I was listening to Ebert and Roeper rave over the film and Bill's performance. I would love to see Bill Murray finally get some recognition and take home an Oscar.

I think Joaquin's performance in Walk The Line is more mimicry than the AMPAS will care for (we get it, you studied his home videos). Plus, there's the Foxx factor.

That leaves actors like Tommy Lee Jones (The Three Burials..), Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man), and Sean Penn (All The Kings Men) who have all won Oscars before.

The dark horse (pardon the pun) is Terrence Howard. He may sneak in for Hustle and Flow.

This could be Bill's year.

Bill who?
sorry I'm not sure what the movie is.
Bill Cosby?
Bill Murray?
Bill Nye the Science Guy?
Bill Clinton?
Bill O'Reily?
Bill Holdon?

Which ever Bill appeared in Broken Flowers.

Bill Murray?

For a moment, I thought you were talking about Kill Bill.

But for the most part, i agree with you. Bill Murray will win an oscar sometime before he dies. He's choosing smart roles now, to ensure he gets that oscar.

Bill Murray?

For a moment, I thought you were talking about Kill Bill.

But for the most part, i agree with you. Bill Murray will win an oscar sometime before he dies. He's choosing smart roles now, to ensure he gets that oscar.

I'd love to see it, but I doubt it. He'd have to have massive critical support like he did in LIT to even get nominated. If he can secure a nomination, it might be possible.

I'll tell you after next weekend. i think....no. First of all, because its another dead=pan performance. Three is not a charm in the eyes or jurors. They tend to go for roles that are against the grain of an actor's style. Oh, I dunno, like putting on 30 pounds and acting agressive (There are, i believe, at least three such female winners in this category). They're going to think its the same character he played in LiT and Life Aquatic, and he probably won't even get a nom.

What you fail to grasp about the Actor category in particular is that there is hardly ever an actor nominated who doesn't deserve it.

It's one of the categories that they usually get pretty damn right.

If Billy isn't nominated it's not necessarily because the actors (who vote on these nominations) think he is the same character in Lost in Translation or The Life Aquatic (which was very fun but hardly awards worthy).

Not to upset anyone, but I really don't think Bill will ever take home a lead Actor Oscar. He had his sole chance in 2003 wirh Lost in Translation. It was an unfortunate year in that 3 actors truly deserved the prize (Sean Penn and Johnny Depp with him). I could really argue strongly on behalf of all 3, so it was a great year but unfortunate that it would ahve been a lose-lose situation.

After that, I don't think the Academy will really lighten up to him again, given his performance in most seriously toned (however darkly or subtlely comedic they might be) films don't show too much range from one to the next. He might possibly get nominated again but never win.

His best shots at Oscar glory (though it's really not all that glorious anymore) are in the supporting category.

Kittridge, you've never seen me very upset.

I agree with whoever said it up there. This is his 3rd movie in a row doing the same role. He needs to do a character whos something completley different and out-of-range, and in that I'm sure he can succed and do it convincingly well.

As much as I respect and like the guy, he doesn't have that much of a ranging resume. He hasn't been in anything remotly close to the gritty thriller aspect. Ever. The closest hes gotten to that is light Stripes and Ghostbusters. I would love to see him as a gangster streets drug-dealer, shooting victims, being fiery for once. Or like a psychopath. A completley crazy asshole who going on a raping spree. Anything involving a gun, action sequences, hurting dialouge. Has he ever cursed in a movie lately? Like full out yelled 'YOU FUCKING COCK-SUCKING ASSHOLE.' Has there ever been any blood or tattoos in any of his films ever? Has he ever carried like a baseball bat in a movie. No.

Just please Bill do not play the lovable loser anymore. Its not working.

I would disagree... I think his resume in general is far more broad than many actors due to his vast comedy experience. Although I would agree that his character in Broken Flowers seems (I haven't seen it) similar to that of his Lost in Translation and Rushmore character, his Steve Zissou was a subtle psycho and then there are things like his Polonius in Hamlet, etc.


I don't see how range is absolutely defined by grit. You could just as easily say that an actor like Daniel-Day Lewis has never done anything as remotely funny as Groundhog Day.


But these movies don't come around very often.


I see no reason why this is important to define that he has range.

At all.


But the thing is... it *is* working for him.

He's never been a huge box office draw, and yes his trilogy of lovable-loser films is slightly repetative even if the stories are not, but on the whole, people like his charisma and they will put up with the same sorts of characters if the films are good enough, and they seem to be.

Hmmmm. I thought he was quite good in Flowers. There's a scene where me manges to hold the entire length of time just sitting on his couch trying to decide if he should deny himself a glass of champaign. Its tough not to over or under do those scenes. I compare the ability to do this to Ingrid Bergman when she first enters the bar in Casablanca and just holds her gaze steady. There aren't many actors and actresses that can do that.

Murray also cries, and does enough different things throughout the movie that I don't think its a question of his ability.

He won't get a nom, but honestly its because Broken Flowers just didn't quite perform well enough. Its already dropping big in pta, and plateaud expansion at only a little over 400 theatres. That means, not enough commotion, to carry through to nomination time.

The argument that Bill Murray gave the same performance in Broken Flowers as he had in LiT, etc. is awful. Just because he's playing a somewhat similar, weary-type doesn't mean it's the same. It's not. At all.

But he's not gonna get a nom for the reasons dolce described. The movie didn't set the box office on fire, and it opened way too early to remembered come oscar time.

Replying some to Andaroo, some new arguments. What I think are movies Bill could've expanded in this year, none would get oscar talk but they'd revitilize him a bit:

-Sin City(I would loooveee to have seen him in here)
-Hostage
-Batman Begins(Liam Neeson character)
-War of the Worlds(Tim Robbins)

And those are action movies. He could've done a comedy, yet not the lowbrow loser:

-Wedding Crashers(With Walken or replacing him)
-Cheaper By the Dozen 2(Bill Murray and Steve Martin together again! Come on it'd give the movie an extremely extra push)
-Rumor Has It

Even like a movie where he plays someone rich, the president, someone respected. Jack Nicholson did Mars Attacks all those years ago. Hes getting Anger Management, About Schmidt, Somethings Gotta Give. If Bill did one good relatively well known widely released movie, then when he puts out Broken Flowers a)It does much better as the audience is loving him, and b)The oscar academy might have a better chance of taking notice.

I disagree. Bill is a known commodity and being in bad action movies (Hostage?!?!?) or bit parts in Sin City wouldn't have helped him. Just as it never helped Bruce Willis

Releasing Broken Flowers in November would have.

This SHOULD be Bill's year and after being snubbed for Lost in Translation and that disappointed look he had on his face, not to mention, nearly getting up and walking out, he definitely deserves his moment in the spotlight.. If he gets snubbed again, then he should bail out on Hollywood altogether...

You know, I've loved Bill Murray since his SNL days. He's the funniest guy that ever lived. I've loved so many of his movies, especially Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes, Ghostbusters, What About Bob?, and Groundhog Day. I would love nothing more for him to win an Oscar, but I think his reaction, although the most genuine reaction I've ever seen at those awards (and we all know many others felt exactly like he did we they didn't win), but I think you have to be a gracious loser, and Bill came off like a bit of a baby. Sean Penn had been in movies just about as long, and had paid his dues, and he had lost out on winning a few times before, so Bill should have put on his game face and sucked it up.

I hope my theater gets Broken Flowers soon, because I really want to see it.