I sometimes feel like I’m hunching over defensively and making Oscar predictions, already predicting what the Academy will get wrong. Yet, hope springs eternal.
The academy itself has diversified in recent years, bringing in more young international members, so the sensibility of the group should also change. Is it possible that when the candidates are announced on January 17th, everything suddenly falls into place and shocks us with enough calm to leave room for the voters rather than something they’ll belittle? ?
If so, you might be lucky enough to see some of the names below called next week.
Coralie Ferguito, Best Director
Gory horror-comedies don’t often make it through awards season, but “The Substance” has had a fascinating run so far, culminating with Demi Moore’s triumphant Golden Globe win on Sunday. The 62-year-old actress is certain to receive an Oscar nomination, but will that benefit extend to the film’s game-changing French director Farget? While the academy’s directorial departments tend to hire more lofty talent, Farjeet’s vision and dignity are hard to argue with. It would be a welcome shock to see her included in a year in which Hollywood produced few female nominees in the category.
“Challengers”, Best Original Score Award
Could this year’s most exciting film score be the subject of gross disdain? Even though the propulsive techno score won Golden Globes for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, I’m worried the Oscars will miss it. Last week, members of the British Film Academy narrowed down the BAFTA original score nominees to 10, but “Challengers” did not win. Lineup. The award-winning body’s membership overlaps considerably with the American academy, so this could be an early warning sign that Challengers’ scores are simply too cutting-edge for traditionally-minded voters. There is. Let’s hope American Oscar voters are more amenable than British voters. Because it’s impossible to imagine Luca Guadagnino’s tennis-themed love triangle (or my gym playlist) without a club synth in play.
“Union,” “No Other Land,” and “The Bibi Files” Best Documentary
Of the 15 films shortlisted for this year’s documentary feature Oscar, three tackle controversial themes that no U.S. distributor wanted to cover. “The Other Land,” which chronicles the destruction of a West Bank village by Israeli authorities, and “The Bibi File,” which depicts the corruption case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The companies that own many studios are increasingly hesitant to take on political topics, but the Oscar attention on these worthy nominees will at least be a boon to their independent distribution plans, and the will be a rebuke to wealthy movers and shakers. I’m scared of supporting controversial art.
Michelle Austin wins Best Supporting Actress
Three of the most notable critics groups back ‘Hard Truth’ star Marianne Jean-Baptiste, with British actress’ deft performance awarded by New York Film Critics Association, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and National Association received the highest honor. movie critic. But what I was especially happy about was that the final group also gave a support trophy to Michelle Austen, who plays Jean-Baptiste’s patient sister. She’s a fun counterweight to Jean-Baptiste’s indigestible pansies, and also worthy of awards attention.
“A Different Man” Best Original Screenplay Award
This season, A24 has released films such as The Brutalist, which just won Golden Globe Awards for Best Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor in a Drama, and Sing Sing, which is likely to be nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor at the Oscars. ” and has received numerous nominations for major awards. Starring Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin. Still, it’s the studio’s lesser-known “A Different Man” that continues to surprise. This unusual drama depicts an actor (Sebastian Stan) who suffers from facial disfigurement, and won the Gotham Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Comedy or musical. That’s the kind of momentum that could tempt Oscar voters to see A Different Man at the last minute, and I think screenwriters in particular can get carried away with scripts that never quite live up to their expectations.
Javier Bardem, Best Supporting Actor
None of the cast of Dune Part 2 is considered a serious awards contender, perhaps because the film’s true star resembles director Denis Villeneuve. Still, I haven’t seen a performance this season that pleased me as much as Bardem’s. Bardem finds fun in religious fundamentalism as Stilgar, an initially skeptical character who becomes obsessed with up-and-coming leader Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). Like Guy Pearce in The Brutalist, he finds a sense of humor in what would otherwise be an overly serious subject, exclaiming with wide eyes that Paul is the prophesied “Risan al Ghaib!” do. It might become this year’s line reading material. No one expects Bardem to join the Oscar lineup, but why not add a little spice to the Best Supporting Actor race that seems destined to be won by Kieran Culkin?
