God Bless Dolly Parton for Entering the Oscar Race
“Were out here politicking and trying to get us an Oscar,” joked Dolly Parton in her Tennessee drawl..
“Were out here politicking and trying to get us an Oscar,” joked Dolly Parton in her Tennessee drawl as she bounded onstage at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills on Monday for a brief, one-song concert to showcase “Girl in the Movies,” a ditty she wrote for the upcoming film Dumplin that will premiere on Netflix, and in select theaters in the U.S., in December. Shes hoping the song will compete in the song category at next years Academy Awards. No matter that its still in the early days of yet another endless Oscar season, Parton was working the room of journalists in a more dressed-down, daytime outfit: a gold sequin skirt, black turtleneck sweater, black sequin fingerless gloves, and enough gold necklaces to rival Mr. T.
Parton was hawking her wares for a movie that is sure to endear the country singer to a new generation of fans. Based on the best-selling young-adult novel by Julie Murphy, Dumplin centers on the plus-sized teenage daughter (Patty Cake$s Danielle Macdonald) of a former beauty queen (Jennifer Aniston), who is obsessed with Parton—her music, the lyrics, really everything that makes Dolly Dolly. Its a fascination shared by a group of drag queens who channel the busty vocalist in the movie. (“Its a good thing I was born a girl, otherwise Id be a drag queen,” is just one of the many gems Parton told the crowd.)
Going for Oscar gold will mean competing against two song-machine juggernauts this season: A Star Is Born and Mary Poppins Returns. The former features the hit “Shallows” performed by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in the film and written by Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt. In Mary Poppins Returns, Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel-Miranda headline songs written by five-time Oscar nominee Marc Shaiman. Parton herself has nine Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, a National Medal of Arts honor, and two Oscar nominations (Transamerica, Nine to Five), yet no wins. For Dumplin, she collaborated with 4 Non Blondes singer-songwriter Linda Perry on six original songs; the soundtrack also includes duets with Sia and Miranda Lambert on some of her classics like “Here I Am” and “Dumb Blonde.”
Parton is entering an already stiff competition—other song contenders include Kendrick Lamars “All the Stars” from Black Panther and even Céline Dion has a song, “Ashes,” in Deadpool 2—but one thing is clear, Oscar season will be a lot more joyous with her in it.
Parton, who also is working on an unnamed Netflix anthology series based on her songs, was pretty up-front about her feelings about her standing in this years race. “Theyve got my little country ass worn out going back and forth between here and Atlanta,” she said, referring to the series shooting in Georgia. “Now go vote for us!”
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