Glenn Close said that Gwyneth Paltrow's 1999 Oscar win for "Shakespeare in Love " didn't "make sense" during a candid interview with Peter Travers.- Close said the award should have gone to Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro for the acclaimed drama "Central Station."
- "I think who wins has a lot of things to do with how things have been, you know, whether it has traction or whatever," she said.
Glenn Close said that she was left confused by Gwyneth Paltrow's surprising Oscar win for the 1999 historical drama "Shakespeare in Love."
During a candid interview on "Popcorn with Peter Travers," the 73-year-old actor said that the gong should've gone to Fernanda Montenegro for the Brazilian drama "Central Station."
"I honestly feel that to be nominated by your peers is about as good as it gets," she said. "And then, I've never understood how you could honestly compare performances, you know? I remember the year Gwyneth Paltrow won over that incredible actress who was in 'Central Station' and I thought, 'What?' It doesn't make sense."
Close, who currently holds the record of being the most Oscar-nominated actress in history without a win, continued: "So I think who wins has a lot of things to do with how things have been, you know, whether it has traction or whatever. Publicity, how much money did they have to put it out in front of everybody's sight. I have to be philosophical about it if I was upset about it."
That year, "Shakespeare in Love" went on to sweep all the major awards including a surprising best picture win beating out Steven Spielberg's beloved war epic "Saving Private Ryan."
And various accounts of the film's awards success have since attributed the surprising wins to the unconventional campaigning of the film's producer, the notorious and now-disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein, which included a covert smear campaign against Spielberg's film.
Other best actress nominees that year included Meryl Streep, Emily Watson, and Cate Blanchett. And Paltrow, who was 26 at the time, thanked them all during her acceptance speech. She said: "I would like to thank Emily Watson and Fernanda Montenegro and my friend Cate Blanchett and the greatest one who ever was, Meryl Streep. I don't feel very deserving of this in your presence."
Paltrow hasn't received a nomination since.
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