Film aficionado doles out ‘Alternative Oscars’

Max Jacobson

Friday, March 10, 2000 | 12:36 p.m.

The 72nd Annual Academy Awards are almost here. Most of us will be watching eagerly, making our own picks.

New York City cineaste, bon vivant and man about town Danny Peary turned this armchair activity into a science when he wrote "Alternate Oscars." The book chronicles Oscar winners, and substitutes the author's choices, from 1927 forward. Sometimes, through rarely, he agrees with the Academy's choices. Either way, he tells you why, and it's a fun read.

Peary has earned the right to be opinionated. He has written nine cult-movie books and six baseball books. ("Baseball For Brain Surgeons and Other Fans," which he co-wrote with former major league catcher Tim McCarver, is probably his best known work.)

Reached by telephone in his New York City office, Peary was happy to hold forth on this year's nominees, probable winners and alternate choices. He's the consummate film buff and a man who rarely runs out of words.

" 'American Beauty' is a shoo-in for best picture. It's all set up for this movie to win," Peary said. "First of all, it has a prestigious cast of actors who are hot right now, like Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. Secondly, it is a manipulative film that tackles taboos and modern problems. The next-door neighbor is right out of 'Death of a Salesman.' It's a smart film written by a writer, Alan Ball, who really understands human nature."

Peary then went on to explain why the other films nominated will not win. He dismissed "The Green Mile" because it is an adaptation from a story by Steven King, a writer who he says the Academy never takes seriously. Then he claimed that "The Insider' has been avoided by Academy voters.

Peary has careful praise for "The Sixth Sense," saying that most people who do not like horror movies saw and liked this film. But he then added that, with the exception of "The Silence of the Lambs," no horror film has ever won the best picture award.

"Actually, I'm surprised it was nominated at all," Peary said.

Lastly he proclaimed "The Cider House Rules" to be the sleeper of the group.

"Everyone I spoke with liked the gentleness of this movie, but it has no chance to win," Peary said.

Peary's personal choice for best picture is an even bigger sleeper, "Boys Don't Cry." This is the story of a Nebraska woman, Teena Brandon, who poses as a man named Brandon Teena, with tragic results. Peary said that, in a year without many outstanding films, it deserves the Oscar.

"I'm picking 'Boys Don't Cry' for my Alternate Oscar because there is nothing wrong with it; it's a flawless movie in terms of acting and directing," he said. "The movie is relentlessly faithful to the story of Brandon Teena, and it is obvious that the director, Kimberly Peirce, really cares about the material. But the Academy would never single out a film like this one, because of the queasy story and the controversial subject matter."

Now we move to the category of best actor, and Peary prognosticated further.

"Spacey will probably win," he said, "because of the backlash against Denzel Washington."

Peary is referring to is the fact that Washington's starring vehicle, "The Hurricane," has been embroiled in a controversy centered around the accuracy of the film's script regarding the main character, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, whom Washington portrays.

Peary has little praise for the other three nominees.

"Russell Crowe sounded like Mel Gibson," he said. "His voice bothered me all through the movie."

Sean Penn, he said, "is a surprise nominee and has been better," playing an annoying character that no one could possibly like.

Richard Farnsworth, nominated for "The Straight Story," plays a 70-plus gent who rides his lawn mower across Iowa and Wisconsin to visit his ailing brother.

"He's a likeable actor playing a role with sentimental value, and he plays the same character in every movie he is in," Peary said. "No chance."

Peary then went on to praise non-nominees Bruce Willis in "The Sixth Sense" and Eddie Murphy in "Bowfinger."

"I don't think people give Willis enough credit," he said, "and Bowfinger is the best thing Murphy has ever done."

But his choice for the Oscar this year is Matt Damon, in the sparsely nominated "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Peary said Damon is the most underrated actor in films. "He's never afraid to take chances."

If you've already guessed that Peary thinks Hilary Swank will win best actress, and that he agrees with the choice, send Roger Ebert a resume for a co-hosting slot.

"Swank's main competition is Annette Bening," Peary said.

He explains that nobody's seen Janet McTeer in "Tumbleweeds," that Julianne Moore (nominated for "The End of the Affair") is a fine actress but was better in "Magnolia," and that Meryl Streep gets nominated most years by default.

"But Swank will be helped by the fact that she was an unknown before this movie," Peary said. "Lots of actresses see a movie and think that they could have done it better. I bet no one thinks that they could have played this role the way Hilary Swank did."

Peary then finished the conversation with a few choice words about the Academy and the process.

"The Academy generally likes to single out films that have not won awards from the major critics organizations, such as the New York Film Critics Award and the like," he said. "They like the Academy Awards to be an event, and they are a bit miffed that the Golden Globes have stolen some of their thunder."

If you are interested, you can find Peary's book on the Internet, at both Barnes and Noble's website and at Amazon.com. The book is currently out of print, but it does have a cult following, and interest in the book surges every year right about now.

Even though cult movie fans have a touch of contempt for the Academy voting process, everyone, cultists included, takes a deep breath when those coveted envelopes are about to be opened.

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