What happened to the humble Academy Award nominee of 24 hours ago? Other than a hearty dose of good old-fashioned competition and a killer sense of humor, that is.
Host and newly-minted Oscar contender James Franco has inadvertently launched a campaign of sorts backing his bid for a little gold statue--and if he had to railroad one of the night's biggest contenders in the process, well, so be it.
So, gauntlet? Consider yourself thrown.
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"I know I'm biased, but I think it's the most innovative movie this year," he said of 127 Hours (through a rather sly smile, it must be noted) while talking to Movieline at Sundance recently.
"I think the movie is perfect. So the fact that people are scared shows that people just want the old...they want more of the old, boring stuff," he laughed.
Like what?
"People sitting around talking, and then, like, car chases. A couple love stories...it's the same old!" the clearly passionate thesp argued.
"Two heteroxesual white people can't be together? Oh, how many times have you seen that story? Romeo and Juliet! It's 400 years old! They're well-made movies, but the story itself..."
As for his direct competition, well, Franco--though obviously not the Academy, the Screen Actors Guild, the Critics Choice, the Hollywood Foreign Press, the Writers Guild, or countless other awards-bestowers--didn't quite see what all the fuss was about.
"Look, The Social Network is about new technology and how people are communicating now, or it's supposed to be? They don't deal with any of that!" he exclaimed. "It's a very classically structured movie and classically made movie.
"127 Hours is about a guy--one single character in a single place. That is like, the cutting edge of movie-making. Short of, like, doing it in 3D or something."
Now that would really have people fainting in the aisles. Still, while Franco's jabs are all in good fun (we're pretty sure) and possibly a peek into what to expect come his opening monologue on Oscar night (we can only hope), the final say still rests with the Academy, who will decide the best of the best on Feb. 27.
Your move, Jesse Eisenberg.