Canadian Actor A Dark Horse For Oscar Nomination

For film buffs it's almost as fun as predicting who'll win an Oscar: guessing which dark horses will make it into the running for one and perhaps even emerge victorious on Hollywood's big night.
Each year there are a few surprises when nominations are announced - inevitably some performances and films are overlooked, while others are given surprise nods.
Take last year's Academy Award winner for best picture: Crash. The ensemble drama about racial tensions in Los Angeles didn't make a big splash at the theatre, and wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe - a key indicator of which films will go on to receive Oscar nominations. It beat out heavy favourite Brokeback Mountain for the biggest prize of the night.
Again this year there are a host of films the Globes didn't touch that movie fans and critics are speculating could make the cut next Tuesday when Oscar nominations are announced.
Among them: Half Nelson, a bleak film about an idealistic teacher who becomes addicted to crack. Playing the teacher is talented Canadian actor Ryan Gosling, who made it big in the film The Notebook.
The London, Ont.-born performer received critical plaudits for the role and was centred out by several critics' associations at the end of 2006 for his work in the film. But whether that acclaim translates into an Academy Award nomination for the young star remains to be seen.
The small budget film's co-director Ryan Fleck says all the buzz about the film, "is exciting but we didn't make the movie with event stuff in mind."
If Gosling is nominated, he'll likely compete against odds-on favourite Forest Whitaker, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Peter O'Toole.
Other films that could receive attention next week include the adultery drama Little Children, the futuristic infertility tale Children Of Men, and September 11 drama United 93. The latter was named best picture of the year by New York film critics, but it wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe.
Clint Eastwood could also be feted for his ambitious work in releasing companion World War II films, relaying the battle of Iwo Jima from the American and Japanese perspectives. Flags of our Fathers told the American side, while Letters from Iwo Jima represented the Japanese side of the fight.
The latter is being considered for best film in a foreign language - it won the Golden Globe in that category Monday - leading the director to joke that as a foreign director he should learn a foreign language.
A Canadian film - director Deepa Mehta's Water - made the short list in that category, and it could end up competing with Eastwood's film if both are nominated next week.
As for what chance these dark horse films have of coming up on top - as past underdog winners Shakespeare In Love and Rocky prove, nothing is certain on Oscar night.

SOURCE: CityNews