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LATimes.com have published an interesting article with films and performances they think were overlooked in this years Academy Award nominations. Maria’s moving turn in Beautiful Boy was included:

Many small-budget features and their actors were overlooked by the Oscars. That includes ‘The Music Never Stopped,’ Maria Bello, Ashley Rickards and Anson Mount.

In a perfect world, every theatrically released movie would have the exact same chance to compete each year for the Academy Award in its worthiest categories. But just like with the lottery, you have to play to win, and when it comes to the Oscars, many smaller, independently made films just can’t afford to play.

Fortunately, as a Times film reviewer, Netflix devotee and overall movie junkie, I see a number of strong features each year that fly so far under Hollywood’s radar as to barely exist. But they do exist, often as memorably — if not more so — than the many higher profile, more pedigreed selections that fill the lists of Oscar hopefuls.

So, with this year’s Academy Award nominations just announced, it seemed like an appropriate time to recall some of 2011′s best “unconsidered” films and, in that aforementioned perfect world, where they might have landed in the race for Oscar gold.

On the lead actress front, another highly respected performer, Maria Bello, was robbed of consideration for her stunning portrayal of a mother devastated by her teenage son’s murder-suicide shooting rampage in the difficult, under-seen “Beautiful Boy.” Bello’s brave interpretation of Shawn Ku and Michael Armbruster’s sensitive script (Ku also directed) was, in many ways, superior to Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Tilda Swinton’s widely noted but arguably less accessible performance in the similarly themed “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”

Had “Beautiful Boy” been sufficiently exposed to academy members and other voting blocs by its distributor, Anchor Bay, Bello may have very well found herself among the many fine lead actress contenders. But, according to the film’s producer, Lee Clay, it was “less an Anchor Bay-specific thing and more a small, independent movie-specific thing.” He explained, “To really mount a serious Oscar campaign, you’re talking about a spend of between half a million and a million dollars, which was more than the film’s entire [prints and advertising] budget to begin with.”

- LATimes.com

He took her car. He took her son.

Bad idea.

ANCHOR BAY FILMS GETS

CARJACKED ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD

Drive For Your Life November 22^nd

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Maria Bello (the upcoming “Prime Suspect,” Abduction) and Stephen Dorff (the upcoming November 11^th release of Immortals, Blade) headline the Anchor Bay Films thriller Carjacked, premiering November 22^nd on Blu-ray™ and DVD. Co-starring Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner, “Six Feet Under”), Catherine Dent (“The Shield,” 21 Grams) and Gary Grubbs (JFK, Ray), Carjacked is an unforgettable ride into suspense and terror! SRP is $26.98 for the DVD, and $29.99 for the Blu-ray™. Pre-book is October 26.

During a routine stop at a gas station, Lorraine (Bello), a vulnerable single mom, and her 5 year-old son (Connor Hill) are overtaken by Roy (Dorff), a vicious bank robber on the run. He forces her to drive to meet up with his accomplice who still has money from the heist. Possibly facing not only her death, but her son’s, Lorraine’s fight for survival summons up an inner strength and courage that she never thought she had.

Bonus features on both the Blu-ray™ and DVD include a behind-the-scenes featurette.

The film is produced by Daniel Grodnik (Powder, Bobby) and Eric Gozlan (Beautiful Boy) and directed by John Bonito. Written by Michael and Sherry Compton, who also are Executive Producers. Composer is Bennett Salvay, and Theo Van De Sande is Director of Photography. Executive Producers are Murray Rosenthal, Jonathan Rosenthal, Richard Iott and Michael Greenfield. About Anchor Bay Films

Anchor Bay Films is unique in that it offers the creative community a fully integrated distribution capability on all platforms and an international solution extending beyond the U.S. Anchor Bay Films is a division of Anchor Bay Entertainment and is on the ground providing quality distribution with operations in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as distribution capabilities in other key territories. The company focuses on a platform release strategy for its films with an eye toward maximizing their potential across all ancillary distribution platforms. The company recently released the critically acclaimed comedy City Island starring Andy Garcia and Solitary Man starring Michael Douglas, Kill the Irishman starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, as well as Sundance Audience Award Winner happythankyoumoreplease starring Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman, Kate Mara and Tony Hale. Upcoming releases include, Meet Monica Velour with Kim Cattrall and Toronto International Film Festival award-winnerBeautiful Boy with Maria Bello and Michael Sheen. Anchor Bay Entertainment is a subsidiary of Starz Media, LLC (www.starzmedia.com) which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Starz tracking stock group.