4. Naomie Harris - Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
It has become an annual tradition at Cannes for Harvey Weinstein to preview his upcoming cinematic wears at the festival. Last year, to much fanfare and anticipation, he stoked the fires for latter year releases such as Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook, and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. All three films, to varying degrees, ended up being significant Oscar players, as well as substantial films in the canon of cinema history. This year, Weinstein's presentation met with general shrugs of indifference (in a drastic contrast to the previous year's euphoric buzz), but even so, Weinstein being the master Oscar manipulator that he is, it's dangerous to discount the awards prospects of any film that his name is associated with. One of these such films, which Weinstein presented at the showcase, was Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. What was shown at this presentation was a trailer for the film, which some described as an awkward mix between lofty biopic and action flick. None were too enthused about the film after watching the trailer, but what is important is that Weinstein took some time to talk about the film, and in particular the performance of Naomie Harris as controversial African political figure Winnie Mandela, the one-time wife to the historical South African president Nelson Mandela (Idris Elba). Winnie Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist that fought for her beliefs in what some may describe as a "radical" manner. At times, she advocated for burning alive her political opponents and was also wrapped up in a kidnapping and murder case involving a 14-year old boy. Even after her divorce from her husband and leader of the anti-apartheid movement, Nelson Mandela, she still remained very popular among many in South Africa and is still a figure of political intrigue. In other words, it could be a role that offers a lot of promise for an actress attempting to gain the attention of awards bodies, and having Weinstein call out his support for her even before the film is released is a big boost for Ms. Harris. It means even if the film isn't that warmly received, Weinstein may still be willing to mount a campaign on her behalf, which for an actress whose last role was a relatively minor one in the last Jame Bond film (you may also remember her for her more prominent role in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later), is no small matter. No one has been able to turn Nelson Mandela's life into an interesting film yet (sorry Invictus), but the good news for Ms. Harris' Oscar chances is that they may not need to for her to have a shot at an Oscar nod.