While many in the industry hope that the larger representation of African Americans among this year's nominees is a positive sign, it doesn't excuse the lack of black nominees in previous years. "You always want people to vote for the best work," says Will Smith. "People work entirely too hard to have those political issues get in the way of the best person winning. I think there's a certain karmic justice that people search for. There's so many times Denzel should have won, and he didn't win, that people want him to win the day. Emotionally I want Denzel to win no matter what."
One thing's for sure: Hollywood hasn't missed a chance to congratulate itself for nominating a record number of African-American actors--something that one of the Oscar ceremony's writers, Bruce Vilanch, says he intends to poke fun at during the show. But has this indeed been a banner year for black actors in Hollywood or is it just a whitewash? After all, the real problem isn't that not enough black actors are nominated. It's that minorities are rarely cast in the types of roles--or movies--that get nominated for Oscars. Says Sidney Poitier of this year's nominees: "It isn't normal and it should be celebrated. Anyone knowing American film history, anyone knowing America, knows this is a huge, wonderful expression of American democracy."
For his part, Washington says, "To suggest that it reflects on the Academy would suggest they're doing somebody a favor. And I don't want that." Adds Halle Berry: "I'm really proud to be one of three people of color nominated this year. I hope in my lifetime, however, I'll see a day when the fact that three people of color are nominated won't be such a big deal. I hope it becomes a normal thing. If that happens, then I'll really feel that we've done something."
Unfortunately, the problem with bringing up race for the right reasons is that it may minimize the accomplishment of whoever winds up victorious. In other words, if Washington wins, detractors could claim that it's not for his performance, which would be a shame--and a disservice to the actor.
Some observers think that Crowe may also fall victim to all the spinning. While his recent bad-boy dustups are nobody's fault but his own, there could be other factors working against him. First, there's the wave of allegations about A Beautiful Mind's departures from the facts. In addition to claims that Nash's life was sanitized on its way to the screen (omitting his fathering of a child out of wedlock and alleged homosexual leanings), the film has recently been criticized for ignoring the Nobel winner's alleged anti-Semitism. In short, the anti-Mind faction argues that because the script does not depict Nash warts and all, Crowe's performance has been diminished. In defense of the film's decision to omit Nash's alleged anti-Semitism--a recent contretemps that Universal execs have angrily denounced as an eleventh-hour smear campaign--Crowe recently said, "To quote the sort of things John Nash was saying in the middle of his hospitalization and at a point where he was absolutely overtaken by schizophrenia...is beyond irresponsible."
