Friday, March 23, 2012

LAMB Acting School 101: Samantha Morton

Each month, The LAMB has a series where bloggers get together to write reviews of a particular actor’s work. Here at Never Too Early Movie Predictions, I look forward instead of backward, so I thought it might be fun to look ahead at what the actor of the month has coming up on her calendar for the next several years.

This month’s actress is two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton. She was nominated for her supporting role in Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown in 2000, and again for her lead role in In America in 2004. So let’s see if she has any future prospects for the golden statue, shall we?



You may not have known it, but Morton actually has a film playing in theaters right now. She plays a green, motion captured character named Sola in Disney’s John Carter. Here is the John Carter trailer, just in case you have been living on Mars for the past six months and haven’t heard about it yet.

Morton’s next film is David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis. The film stars Robert Pattinson as a multi-billionaire who takes a strange trip across Manhattan that involves sex, violence, financial ruin, and a heavy dose of commentary on the modern world. The film also features Juliette Binoche, Paul Giamatti and Jay Baruchel, and is almost certain to premiere as part of the Cannes Film Festival in May. For those who want a taste of what we have in store, here is the Cosmopolis Trailer.

Morton’s next lead role will be Decoding Annie Parker, a film about a cancer survivor and a genetic researcher named Mary-Claire King who discovered a gene linked to breast cancer. Morton will play the cancer survivor and Helen Hunt will play the geneticist. The film is directed by Steven Bernstein, with Aaron Paul, Corey Stoll, Maggie Grace, Rashida Jones, Dermot Mulroney, RIchard Schiff, Alice Eve and Bradley Whitford filling out the cast. You can sign up for updates on the Decoding Annie Parker Facebook page.

The Mulo is a horror film directed by Matthew Thompson, and features Morton playing opposite … herself! That’s right, Morton will play twin sisters, long estranged, who reunite when one of their children goes missing. The title refers to a spirit from Roma folklore, who may be the reason the child has gone missing, or may simply be a cover that is being used by a human child murderer. Website for The Mulo.

Finally, there is an Untitled Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze Project that is rumored to be “a satire about how world leaders gather to figure out all the seismic events that will take place in the world, from oil prices to wars that will be waged.” I’m a huge fan of Kaufman’s screenplays, as well as previous Kaufman/Jonze collaborations that include Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. Even more exciting is that the preliminary casting for this one couldn’t be more perfect, with Morton, Amy Adams, Carey Mulligan and Joaquin Phoenix all rumored to take part.

So faithful readers, do any of these sound like they could bring Samantha Morton some more awards love? Which films are you most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments section.



You can keep track of Samantha Morton’s Oscar chances on my Lead And Supporting Actress page.
Read what my fellow LAMBS have written about Samantha Morton HERE.
Search for other actors featured in LAMB Acting School 101 HERE.
You can now follow the LAMB in multiple ways:
The LAMB Homepage: http://largeassmovieblogs.com/
The LAMB On Twitter @LambThe
A List Of Twittering Lambs:  @LambThe/tweeting-lambs
The LAMB On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/largeassmovieblogs
The Lambcast On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lambcast
Ready to JOIN the LAMB? Here’s How.
.

8 comments:

  1. I don't think she has an Oscar in her future any time soon, she's a very good actress but I don't think these projects will give her a chance to shine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the sound of the Annie Parker one, but it will probably be too small to get noticed by Oscar. I never underestimate Charlie Kaufman projects, but of course I don't know who will be lead and supporting there.

      Delete
  2. I think she's a great actress. She always seems to fly a little under the radar which might make her future an Oscar-less one.

    Fun fact - I once sat opposite Samantha Morton on my way home from uni one day on the tube in London. I spent a lot of the time peering over my book trying to figure out whether it was in fact her. It WAS!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean about flying under the radar. As I was looking up her IMDB page, there were a lot of films that I hadn't realized she was in. But she seems to be picking the right type of films and a variety of different projects and directors. Plus she's from Britain, and the Academy tends to reward British actors later in life, so there's hope!

      Really cool that you got to see her in real life. Did you talk to her or get an autograph?

      Delete
  3. The only movies I have seen her in was "Sweet and Lowdown" and "Minority Report" she was good in those roles but than again she was mostly silent. Looking forwad to some of her upcoming projects

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear you, Vern. I actually was surprised at some of the films that she had been in, and she often remakes herself in a way that makes it hard to recognize her if you're not looking specifically for her, or don't realize that it is her in the role at all.

      Delete
  4. I'm afraid I've only seen her in 'In America' and 'Minority Report' but she's fantastic in both. She's definitely an underrated actress, so glad to see her cast in Cosmopolis, the trailer looked quite intense!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I admit that I had to look her up on IMDB myself, and was surprised at the number of her films that I had seen without knowing it. I am looking forward to Cosmopolis too!

      Delete