Morgan Freeman best SUPPORTING actor????
 

not sure if anyone inquired about this yet, but I searched 'oscar and morgan' and only got some baby name threads :LOL

so why did morgan freeman win a best supporting actor award? maybe I dont know the 'rules' (I dont watch the oscars, but I saw a story on my email account homepage that announced his win) but wasnt he the top billing male actor/star in the movie he won for?

I didnt see million dollar baby, but I remember ads and reviews that listed him and Hilary swank starring in it. so wouldnt that make him the top male actor? if his name is above the title? he didnt 'share' with another co-star MALE, or even have a sub-par role in the film despite sharing billing with a female. in fact, the other nominees:

'''The other nominees were Alan Alda for "The Aviator" Thomas Haden Church for "Sideways," Jamie Foxx for "Collateral," and Clive Owen for "Closer." '''

I know either shared the movie with another 'just as strong' male actor or were 'lesser' roles in general in the films.

I am just feeling like he was slighted. and dont know why....we dont follow awards and think they are wasteful and indulgent (they should have park ranger or greenpeace worker televised award shows :LOL ) but do enjoy movies. and have always been morgan freeman fans (although I admit he gets 'cheesy', 'sappy', and 'corny' at times...but overall he is very effective and something about him just melts me, he is like a 'father figure' sorta on the screen, very comforting...i just like to see him) but from what I understand he is bit 'edgey' in this last one.

so whats up? do I just not understand how they actually 'decide' who gets nominated for what....seems pretty cut and dried to me, but i may be oversimplifying.

any thoughts or comments on other catagories, winners, political statements, etc :thumb

well, CLint Eastwood was nominated for best Actor in the film. I haven't seen the movie, but the advertisements I have seen highlight Morgan and Clint both.
Gossamer

His role seemed like a large supporting one to me. Not large enough to be best actor. his character was one of three major ones. I didn't think that billing had much to do with the category into which a nomination would fall. :scratch

I think Freeman did a great job, but I thought Clive Owen deserved the prize. His performance was astounding.

thanks! see, I had NO IDEA clint eastwood was in it, too....from the promos and pics I saw, I only saw Freeman and Swank. thats explains it (I thought that clint eastwood 'directed' it) but i readily admit I didnt pay alot of attention :o

I saw it and the main characters were Hilary and Clint. Morgan was just a supporting one (but billing his name pulled in more people, of course!)

Morgan was outstanding.....and really, he should have gotten the Oscar for his other 2 nominations......Driving Miss Daisy and Shawshank Redemption. I think it was long overdue......

ITA :thumb

There are a lot of thing sin play here. Where your name is on the movie posters and in ads and such is a prestige thing and is negotiated in advance by your agent. I can't think of any off the top pf my head, but there are times when someone really big has a really small part but is billed very prominantly. Helps the movie possibly... but also it is a stroke to the performer.

There is an interesting explaination of the nomination process, here. It does not, however... explain who ends up on which lists in the first place. My recollection, though I can't find any support for this anywhere, is that it is largely up to the studios who submit potential nominees to the Academy. There have been far more borderline calls in the past in terms of which role was nominated for Lead role and which for Supporting. There are politics in play. Take Tatum O'Neal for example. She was the star of "Paper Moon" and blew everyone away. But no one was going to give an 8 year old girl the best actress Oscar. So the studio put her up for Supporting and she won. It sometimes has to do with deciding who in a particular film of even parts you want in each catagory. No film wants to have to actors from the same piece against each other if they can help it (think Cold Mountain last year) so they will make a choice as to which to promote for Lead and which for Supporting.

I don't know if that helps at all.

Morgan's Oscar was LONG overdue. Hilary Swank's acting bugs me and I don't want to see the movie but I'd love to see his performance. I was glad to see that he won.

:heartbeat

Kama explained it pretty well. They do this a lot. The worst example in recent memory is when Marcia Gay Harden won for Best Supporting Actress. Hello! The movie was all hers as far as I'm concerned.

As for Morgan Freeman, I'm glad he won. Now I just wish they'd let him play a sexy leading man a la Sean Connery. Give this man some romance!