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Oscar Voter Slams Nominees, Calls Meryl Streep’s Performance “Bottom-Drawer” and Julia Roberts “Horrendous”

Meryl Streep, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis
Meryl Streep, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis

Brutally honest may be an understatement. The Hollywood Reporter released on Wednesday, Feb. 26 a "brutally honest" Oscar ballot shared by a voter, who is a member of the Academy's directors branch.

For Best Actor, the voter opined that Leonardo DiCaprio gave a "popcorn performance" in The Wolf of Wall Street, and Matthew McConaughey should win for HBO's True Detective over Dallas Buyers Club. The Academy member would have voted for Bruce Dern's role in Nebraska, but was too "taken" by Christian Bale's performance in American Hustle. "Bale had a much juicier role — Dern's role is very contained, whereas Bale is all over the place — so I had to go with him," the voter explained. "It's the role of a lifetime."

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In the Best Actress category, the voter selected frontrunner Cate Blanchett, who has been sweeping award season so far, as the winner. "She was just a revelation; she was just spectacular," the Academy member explained. Not as nice things could be said for August: Osage County star Meryl Streep and Gravity actress Sandra Bullock. "Bullock is the weak link — she's just OK," the voter said. "For Streep, whom I love, this is a bottom-drawer performance."

As for the Supporting categories, the voter chose American Hustle's Bradley Cooper over favored Dallas Buyers Club star Jared Leto for Best Supporting Actor. "Everyone was at least very good, but Cooper was the best. I think this is the best he's been in anything," the showbiz veteran said. "Jared Leto was good and will win, but he's getting tremendous points because of the person he's playing more than the way he played it, which is as close to pandering as you can get." (In Dallas Buyers Club, Leto plays Rayon, an HIV-positive transgender woman.)

The Academy member felt the same about Lupita Nyong'o's performance in 12 Years a Slave. "Lupita was very good, but a lot of the commotion over her is attributable to people's tremendous empathy with and sympathy for the role she's playing," the voter explained of the newcomer's performance as Patsey, a slave who suffers horrifically at the hands of her master, Edwin Epps, played by Michael Fassbender. The Academy member went on to call Nebraska's June Squibb "fine," and August: Osage County's Julia Roberts "horrendous."

After debating between Blue Jasmine's Sally Hawkins and American Hustle's Jennifer Lawrence, the voter picked Lawrence to win Best Supporting Actress. "She has that extra level of excitement in every scene she's in," the movie buff said of Lawrence, 23. "She just dazzles; she's always doing something original and bold and surprising and believable." 

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For Best Picture, the Academy member chose American Hustle as the first pick, 12 Years a Slave as second, and The Wolf of Wall Street as third.

Tell Us: Do you agree or disagree with this Oscar voter's picks?

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