The Crème de la Crème of Cult Bad Movies

Ah yes, the peculiar phenomenon that is the cult bad movie. Despite the core of atrocity, some bad movies give off a primordial scent that lures a unique breed of us watchers. Like observing a face plant in slow motion, we know that what is executed in motion is not what the victim intended, we acknowledge it is the inverse of art, and we realize that we perhaps should be ashamed for encouraging attention to the event. As the pack of sadists (and possibly masochists) that we are, we cheer to the dribble that is the cult bad movie. I have had my fill of many such titles, 3 of which accelerated to the status of the most requested encore presentations during bad movies nights I had hosted for several years. In order of least to most requested, those polished gems are as follows…

Once upon a time there was this estranged man of questionable origin who accumulated 6 million dollars—some of which was allegedly acquired via savvy import sales—to fund the entirety of a film comprised of the star power and staff talent that couldn’t even compete with a high school class project. That man is Tommy Wiseau, responsible for conceptualizing, writing, directing, producing, executive producing (yes, he really did credit himself twice for essentially the same job), and starring in the persistently confusing wreck that is The Room (2003).

Wiseau plays as Johnny, who we know is greatly beloved by his good friends because he reminds us often that this is the case. Johnny seems to have it all, buddies who like to play sports with him in the alley while wearing dress suits, challenging employment in an unspecified career field, and of course he has his own room. Not all is peachy in Johnny-ville however. Calamity looms from all angles and tests Johnny’s powers of naivety. Johnny didn’t get recognized for his promotion that again he would like to highlight that he worked hard for, and what’s worse, the love of his life Lisa, played by then barely legal actress Juliette Danielle, has been cheating and scheming against Johnny while ignoring the advice of her breast cancer stricken mother praising Johnny to Lisa as though he was the messiah himself. Despite neighbors who break into Johnny’s place to randomly have sex on his furniture, or being burdened by an idiotic drug troubled college kid name Denny, it is Lisa who plays as the villain whose nature that Johnny is oblivious to until strategically placing a tape deck that somehow managed to record days of treacherous audio on what essentially is a 45 minute per side magnetic mini-tape. The truth forced out leads to an epic clash that costs the life of an overpriced television set and the anguish of many household items.

From front to back, The Room is marred with oddities that keep the appeal of the movie fresh and becomes the sort of ordeal that one feels eager to find a friend to share it with. The actors wore faces of obligation as if trying to work off the debt of indentured servitude while Johnny himself lugs around with a stoic expression like he just killed a brontosaurus and is expecting Lisa to cook it for his primate clan, Johnny buys red roses to present to Lisa at a frequency so repetitive that I wondered if The Room was just a drawn out flowers commercial, the same gratuitous sex scene is replayed in its entirety multiple times and to a poorly written music track, and many of the daytime outdoor scenes make use of blue screen digital imagery that resembles the backdrop from a 90’s computer game. Poor Wiseau, when he premiered his movie to limited audiences, he did such in the belief that he had a solid product that told a dramatic story of love and betrayal. To his surprise, the tale invoked laughter from those who saw it and this outcome coerced Wiseau into reconsidering how to market The Room, as a “dark comedy.” No, you thought your movie was legit Wiseau. Stop pretending otherwise, you aren’t fooling anybody.

Before Comedy Central hired the superior hilarious talent of Jon Stewart to host The Daily Show, the helm was stationed by Ken doll look-alike, Craig Kilborn. During Kilborn’s reign, a segment called 5 Questions was routinely exercised when interviewing guests of the show. The intro for this segment was met with a clip of a man crushing another man’s skull with his bare hands. Many curious onlookers requested the identity of this clip which was revealed to be from the rare underground movie, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991). Based on a Japanese manga (comic periodical), Ricki-Oh’s Chinese envisioned live action movie fuses extreme adult violence with childish slapstick acting.

Riki-Oh (Siu-Wong Fan) is a man incarcerated for kicking a drug dealer to death to avenge his stupid sober girlfriend who committed a suicide leap off the roof of the dealer’s stories tall hideout. Several chest absorbed bullet souvenirs later, Riki-Oh is acquainted with a maximum security prison that is notorious for the gangs that rule the 4 not so cleverly named regions: north, south, east, and west. The gangs are ruthless, enforcing their own law at the blessing of the prison’s assistant warden left fully in charge while the head warden is predisposed on outside business. Riki-Oh doesn’t respond kindly to gangs breaking the wooden toy trains of other prisoners and he lets the gangs know such by killing them with his deadly fists. It turns out that punching people to death garners a lot of attention in this prison, as Riki-Oh is quickly petitioned for recruitment into one of the gangs. Riki-Oh isn’t the least bit interested. He is a freelance murderer who feels that gang activity is wrong and that the true guiding light of justice is a good old fashion exploding death punch. This lack of cooperation with the shady element has hurt a lot of feelings and made Riki-Oh a prime target. Can Riki-Oh survive the onslaught prepared for him by the corrupt assistant warden? Will Riki-Oh become exhausted from killing people with his hands? Did the assistant warden really just eat mints he retrieved from his fake eyeball?

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is difficult to classify. It brandishes all the signs of being a bad movie: horrendous acting, plot holes, ludicrous ending. Yet the movie also is streamlined with constant random action and staging so inexplicable that the entertainment factor maintains momentum. Dare not to blink, lest you will certainly miss a random act of exaggerated violence. The fighting choreography isn’t typical to most of the Chinese kung fu flicks that you may be accustomed to, with most every strike being executed with the force of a pissed off Decepticon. Riki-Oh’s training consisted of desecrating a cemetery by fighting his way through hurled headstones, the signature of a guy who doesn’t give a shit about anybody living or dead. Watching Riki-Oh do his thing is pure eye candy. Finding a copy of this movie is a difficult and possibly costly task considering how few copies are in circulation, but it is a romp that doesn’t disappoint if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on it.

Winner of the fictional covenant This Shit Was So Whack That I Have To See That Again award, is Samurai Cop (1989). Matt Hannon makes his acting debut and thankfully also his acting grand finale in this movie chock full of 80’s action clichés and wrapped with a bargain bin bow. Don’t adhere too much attention to the movie’s cover or else you might be fooled into believing it is an engaging tale about a former samurai turned law enforcer who is on a mission of vengeance against the city’s inner crime syndicates, which respectfully is only partially correct, if that story were told from the perspective of someone trying to gurgle the details while swallowing Pop Rocks.

Samurai Cop delves around the exploits of the nefarious Katana gang. Due to the gang having a mullet fashioned pseudo-Japanese leader, it is obvious that law enforcement needs to bring in a subject matter expert to help topple this dastardly syndicate. The local detectives recruit Joe “Samurai” Marshall (Hannon) from another police precinct, a long haired Chippendale’s looking white boy whose reputation precedes him as having been “trained by the masters of Japan.” Presumably, all of them. Joe arrives equipped with invaluable resource data that helps the cops to develop a better understanding of their adversaries, such as informing everybody that katana means “Japanese sword.” Apparently worthy of the detective badge he got from mailing in his Muscle Milk proofs of purchase. This hard hitting insight from Mr. Joe Samurai aids in the development of a strategic plan to foil the Katana gang by walking into the restaurant that the leaders are eating at to harass the gang and insist that the cops have plenty of evidence and that it is just a matter of time that they acquire enough to initiate the arrests. This exchange upsets the Katana gang, whose large round-up of thugs that certainly weren’t all on the lunch tab for the afternoon, follows Joe and company into the parking lot. Fist fights, uzi gunfire, swordplay, and even a fucking grenade are all on the menu during this unscheduled standoff. Joe remains unscathed and resumes his duties as an upstanding sharp detective trying to acquire criminal evidence against the Katana gang, I mean, aside from the gunfire, swordplay, grenades, so forth. When Joe isn’t modeling in his speedo, flirting with ornery nurses, bringing a sword to a gun fight, or dodging bullets with his car, he is matching wits with his token black partner. His partner is a man of few words but of many close-up whimsical facial expressions and apparently a “gift” of endowment. Together they are an unstoppable force that will somehow, someway, get around to arresting or killing everybody in the Katana gang, whichever comes first.

Samurai Cop is a marvel in editing. It doesn’t take someone with film knowledge to notice the obvious editing snafus and filler, including stock footage of a helicopter slowly circling a building that has absolutely no relevance to the plot or even the immediate scene. Later Joe desperately tries to escape an ambush, unknowingly moving in the direction of a well planted gunman, as the gunman takes aim of his mark, the scene cuts to Joe safely at home attempting to have sex as soon as he figures out how it is done. Seriously, you would think the guy received sex education from watching Looney Tunes. I’d say the appeal of Samurai Cop lies heavily in the “why” inquiry. Why was this movie conceived, why is the dialogue written by garden gnomes, why did they need Joe for anything other than to fetch coffee? The answers may never be known, but you’ll have fun thinking them up while watching Joe Samurai pretend to know what he is doing.

The Art/Science Of Art Direction and Special Effects.

The Base Exchange here in Misawa Japan featured a three-disc blu ray set of movies from Warner Bros. and Paramount in the electronics department a few weeks ago.  In regards to the former studio, one of the sets included:  Contact, Red Planet, and 2010:  The Year We Make Contact.  Excluding discussion on Robert Zemeckis’ well-acted but a little too drawn out Contact, my attention here is focused on 2010 and Red Planet.  Red Planet is less than 20% on Rotten Tomatoes and rightly so for its uninspired plot and PBS Kids equivalent character development.  But the most disappointing aspect of Red Planet is its atrocious art direction and special effects.  The $80 million dollar Red Planet features 32 bit PlayStation 1 special effects that take the audience out of the story instead of into the story.  2010: The Year We Make Contact preceded Red Planet by 16 years but comes damn close to the pioneering effects and set design of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.  I have to admit that I still find Kubrick’s legendary science fiction piece to be too drawn out and at times pretentious.  Take for instance the 16-minute space walk sequence:  Yes, we (the audience) get it!!! HAL 9000 is watching man needing to breathe and methodically think out their next move. HAL 9000 is observing all of this thinking that man is a simple maintenance person to upkeep HAL 9000’s superior being.  But can we just get on with the movie already!  But in regards to the 70mm photography and Douglass Trumball’s ground-breaking special effects, all set on a wonderful art direction palette, nothing (not even Avatar) comes close to the visual aura of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

My personal favorite visual seen of 2001 is the scene where the explorers approach the Monolith at the moon excavation site.  Although 44 years have past since this scene was shot; the lighting, turf, metallic-like support beams, and camera work still has the audience convinced that mankind is marching towards uncovering their next stage of evolution.  

 

Christopher Nolan has often cited Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey as inspiration on the visuals of his Batman franchise and Inception. The rotating corridor on the Discovery space station in 2001 inspired the rotating hallway sequence in Inception.   Nolan’s special effects supervisor and art director Chris Corbould and Guy Hendrix Dyas respectively, are amongst the top experts in their respective fields.  Nolan, Spielberg, and Duncan Jones are filmmakers that believe CGI should be used only in situations that in-camera effects couldn’t be executed.  These filmmakers realize that practical effects are indeed time consuming, but the attention to detail will warrant multiple viewings of their films and inspire future filmmakers to surpass previous accomplishments.  Practical effects and unyielding cinematography are perfect compliments to the palette known as Art Direction.  

I first appreciated art direction at age 10 while viewing James Cameron’s Aliens on VHS.  The set design looked metallic and organic, giving the futuristic story a living horror museum aura.  Blu Ray editions of Aliens, 2001, and Blade Runner have actually enhanced the blu ray experience.  I use the word actually because often blu ray enhances the poor set-design and CGI of less meticulously made movies.  And meticulousness often can trump a low budget.  The 2009 Moon was made on a 5 million dollar budget and is much more pleasant to the eye than Red Planet, Sphere, and Mission To Mars. 

Prometheus, Christopher Nolan's Entire Batman Trilogy, and Skyfall are amongst 2012 films that are receiving highly detailed large-scale books dedicated to their art direction two weeks after their theatrical releases.  Below are the front covers of the books and they are available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  

 

That Don't Look Like A Fair Fight; John Carter Marketing, and IMAX 3D Prices

When it comes to film-making and its marketing these studios, I believe must be careful at all times on how to market their products. A film-maker's duty is to make the film artistically stunning and entertaining. This could be a indie film or big action adventure film. Speaking of the studios, and when I say studios, I mean those folks behind desks in suit and tie, who supposedly knows what audiences want to see on a typical Friday night. A film-maker makes the film and then the rest is up to the film studio on how to handle it. But, sometimes that is not the case. Before I express my humble opinion on what the studios should do and don't, I am going to bring the spotlight on the current situation that our country is going through. I have no intentions to get political here, but stating the facts is essential when it comes to the ticket prices at the box office window. Studios have lots money, for they have been earning it from ever corner possible. We have a successful film at the box office and since it is successful it is famous and since it is famous, we have the DVD sales, Blu-Ray sales, posters, merchandise etc. It was the DVD, now the Blu-Ray sales of Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977) that is still on the shelves.

We are all overwhelmed each day by everything that is going on in the United States of America, and the rest of the world. Look at the oil prices for example; every time someone pulls in to a gas station and when I am present, I see that they roll their window down and look at the prices. Don't think that I am not one who is not pulling the window down. I do it before the next consumer. It is saddening. Not only the oil prices, we have the groceries to think about. Forget about the groceries, we have educated people with degrees and they are all looking for jobs. Educated individuals are starting to work for fast food restaurants while in reality they could spend their energy and time working on what they have studied. Looking at the current situation not only it is me who thinks that we live in a bleak world, I am sure there are others who will agree with me. We are all on the same boat here trying hard to push ourselves to get somewhere and with ourselves take the country to the next level. Considering these important issues and comprehending the impact of these bleak days, we still try hard to move ourselves. I believe that we can make it. Every morning driving to work, I see thousands of cars moving ahead of me. And inside each vehicle on the road, I see hope.

Why am I bringing this up on Cinematic Impact? - Well, the current situations is also affecting the cinema. People are not happy. We see smiles on their faces, but deep down behind those smiling faces, we have worried minds. They are worried about their children future, bills and job. I think studios should slow down and comprehend the feelings of the audience. Films take us to a different world for 2 hours, and that is why people go to movies in first place. Sadly, the ticket prices are too high for them. It was IMAX, and now it is IMAX 3D. And then there is 3D itself. Comparing the prices per person, it is not fair. Here is my suggestion. Since studios loves to attract audiences towards IMAX and 3D, I think they should hold discussions with these brands and bring the prices down a bit. Give the audiences a break to enjoy what they like to enjoy. I can guarantee that we will have long lines of people with their children standing with pop corn and drinks in their hands in the movie theaters. Audiences wants to escape the current world situations and get introduced to imaginary characters on the screens, yet even that is arduous to afford. If these brands lower their prices for the audiences they will profit from two sides; more money, which is something that they want obviously, but also the attention of the people. Positive attention.

Last night, I went to see john Carter, a film directed by Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) and prior to watching the film, last week, I was tweeting with Mr. Andrew Stanton regarding the film and IMAX cameras. My question to him was if he used to real IMAX cameras on his film, John Carter. He replied back and stated that it was a conversion, but with care. I understand  why studios decided to do that. It is to bring more money. So, here I am, standing at the box office window and behind me, I see only ten people. I purchased the tickets for digital presentation only, for 3D is not my cup of tea. I see a mother next to me with her two sons around ages 15 and 10. The older one tells his mother, I want IMAX 3D. The mother replies to her older son, “It is expensive, honey.” I am not exaggerating here. The next thing, I see the same family two rows down viewing the film in digital presentation. I just don't see that excitement in people anymore when I go to movies. It is not fair. Just like a line from John Carter, he is looking at the sky as the enemies is near and he says, That don't look like a fair fight.

I was also under the impression that the studios did a great marketing on the film. But, looking at it now, they were not even pushing the film domestically to attract the audiences. The film has earned only $9.8 million from its opening night despite receiving a B+ CinemaScore.

According to both Disney and Universal estimates, John Carter narrowly won the Friday box office, but by Saturday, it will be overtaken by holdover Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which is anticipating a $40 million weekend. Universal and Illumination Entertainment's Lorax, which grossed $9.6 million on Friday, will finish Sunday with a domestic gross north of $122 million (several rival studios actually had Lorax beating John Carter on Friday) as reports HollywoodReporter.

I enjoyed the film to be honest, I thought it was entertaining and ardently made by Andrew Stanton. I recommend the film to everyone, for it is truly a introduction to a rich world. I wish the film a good luck though, and I hope the word of mouth bring more people at the box office window to view this film. Its production budget is $250 million and looking at the current revenue it seems like a very long voyage to reach $250 million just like the distance between the Earth and Mars. Overall the film itself is stunning. And, who is to blame here? I blame the studios for their poor marketing and not giving the audience a chance to see the film even in enough 2D screens. Every theater record states that this film is reserved for IMAX 3D and 3D. But, sadly people are too afraid, for the high prices. Pay for the gas to come to movie and then pay for IMAX 3D again to view the film. That don't look like a fair fight. I am always going to stand by the audience, for I am one. I am working on my screenplays trying every night and day to come up with original ideas, for I, too have a vision and hope to bring something good for cinema. And, I will always care for the audiences and their needs. I want them to be inspired and talk about movies driving or walking back home with their friends and relatives.

The Director Of Photography Is Now The Director.

After a 12-year professional association with renowned director Christopher Nolan, Academy Award winning cinematographer Wally Pfister is preparing to make his directorial debut.  To no surprise the project is being shrouded in secrecy, another trait of his friend Christopher Nolan. 

Usually I do not get overly excited about a cinematographer or editor taking the helm of a film, for Janusz Kaminski and Stuart Baird respectively have only been mediocre in their directing ventures.  Kaminski, a superb cinematographer and former college mate of Pfister’s has directed two very sub-par films despite having been the great Steven Spielberg’s cinematographer.  Mr. Pfister is a staunch film critic and scrutinizer of bad films.  Pfister will be very selective of the scripts that cross his and his talents agent’s desks.  The filmmaking techniques expected from Mr. Pfister will most likely not deviate much from Christopher Nolan’s methodology.  This means shooting on film vice digital, and accomplishing as many in-camera effects as possible. 

Earlier this week at mastersofcinema.net, editor Rohan Mohmand reported on Megan Ellison, a studio executive/film producer with AnnaPurna Pictures, is setting out to make as many heavily plotted films that major studios are afraid to finance as possible.  Ms. Ellison already has a few ambitious projects lined-up.  Perhaps one of Wally Pfister’s future projects will be under a contract with AnnaPurna Pictures. 

Also, for some reason imdb.com and imdbpro.com are both reporting that Wally Pfister is set to photograph the planned 2015 Batman reboot, that will have a new director, yet Nolan still attached as a producer or executive producer.  I am doubtful of the authenticity of this, but Pfister’s helming of a Panavision or IMAX camera lens is always welcome.

On a final note, below is a commercial that Pfister has directed, and a video that gives insight into his incredible eye and ability to capture some of the best cinematic images ever put on screen. 

2012 Oscar Round-Up.

As expected by most film critics and Hollywood insiders, The Artist won Best Picture and Best Director at The Oscars.  Also the superb Mr. Jean Dujardin won Best Actor, although Cinematic Impact was expecting Mr. Clooney or Mr. Pitt to take home the golden statue.  Overall the 84^th Academy Awards was pleasant to watch but it is time for the wonderful but increasingly redundant Mr. Billy Crystal to hang-up the hosting cape. 

Rohan Mohmand (also of mastersofcinema.net and Static Mass Emporium) asked 10 pre-Oscar questions about 5 weeks ago.  This time Mr. Mohmand is the person being questioned about the results of America’s most prestigious red carpet affair.

1. What was the most satisfying win of the Oscars?

The Oscars are my favorite award ceremony, but sadly it is changing in a way. It is not focusing more on the films. For example:  The Red Carpet. I know that the red carpet is about fun and fashion, but what we see for an hour prior to the ceremony are set of questions that the reporters ask from the celebrities regarding their dresses. This year, I don't remember them asking the stars regarding their work on films. It was more about fashion and their make-up. I believe those questions should be asked from them during MTV Music or Movie Awards red carpet affairs. The ceremony in my opinion was alright, and the most satisfying win of the Oscars for me was Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall for editing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

2.  What was the biggest upset of the Oscars?

I was really looking forward to Eddie Murphy hosting the ceremony this year, but instead we got Billy Crystal who is not bad, but it seems like he did what he did a few years back. I was not at all satisfied with his jokes or with his presence on the stage. And what made me upset the most when his jokes went empty and he had to bring up Christopher Plummer's and Max Von Sydow's ages.

3. Do you think that Hugo deserved best cinematography?

Hugo in my opinion is a stunning film. Scorsese's take on the 3D shows that 3D can be used in different style and does not have to be an action adventure like James Cameron’s 'Avatar.' I am personally happy for Scorsese and his picture winning most of the awards, but I really wanted 'The Tree of Life' to win the award for best cinematography, for this film as well, and in fact in a very artistic manner was shot and did justice to theme of the film and meaning of the story.

4.  Who should host the Oscars next?

I would love to see Eddie Murphy to host the Oscar and if not, I would like to see Jim Carrey as the host. Hopefully next year.

5. Should there be an academy award for stunt work?

I think it should be. We have lost some great stuntmen. It is a hard task and I see that these men and women do their job with passion. They are involved with film and their involvement and their passion is to make the film look realistic. I think the Academy consider it and open a new category.

6. Was is it truly an upset that Streep won over Davis for Best actress?

Ms. Streep is an outstanding actress. I love her and her work. She's been nominated for 17 times and has 3 wins in her resume. I think giving her again an award is a good act by understanding her hard work and passion that she has for Cinema. But, I was going for Ms. Davis though. She is an outstanding actress as well, and the reason I wanted her to win because I wanted the Academy to give her a chance, for she is new and young. What we want is to motivate the young good talent and Ms. Davis is one of them. But every time is next time and I am sure that Ms. Davis will win it in future.

7. Do you think that the Academy should wait so long to award great filmmakers and actors/actresses lifetime achievement awards?

Lifetime achievement awards are one of my favorites. I think presenting an award to an actor/actress and great filmmakers a lifetime achievement award is a salute to their hard work and dedication to the cinema. Waiting so long and rewarding them with such honor is rewarding. They basically feel as artists feel like they have reached that level in their life to hold that award. I don't think they should award them earlier, but what in my opinion the Academy must consider is that they should hold a certificate of honor for their hard work and dedication (so far) during the award ceremony and have a veteran to present that award. For example; we have Leonardio DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, they have been nominated several times now and for the past few years we have been witnessing that they leave the ceremony empty handed. Not that they are not going to win an Oscar, but giving them a certificate of honor during a ceremony with a special montage video of their career seems a bit more of a motivational deed. At least as an artist they will not walk out empty ended. In future, sometime and if I get the opportunity, I will suggest something like this to Academy.

8. Do you think younger members should be appointed to be members of the Academy to represent our generation?

The younger filmmakers should always get the chance to represent our generation.

9. What do you think about the gift packages that all nominees receive? Maybe we will get one someday.

Gifts are always nice. And getting a gift package and being nominated for Oscar is something that I would like to experience for sure. I just wonder sometimes what those packages contain? I am pretty sure that all the nominees and specially the females were super excited not only for being nominated, but for gift packages as well. I wish I were there to experience their reaction as ladies love gifts. Whether it is a small or huge box it doesn't matter. I think it is always nice to give them gifts. They deserve it. 

10. To the best of your ability, please predict what films of 2012 will be nominated in the following categories: Picture, director, cinematography, visual effects, editing, sound, and art direction. Acting is too hard to gauge at this point.

Best Director: Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson, Tarantino, and I am sure Baz Luhrmann will be nominated as well.

Best Cinematography: Once again I think Lincoln, Django Unchained, The Master and The Dark Knight Rises will be nominated for best cinematography.

Visual effects: I think John Carter, The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, The Bourne Legacy might get the nods for visual effects.

Editing and sound: The Dark Knight Rises, The Bourne Legacy, Skyfall

Art Direction: The Great Gatsby, The Dark Knight Rises, Lincoln, Django Unchained, Skyfall

Acting: We have Daniel Day Lewis in Lincoln, he will be nominated for sure. And then we have Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix from The Master. And also we have Leonardo DiCaprio this year not in one film, but two. The Great Gatsby and his role in Django Unchained. He might get the Oscar nod for best supporting actor in Django Unchained. And he might win it just like Mr. Christian Bale was for The Fighter.