seems to be the best part of the show she's in.

Rene Auberjonois-Star Trek DS9/Frasier/Boston Legal-I loved him in the Rob Altman movies as well as Star Trek and his penchant for good material is as good as his ability to make characters more complex than they look on paper.

Robyn Tuney-The Prisoner/The Mentalist-I'd be equally happy seeing her in movies. I think she might be more of a movie person, but there's no reason that I wouldn't be happy to see her on a TV show. She's shined even in small roles (i.e. Hollywoodland, The Mentalist)

Taylor Howard-Boston Common/Two Guys a Girl a Pizza Place/Monk-Howard played the Mary Tyler Moore-type in Boston Common and played one of the guys in Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place. In Monk, she generated a lot more chemistry with Tony Shaloub than Betty Schram in my opinion. Very competent

Terry Farrell-Star Trek: DS9/Becker-Perhaps the best and strongest female character of all the Star Treks (when two of the three females before her were a glorified secretary and a glorified school guidance counselor, there's not too much competition) in playing Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Farrell comes across as self-assured and interesting.

Thomas Haden Church-Wings/Ned and Stacey-He's played the boor and the dumby pretty well. Since Sideways, I think he can return to TV and be more than that

Wendy Malick-Just Shoot Me/Frasier/Jake In Progress/Hot in Cleveland (short-lived)-It wasn't the lines on Just Shoot Me. It was her: She was a riot. Her melodramatic brand of desperate egotism made her one of the best characters on TV and she's been able to repeat that magic elsewhere. I can see her as an authoritative figure in charge as well.

Tony Shaloub-Wings/Stark Raving Mad/Monk-We've seen him as a scene stealer in one sitcom as well as a guy who can carry a show on his back.

Thomas McCarthy-Boston Public/The Wire-Most high school football coaches are supposed to be macho so I'm glad that McCarthy played the part against type on Boston Public.

Vanessa Marcil-General Hospital/Las Vegas-Playful and sexy, she delivers lines with tremendous assurence.

Vicki Lewis-News Radio/3 Sisters-In Newsradio's Beth, Lewis can lay claim to being the queen of all ditzy characters to ever appear on TV.

Will Forte-Clone High/Saturday Night Live/Sit Down Shut Up-The star of the McGruber movie, by now, has his own screen persona down. He's the confident yet clueless schlub. In voiceover work in Clone High and Sit Down Shut Up, he's been a riot.

Read my column: www.examiner.com/x-3877-dc-film-industry-examiner

Pet Peeve of mine with the Oscars

I wish the Oscars wouldn't waste their precious best picture nominations (although admittedly it's expanding) with films that are solely based around the basis of one performance.

I would put Erin Brockovitch, Ray, Capote and arguably The Queen in this category as well as My Left Foot, Shine and Tender Mercies.

Just as we decide the basketball MVP by taking into account the effect of one team without that player vs. the team with the player a strong film is one that I would define as engaging outside of the performance of one actor. That's what acting categories are for. Giving a film a best picture nomination as a way to secure it a place in history and ensure that many movie buffs will check out that film because it's been recommended as one of the five films of the year. The above-mentioned films already get their place in film history because people want to check out the best actor performances in these films. So if these films are not up to par, it's just a waste.

Examples:
Ray would still be a strong movie if Ray Charles weren't in it: The film certainly does a good job at positioning Ray's life within the context of history and the ups and downs of the story had a certain emotional resonance. However, if you replace Jamie Foxx with a slightly less capable actor, the film would have probably dropped to 7th or 8th in the best picture voting behind "Hotel Rwanda" or "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

Erin Brockovitch was an especially unnecessary choice with Soderbergh already getting a nom for Traffic that year. Ask yourself if the film's very existence is even justified without Julia Robert's performance. That was probably the pitch to the studio: Julia Roberts as a skanky, poor and plucky legal assistant, it's Oscar Gold. I would have recommended Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Contender, 13 Days or Almost Famous in its place.

Capote is what I consider to be the worst best picture nomination of the decade. The premise itself of exploring a fish-out-of-water flamboyant urban gay writer in the heartland of America finding himself in the middle of a murder case is gold. But Capote never capitalized on this nearly enough. In fact, a better film with the exact same story came out the year after and it had better performances and lead films. Constant Gardener, History of Violence, New World, Match Point, Walk the Line (which boasted not one but two great lead performances) and Syrianna would have all been better choices.

The Queen is arguable since it's an astute look at politics behind the scenes but would it have lost enough stature to Dreamgirls or Pan's Labyrinth had Mirren not been such a revelation in the film?

17 Actors most overdue for an Oscar nomination

Hi everyone, I am going to blog a little bit on here after a 5-month hiatus. Please do repay the favor if you like what you read by simply clicking this link. Clicks on that site are the only way I make money through blogging.

Here is a list without even looking at who is in high-profile films this year, i would say:
Lead Actor:
1. Matt Damon-Snubbed for Talented Mr. Ripley, Good German, Syrianna. Only one nomination 12 years ago despite being one of the most bankable actors today with one of the most creative tastes in projects he choses
2. Ralph Feinnes-Only two noms, snubbed for Constant Gardener and vote splitting cost him a nom for one of three fine performances this past year
3. Russell Crowe-No nominations since 2001. Nominated 3 times and deserved to win 2 of them. Despite being one of the two or three most brilliant actors in their prime today. Snubbed for Master and Commander, Cinderella Man, and American Gangster.
4. Jim Carrey-Snubs have dated back to 1998 with Truman Show, 1999 with Man on the Moon and 2004 with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Has wisely stayed out of sequels like Dumb and Dumber 2 and Evan Almighty, so he's not as commercialized as people give him credit for.
5. Liam Niesson-Snubbed for Kinsey and has only one nomination with

Either one:
1. Albert Finney-Being nominated for Erin Brockovitch was a good consolation for one of the best British imports of his generation to go empty-handed at the Oscars
2. Tom Hanks-Been 9 years since last nomination. Terrific in supporting roles like Catch Me If You Can or lead roles such as Ladykillers or Terminal
3. Daniel Craig-Clearly a better actor than the James Bond moniker allows him to be and he was snubbed for Munich and Infamous. I fear that in the mold of Sean Connery, the Academy will wait until he's done being Bond before the Academy gives him any consideration, because he's more an action star than a guy to be taken seriously.
4. Jude Law-Was in 6 movies alone in 2004. Highly prolific actor with only 2 noms to his name and 6 years since last nom. Still no win.
5. Ewan MaGregor-More than Obi-Wan Kenobi, he's a star in his own right and has been bankable and interesting to watch in everything he's been in.
6. Gabrael Garcia Bernal-If Benicio del Toro and Javier Bardem can get oscars, he should at least get a nomination. He hasn't exactly been snubbed but he has shined in Babel, Bad Education, Y tu Mama Tambien.
7. Michael Douglas-He's only had one nom in his whole career and has a lot more memorable roles in that and has been one of the premeiere actors of his time in the 80s. Traffic and Wonderboys showed he could still be a great actor

Supporting Actor:
1. Paul Bettany-I just think the guy is great in supporting roles like Master and Commander, Beautiful Mind (he got snubbed there, IMO), and that film with Harrison Ford
2. Alec Baldwin-He's brilliant on 30 Rock and his career spanning from Beetlejuice to Glengarry Glenn Ross has produced way more than just one memorable role. Plus he's on TCM, so bonus points with the old people. He needs to not have those list
3. Lawrence Fishburne-Contemporaries such as Morgan Freeman and Samuel L Jackson have been nominated multiple times, why not him?
4. Kevin Spacey-Only 2 nominations but then again there are only 2 wins. With his schedule as theatrical manager of the Old Vic Theater in London, he's said that he wants to only do supporting but he killed in films
5. Greg Kinnear-Whether the lead in Little Miss Sunshine or Auto Focus or supporting, he's an excellent actor and just one nomination doesn't serve adequate credit to him

Actors in 3 or more nominated films this decade

Here's a brand new random list:Actors and how many films they've been in, specific to this decade.

Requirements are:

-Must be in a minimum of 3 oscar-nominated films.

-By nomination, we mean best picture

-One of those Oscar-nominated films must have been in the 00's.

You might find some surprising names here like Allison Janey or Christopher Plummer. I didn't have time to look up every extra in all three LOTR's.

Jack Nicholson-10-Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Reds, Terms of Endearmant, Prizzi’s Honor, Broadcast News, A Few Good Men, As Good as it Gets, Departed

Dustin Hoffman-8-The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, All the President’s Men, Kramer vs Kramer, Tootsie, Rain Man, Finding Neverland

Al Pacino-6-Godfather, Godfather II, Dog Day Afternoon, Godfather III, Scent of a Woman, The Insider

Daniel Day-Lewis-6-Ghandi, Room with a View, My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Gangs of New York, There Will be Blood

Tom Wilkinson-6-In the Name of the Father, Sense and Sensibility, Full Monty, Shakespeare in Love, In the Bedroom, Michael Clayton

Cate Blanchett-6-Elizabeth, LOTR 1-3, The Aviator, Babel

Meryl Streep-5-Julia, Deer Hunter, Kramer vs Kramer, Out of Africa, Tootsie

Tommy Lee Jones-5-Love Story, Coal Miner’s Daughter, JFK, The Fugitive, No Country for Old Men

Willhem Defoe-5-Mississippi Burning, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, English Patient, The Aviator

Russell Crowe-5-LA Confidential, The Insider, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander

John C Reilley-5-Thin Red Line, Chicago, Gangs of New York, The Hours, Aviator

Christopher Lee-5-Hamlet, Moulin Rouge, Lord of the Rings I-III

Tom Hanks-4-Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, Green Mile

Morgan Freeman-4-Driving Miss Daisy, Unforgiven, Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby

Jim Broadbent-4-In the Name of the Father, Bullets over Broadway, Moulan Rouge, Gangs of New York

Kelly McDonald-4-Elizabeth, Godsford Park, Finding Neverland, No Country for Old Men

Geoffery Rush-4-Shine, Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love, Munich

Ian Holm-4-Chariots of Fire, Lord of the Rings I, Lord of the Rings III, The Aviator

Sissy Spaceck-4-Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Missing, JFK, In the Bedroom

Julie Christie-4-Dr. Zhivago, Darling, Heaven Can Wait, Finding Neverland

Vanessa Redgrave-4-A Man for All Seasons, Julia, Room with a View, Atonement

Kevin Bacon-4-JFK, A Few Good Men, Apollo 13, Mystic River

Leonardo DiCaprio-4-Titanic, Gangs of New York, Aviator, The Departed

James Cromwell-4-Babe, LA Confidential, Green Mile, The Queen

Ed Harris-4-Right Stuff, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, The Hours

Julie Christie-4-Doctor Zhivago, Darling, Heaven Can Wait, Finding Neverland

Matt Damon-4-Field of Dreams, Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Departed

John Rhys-Davies-4-Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings I-III

Chris Cooper-3-American Beauty, Seabiscuit, Capote

Allison Janey-3-American Beauty, The Hours, Juno

Toni Collette-3-Sixth Sense, The Hours, Little Miss Sunshine

Alec Baldwin-3-Working Girl, The Aviator, Departed

Albert Finney-3-Tom Jones, Erin Brockovitch, Traffic

Chris Cooper-3-American Beauty, Seabiscuit, Capote

Clifton Collins Jr-3-Traffic, Capote, Babel

Michael Pena-3-Million Dollar Baby, Crash, Babel

Judi Dench-3-Room with a View, Shakespeare in Love, Chocolat

George Clooney-3-Thin Red Line, Good Night and Good Luck, Michael Clayton

Beth Grant-3-Rain Man, Little Miss Sunshine, No Country for Old Men

Martin Sheen-3-Apocolypse Now, JFK, The Departed

Sean Penn-3-Dead Man Walking, Thin Red Line, Mystic River

Kate Winslet-3-Sense and Sensibility, Titanic, Finding Neverland

Sean Astin-3-LOTR I-III

Orlando Bloom-3-LOTR I-III

Elijah Wood-3-LOTR I-III

Virgo Mortgensen-3-LOTR I-III

Ian McKellan-3-LOTR I-III

Maggie Smith-3-California Suite, Room with a View, Godsford Park

Christopher Plummer-3-Sound of Music, The Insider, A Beautiful Mind

Richard Harris-3-Guns of Navarrone, Unforgiven, Gladiator