I second your opinion, Crispin Dry, on Taylor Hackford's direction in Delores Claiborne being miles ahead of his work on Ray. Ray was such a gratuitous and indulgent piece of garbage!! I hated it!! I lump Ray, Walk the Line and The Aviator all into the same bin as being gratuitous vehicles for the stars to show the full depth and breadth of their so-called talents, from A to about C or D.
Has Stephen King ever really gotten any respect from the Academy? Okay, Misery, yes. I'm just thinking that a lot of people like to dismiss anything that is connected with Stephen King as being L-I-T-E, populist and geared for the lowest common denominator (which is, of course, a grossly unfair and undeserved snub in itself).
A lot of people complain that the Miramax boys really knew how to work the angles - publicity, advertising, to really time a picture's buzz so that it peaks at Oscar time, which would help to explain why such a jejune and shallow actress as Gwyneth Paltrow would receive a best actress Oscar for such an inconsequential piece of pseudo-art and fluff over any number of other better performances, Kathy Bates' perhaps chief among them.
Kathy Bates is one of, if not my very favorite, actress, because she really takes on some tough parts that are not glamorous and she gives performances that are complex and full of depth in addition to being roles that would scare-off most other actresses. She's not afraid to look bad if that's what it takes to give the part what it needs. She attacks a role like a prize fighter and she usually comes out on top. I can't say enough to her credit.
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