Thursday Theoretical Oscar Category

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. In my love for everything Oscar, it’s always fun to speculate on who or what might have been included given different circumstances. Though there are twenty-four fields recognized on Oscar night, that still neglects a handful of key players. As a result, I’d like to take a look each week at imagined categories, and who or what might have benefited from their existence.

The category: Best Multiple Performances

Why it should exist: Perhaps this category needs a better name, like Hardest-Working Actor, something to explain that it cites a performer who has turned in several (at least two) quality performances in a calendar year. It would reward those that might not fit neatly into one category or that might not have one solo performance that enables them to break into one of the acting races. Nathaniel from The Film Experience already gives out this trophy, so check out his nominees for a great argument for this category’s existence.

Why it doesn’t exist: The rule, as it currently stands, is a performer may only be nominated once in a single category. Rewarding a diverse year or work could result in honoring those that have made many movies and not necessarily underline quality. There are plenty of questions: Would there just be one gender-blind category? Would having three or four films get you more points than having only two? Also, could a performer be nominated here and also earn a single-performance nomination? I don’t make the rules, I just dream them up.

Who might have been nominated the past five years:
2011: Jessica Chastain, Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, John C. Reilly, Mia Wasikowska
2010: Ben Affleck, Annette Bening, Ryan Gosling, Rosamund Pike, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts
2009: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Clive Owen, Paul Schneider, Stanley Tucci, Sam Worthington
2008: Josh Brolin, Penelope Cruz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ben Kingsley, Kate Winslet
2007: Casey Affleck, Johnny Depp, Tommy Lee Jones, James McAvoy, Paul Schneider

Who do you think might have been nominated?