Cher winning an Oscar

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:18pm

I love watching the old Oscar clips of years gone by, and seeing the reactions of the winnners and losers, but I often wonder "did he/she know they were going to win?"

I know nowadays the results are basically a foregone conclusion in a lot of cases, with Oscar night just confirming what we expected - what I'm asking is, was this the case with Cher back in '88? Or did she have much competition from the other illustrious nominees? Was there any resistance to giving arguably the most prestigious award to a one-name outrageous singer?

I know you guys have long memories.

P.S. Isn't Moonstruck wonderful?
Cher winning Best Actress

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:21pm

Cher was the frontrunner, but she was not a foregone conclusion. Her biggest competition could have easily won that night ... Holly Hunter in Broadcast News.

It was close, but Cher was predicted to win it ... and she did.

There was a solid third choice, too: Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

EDIT: And yes, I agree that Cher is fantastic in Moonstruck and deserved to win. I wish more comedy performances were recognized. I just watched it again last week, in fact, and my partner and I both were marveling at what she did with that role.

Updated On: 10/21/13 at 09:21 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:25pm

And even though she wasn't favored to win, Streep has to be mentioned for that devastating performance she gave in IRONWEED.

But Cher was the rightful winner that night. I really do think she's one of the most effortless, realistic actresses alive. Surprisingly. lol

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:27pm

Thanks, I gathered from her prepared speech that she at least thought she had a chance.

I love how her ear-ring came off.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:27pm

1. Paul Newman!

2. Meryl was so young! And she totally wanted Cher to get it.

3. What best said. And Cher had already been nominated once for Silkwood. And she'd also done Mask, one of the first movies that cemented her as a "real" actress.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:29pm

Now I want to watch MASK. Or MOONSTRUCK. Or FATAL ATTRACTION. Or BROADCAST NEWS. Or IRONWEED. Or SILKWOOD.

I'll be up all night trying to make this decision.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:30pm

God, Fatal Attraction. Once I hit 35 or so I really started to feel like Alex was misunderstood.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:31pm

And I would just like to add that it was a crime Anjelica Houston was not nominated that year for THE DEAD, a film that has since been called one of the best films ever made.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:32pm

"God, Fatal Attraction. Once I hit 35 or so I really started to feel like Alex was misunderstood."

Oh, honey. I just turned 35 a few days ago. After listening to COMPANY on repeat for 2 days and crying I think I'm ready to sit down and sympathize with Alex for a couple hours.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:38pm

See? Now you've got me hearing the "busy signal" at the beginning of the "Bobby-bubbies" while I visualize Glenn Close turning that lamp off and on.

See?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:43pm

Happy Birthday, Bobby.

Your present is on the stove...

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:45pm

Oh, I love The Dead! I read the short story every New Year.

I can see Cher as Greta, in fact...maybe it's just because they both have black hair and give off similar diva-vibes, but I can easily see Cher in a lot of Anjelica's roles, and vice versa. I'd LOVE to see Cher as the Head Witch. Maybe I'm crazy.

Updated On: 10/21/13 at 09:45 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:47pm

Cher as Morticia would be AMAZING!!

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:54pm

I thought Glenn Close was more deserving of the Oscar that year than Cher.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 9:56pm

Didn't Cher turn down "The Addams Family"?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:00pm

Snap out of it, Jane!

Cher should have a third Oscar nom for Tea With Mussolini, btw.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:03pm

YES!! That film was so undeservedly overlooked!!

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:06pm

And a fourth for Burlesque.

...too far?

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:08pm

Cher turned down a lot of films. I was surprised to hear how she turned down Moonstruck at first. She didn't think she could do the accent, and she didn't think she was right for the part. Norman Jewison had to work very hard to convince her that she could do it.

Cher turned down Baby Boom. She turned down Thelma (Susan Sarandon's part) in Thelma & Louise, too.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:10pm

I'm glad she didn't turn down the voice of the lion in ZOOKEEPER.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:13pm

It will be fun to see a Witches of Eastwick mini re-union when Cher and Michele Pfeiffer appear on Graham Norton's show together next week.

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:16pm

"Snap out of it, Jane!"

Haha! I'll think about it.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:22pm

Moonstruck is one of those delicious films where everything comes together like a finely tuned instrument; every performance is so perfect it's impossible to imagine anyone else playing the parts. The movie had many unforgettable moments, but the one that will stay with me forever is when Cher stepped out of the cab at Lincoln Center and looked for Nicolas Cage in the crowd. She was gorgeous, he was beautiful, and the moment their eyes met I melted. Gets me every time.

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:28pm

WEll, all kidding aside, I'm serious. Moonstruck was good, I like Cher, all the performances were good.

But Fatal Attraction is one of my all time favorites and I watch it whenever it's on tv, over and over again.
That role of Alex Forrest was some heavy role to play and Glenn was outstanding. I love Michael Douglas, and also Anne Archer. I'd have to put the scene where Anne Archer sees Glenn in the mirror as one of the scariest moments I ever saw the first time I saw it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 10:32pm

I know I've told this story here before, but I was standing there (with about 20 other people) at night, watching them film the scene after the opera where they argue outside the apartment and it starts to snow.

I was living in Brooklyn at the time, and I was walking home from a friend's house who lived about four blocks from my place. On the way, I spotted the trailers and lights, etc., just one block away. So I walked over to see what was going on. I saw Cher looking gorgeous and Cage in his tux. They were working out the dolly movement on the sidewalk as they walked along and argued. I probably stayed for about 30 minutes of the filming. A small group of us behind a roadblock that was maybe at most 30 feet from where they were filming.

I remember asking someone from the crew about the name of the film, and he said "Moonstruck." I thought it was such an unusual title that I didn't forget it. By the time the film came out, I was living in Los Angeles. I went to a screening of it at the Academy with a friend who voted for the Oscars. So much had changed in a year!

But every time I watch that movie, I still remember standing just off camera, about 30 feet away, for that scene.

Pure magic.