This morning I woke up and of the first things I did was to check the Oscar nominations, which had taken place earlier this morning. I was pleasantly surprised to read that Demián Bichir was nominated as Best Leading Actor for his role in the tear-jerker movie A Better Life (if you have not seen this movie, it is must and you absolutely have to rent it as soon as possible.)
A lot of people were probably surprised and even upset that Bichir was nominated while other fantastic actors like Leonardo DiCaprio were snubbed. Most American shows did not even announced that Bichir was nominated, but to the Latino community and most specifically to the Mexican community, this nomination is an outstanding accomplishment and all Spanish media covered the announcement.
You see, people like myself who watched Spanish TV growing up, remember his telenovela days both at Televisa and at its rival TV Azteca. We also remember his marriage to Mexican singer Lisset Gutiérrez and his long romance to Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo (both shared the screen in the 2005 film American Visa.) He is slowly building his way into Hollywood and joins the ranks of Anthony Quinn, Salma Hayek, Adriana Barraza and other Mexican actors who have been nominated for the Oscars.
Although I truly hope that he takes the Oscar statuette, he is competing against Hollywood royalty (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman) and French actor Jean Dujardin who took home the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his portrayal in the silent movie The Artist, as you can see, competition is tough! The Oscars will take place on Sunday February 26th starting at 4PM Pacific time on ABC, here are my predictions as to who will take the Oscars (main categories):
Best Picture – War Horse
Actor In A Leading Role – My heart is with Demián Bichir but I think Brad Pitt will take it
Actress In A Leading Role – Viola Davis
Actor In A Supporting Role – Jonah Hill
Actress In A Supporting Role – Octavia Spencer
Animated Feature Film – Puss In Boots
Cinematography – The Artist
Directing – The Tree Of Life / Terrence Malick
Now, go and rent the movie A Better Life, have a box of kleenex handy and get ready to watch this sad, sad movie which depicts the reality of millions of undocumented people living in the United States.
