14 DAY TRIAL // Adrien Brody, star of Polanski’s Oscar-winning “The Pianist,” has been cast as the lead in “Predators,” Robert Rodriguez' reboot of the 1987 classic horror film that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. As surprising a move on behalf of 20th Century Fox as that was, it will perhaps also lead to killing Brody’s chances at getting an Oscar, Tom O’Neil of Los Angeles Times’ The Envelope believes.
It’s not necessarily that Brody is not able to carry such a physically challenging role that surprised many when the announcement was made, but rather that, until that point in time, he had shown clear signs of wanting to remain a “serious” actor, meaning one that would stay away from the action genre. Apparently, O’Neil argues, the same goes for critics – or at least for those who get to have a say on the panel for the Academy Awards. And they will certainly not look upon Brody in “Predators” with kind eyes.
If that turned out to be the case, it wouldn’t be the first time it happened either, and actress Halle Berry is perhaps the most illustrative example, having gone from Oscar to Razzi in just a few years. Oppositely, Sigourney Weaver landing an Oscar nomination for her part in “Alien” was one exception that is unlikely to repeat itself again, O’Neil says. In other words, Adrien Brody signing for “Predators” means that he’ll be more popular and commercially viable, but his reputation will be taking a hit for “selling out” in favor of action movies.
“Though this action franchise may boost Brody’s box-office appeal, it is unlikely to return him to major awards competition. […] Since becoming the youngest lead actor winner at age 29, Brody has headlined a series of serious films that have fared less than well with the critics. As per the review roundups at MetaCritic, Brody’s body of work includes leading roles in ‘The Jacket’ (a score of 44 out of 100 for the film), ‘Hollywoodland’ (62), ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ (67), ‘Cadillac Records’ (65) and ‘The Brothers Bloom’ (55).” O’Neil writes.
What this means is that Brody’s appeal to the critics might have already been lost even before he agreed to do “Predators,” which begs the question of why cry over spilt milk at all. For more on this, keep an eye on this space.