At Least Try to Pretend You’re on the Ball

Roger Friedman apparently thinks he was the first person to shout Oscar after seeing Carey Mulligan in An Education. Hilarious – he actually thinks he can get away with “remember, you heard it here first.” How much do you want to bet anyone reading that has already read about how great Carey Mulligan is? Even taking Awards Daily out of the equation, Hollywood-Elsewhere’s Jeff Wells has been beating this drum for months now – so much so that he was told, in no uncertain terms, to shut up already, or else risk blowing it for Mulligan. So, folks, you heard it THERE first.

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter who wants to take credit for it (as long as it isn’t Roger Friedman) – it isn’t our credit to take; this is Mulligan’s. Let’s just hope that all of the excitement doesn’t ruin the subtlety of the performance or the film.

The funny thing is, it’s not even Oscar season proper and already the season is very nearly unbearable. Why is that? I think it’s because there is probably too much focus on the game itself and not enough focus on the work, the performances, the films themselves. It might be true that it will come down to Carey Mulligan vs. Meryl Streep – but it’s too early to call and it’s, once again, premature adulation. Here’s to hoping the season plays itself out in the best of ways.¬†¬† I’m not so sure Mulligan’s winning would be so great for her right now anyway. She needs more time to use her sea legs before she starts winning awards.