Oscar season is nearly in full swing. The screeners and invitations have already started. PR companies, studios, and other industry analysts are fighting hard for films and performances that they hope will resonate with critics’ awards and the Academy Awards. When assessing the race in all categories there seems to be an equal amount of newcomers and veterans in various categories, all fighting for a spot in their respective lineups.
In the Directing category we have the usual suspects of respected veteran directors; Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, and David Cronenberg. Most of these men have won Oscars before and looking for reaffirmation that they’ve still got it. You could easily place Terrence Malick in the same lineup for The Tree of Life, however, Malick seems to be on an island all alone at the moment. His film seems to be so uniquely split between people who love it or hate it, it’s going to be interesting if he makes the cut and wins the Oscar.
George Clooney, David Fincher, Bennett Miller, Alexander Payne, Jason Reitman have been nominated for the Directing Oscar before. They’re not necessarily newbies but their still swinging at the Oscar ball. Can they hit a home run this year? The freshman of this year’s race could lie with Michel Hazanvicius for The Artist, Steve McQueen for Shame, Tate Taylor for The Help, Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive, and Lynne Ramsay for We Need to Talk About Kevin (I know she isn’t a man but I couldn’t help but mention her now). There’s probably a dozen or more names you can add but these five seem to be in the forefront of contenders this year thus far.
In the Lead Actor category, longtime Hollywood beloved actors like Gary Oldman for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Antonio Banderas for The Skin I Live In are looking for their first dance with Oscar. The former seems like the near sure-fire contender to be recognized. Breakthrough performers are making a wave this season as well. Jean Dujardin has had buzz for months for his work in The Artist and some are saying a win seems almost inevitable. Michael Fassbender blew up the box office in X-Men: First Class and is building a serious amount of buzz in Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method and McQueen’s Shame. A critic’s darling on our hands? Demian Bichir has his supporters a very good team behind him pushing his performance in A Better Life. Tom Hardy has two performances hitting the circuit this season. He already had his work in Warrior well received by critics and his work in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has some standout mentions. If War Horse is the juggernaut everyone is expecting, Jeremy Irvine should come up in plenty of conversations. Thomas Horn also seems like something extra special in Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close but let’s be serious, Keisha Castle-Hughes was the last actor recognized in the Lead category and before that, I can’t even remember. A supporting campaign might be in the cards. Speaking of supporting:
Supporting Actor is the category to get the veterans recognized anytime and this year seems like a big lineup. Christopher Plummer has been the frontrunner for weeks for his work in Beginners. Some are saying it’s locked up for him. He also has Barrymore looking to make a splash later in the year. His road to Oscar is already an uphill climb due to the competition at hand. Albert Brooks as the surprisingly vicious gangster in Drive is hitting campaign trail already. Kenneth Branagh looks decent enough in My Week with Marilyn along with Jim Broadbent in The Iron Lady. After Daldry’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close trailer hit the web, many, including myself, jumped on the possibility of Max Von Sydow being recognized. Definitely premature and maybe not the smartest move for an Oscar predictor, Von Sydow standing alongside Christopher Plummer would make a great Supporting race. Conversation still circles veterans like Nick Nolte in Warrior, Robert Forster in The Descendants, Niels Arestrup in War Horse, and Ben Kingsley in Hugo. The new boys on the Oscar radar thus far are Jonah Hill in Moneyball, a performance critics and audiences were surprised by. I suspect the Globes may jump up and down for him. Ezra Miller has been buzzed about for months alongside co-star Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin and if he hits the circuit in a big way, watch out. Benedict Cumberbatch has been an actor you’ve seen for years and realize how good he really is in his supporting work like Atonement and Creation. A large amount of buzz has spiked for him recently for his work in Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. If he continues to get those standout reviews, Cumberbatch could be a surprise entry no one really saw coming. We’re still crossing our fingers for Armie Hammer opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Eastwood’s J. Edgar and Patton Oswalt has entered conversation for Jason Reitman’s Young Adult.
Official Oscar predictions will be updated this weekend with an in-depth look at the females in this year’s Oscar race.
Which veteran are you rooting for? Which newbie are you pulling for? Discuss here and discuss on the FORUM.
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Tags: Antonio Banderas, Beginners, benedict cumberbatch, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, david cronenberg, demian bichir, Drive, extremely loud and incredibly close, Gary Oldman, jean dujardin, Jonah Hill, max von sydow, Michael Fassbender, michel hazanvicius, Moneyball, Nicolas Winding Refn, Oscar Circuit, Shame, stephen daldry, the artist, The Skin I Live In, thomas horn, tinker tailor soldier spy, Tom Hardy, tomas alfredson, viggo mortensen, Warrior
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The race is really interesting this year because for a long long time the Academy has awarded films that had hit the Festivals that are going on right now. However no clear front-runner has been seen and critics everywhere splinting votes left and right. When we are talking about directors the race is wide open. No one is a sure thing, except for Spielberg. The reason why, mostly his name but also the fact that his trailer hit all the right points people were expecting plus the play in which the movie is based swept the Tony. If we are talking who is TODAY would make the lineup I would say say Payne, Scorsese, Malick, Allen, Clooney. All based on movies I’ve seen.
Now acting wise is another story. Clooney, Pitt, DiCaprio, Dujardin are all in. All in. There is no way the race can go on unless some miracle or unfortunate event happens to take them out of the race. Clooney and Pitt hit the ball park with their performances, DiCaprio has Eastwood behind, the man gave Swank her second Oscar, Damon and Freeman nominations for a par film, and he also gave Penn an Oscar as well. The man is an Oscar magnet when he wants to no doubt. Dujardin is like Benigni and Cotiliard all in one. Likability, beloved film by all, and a sure box office surprise. It is sad to say, to many people’s dislike but there is only one spot right now open. Oldman’s film needs a boost from somewhere, anywhere, the film is pretty dead, not many blogs are talking about it, “A Dangerous Method” as well. Gosling is going to split unfortunately. With the sad bump facing “Drive” and his confusing role position in “Ides of March” I predict he is out as well, unless he goes supporting with the latter which he could. My money TODAY is on Fassbender who like Gosling had a pretty good year. Lucky for him he has a Venice award on his back and a huge support, more than “Drive” right now, for “Shame”.
Supporting has something interesting going for it as well. You have Plummer who people want to award. Enormous career, likable person, broke into the Academy with “The Last Station”. However his film “The Beginners” is dated by now. It wasn’t a hit in the box office, and the monstrosity of other films is crushing the little thing like a fly. I have been very vocal after seeing “Barrymore” trailer how he would get the statue somewhere, however after reading a couple of the reviews for that I find it hard on him. And to make matters worse, after seeing “My Week With Marilyn” I have completely gave up on that idea just like I did last year with Bill Murray. The Oscar will go to Branagh. He has everything an Oscar winner in this category is made of. Oscar monologues, Oscar character, Oscar film, Oscar actress. EVERYTHING. Today if I had to make a list I would say, Branagh, and Brooks. Three spots remain open. I saw “Hugo” at the NYFF. and I have to say I think Kingsley is getting in. If Watlz goes supporting with the rest of his cast of “Carnage” I see him also getting in. One spot remains wide open and it will really depend on precursors support. Plummer needs to get some early nods and wins or forget it.
GL(Quote) (Reply)
As far as men go, I saw Drive and Warrior on the same day, and, I must say, Nick Nolte gave the best supporting performance I’ve seen all year in my opinion. He definitely sits atop my Oscar-worthy performance list at this point in time. I also saw 50/50 that same day and was very impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s performance. I would LOVE to see both him and Nolte get nominated for Lead and Supporting, respectively, even though I know their chances are extremely slim. I wasn’t at all impressed with Gosling’s performance whatsoever. It was very bland in my book and I don’t see what all the hype is about with that particular performance. I thought Brooks was good, but I guess I was expecting a little more given all the hype and high praises he was/is receiving. I thought Tom Hardy was very impressive in Warrior as well, but to me, Nolte stole the show, hands down. Rogen was good as well in 50/50 but to a lesser degree than the aforementioned actors. He was his usual funny, smart-ass self, but I actually thought he was better in Funny People. Anyways, those are three of the movies I’ve seen lately with Oscar-worthy performances from men.
Jason Kline(Quote) (Reply)
I couldn’t agree more, Jason. I saw Warrior a couple of days ago and was blown away by Nolte and wondered why he wasn’t a favourite. Albert Brooks on the other hand was very good, but I was a bit disappointed, given the hype. Christopher Plummer will no doubt walk away with the Oscar and has seemingly obliterated the competition, but while his performance was great and this will be a heartwarming win, he was not better than Nolte.
thereisaray(Quote) (Reply)
No love for Hunter McCracken’s amazing performance in The Tree of Life?
koook160(Quote) (Reply)