OSCAR 2011: Requiem for an Ensemble

If there's been one category that's been sorely missing from the Academy bracket for ages, it's an award for Ensemble Cast that's been long standing within the SAG Awards. And it's a damn shame because there is plenty of room for them to honor a notably strong ensemble cast. Of course the Academy would quite easily muck it up to accommodate their own favorite films rather than consider the casts as a whole. So I offered them a slot for themselves, with what would very likely end up nominated if they chose. But honestly, I care a great deal more about what I would choose, because I'm just that narcissistic.

The only real overlap there would be would be in "Midnight in Paris", which they'd give access automatically whereas I understand why they deserve to be nominated. The cast of that piece is so immense and on-the-dot in a wide and expansive impersonatory and satirical joust for the win. On the smaller side, I think everybody was stunned by the synchronization of the work on "Drive", but less for the across the board subtle and shattering performances on "Tomboy". That may be just me, but I was devastated fantastically. I was giddy with joy at the assembled cast of the latest "Mission: Impossible", each of which served to a purpose. And the cast of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" leaves nary a weak link in the pot.

IF THEY CHOSE:

• "The Artist" (Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, James Cromwell, John Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller, Malcolm McDowell, Uggie)
• "Bridesmaids" (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Chris O'Dowd, Jill Clayburgh, Jon Hamm)
• "The Help" (Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Sissy Spacek, Ahna O'Reilly)
• "Hugo" (Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Jude Law, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Emily Mortimer)
• "Midnight in Paris" (Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Carla Bruni, Alison Pill, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Corey Stoll, Tom Hiddleston, Lea Seydoux)

IF I CHOSE:

• "Drive" (Ryan Gosling, Albert Brooks, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, Kaden Leos)
• "Midnight in Paris" (Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Carla Bruni, Alison Pill, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Corey Stoll, Tom Hiddleston, Lea Seydoux)
• "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" (Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Anil Kapoor, Lea Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Tom Wilkinson, Ving Rhames)
• "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Ciarin Hinds, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Stephen Graham, Simon McBurney, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Kathy Burke)
• "Tomboy" (Zoe Heran, Malonn Levana, Jeanne Disson, Sophie Cattani, Mathieu Demy)