'Don't Mention the Oscars'

摘要

If you listen closely to the tape of NEWSWEEK'S fifth annual Oscar Round Table, the first thing you hear is one participant kissing another participant on the cheek. Yes, that's right: we invited actors this time. On the Saturday before the Golden Globes, we sat around the table with folks who had given some of the year's most riveting performances: Will Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Billy Bob Thornton and Sissy Spacek. Except for the kissing, it was an entirely unpredictable session. Spacek and Wilkinson starred in "In the Bedroom" together, and Kidman and Watts have been buddies since they were teens in Australia. Still, some of the people at the table had never met. What followed was a surprisingly candid discussion punctuated by outbursts of laughter. Toward the end, Thornton announced, "I don't know many actors. I kind of hang out with musicians, mainly, When I came here I thought, 'Are we gonna sound pretentious ? What are we gonna say to each other?'" They found plenty. The second the tape recorder was off, Smith took Thornton aside and pitched a comedy he thought the two of them should do.