The Telluride Film Festival showcased yet another Oscar hopeful over the weekend and early results are encouraging for Suffragette, particularly for its lead actress. Set in the early 20th century, Suffragette focuses on the women’s voting rights movement in Britain during that era. The pic is directed by Sarah Gavron and written by Abi Morgan, who could both be factors in their respective races. Gavron, in particular, would be appear the Academy’s best chance to include a female in the race.
As for the actors, early reviews are raving about Carey Mulligan’s lead performance; so much so that it’s probably safe to assume her name will be included in Best Actress. The supporting ladies are more of a question mark but the edge would go to Helena Bonham Carter over the lesser known Anne-Marie Duff. Both received good notices. Meryl Streep is in the film too, but her role is reported to be fairly small. Still you can never completely count out the most nominated actress in Academy history.
Over the weekend, I include Suffragette in my predicted eight nominees for Best Picture. The buzz from Telluride confirms that pick. Its inclusion is far from guaranteed, but it’s got a great shot.
It’s hard to believe but we are two thirds of the way through the calendar year and that means my first round of incredibly early Oscar predictions are making their way to the blog! Some caveats: it’s early. Real early. Truth be told, most of the main contenders in all the major categories will be rolling out in the fall. Many will be screening at the upcoming film fests like Toronto and New York, among others. As always, those festivals will help the picture become clearer over the next couple of months. Usually by Thanksgiving or early December, we’ve got a pretty good idea on how things are looking.
That said, I started my predictions for 2014 at the same time last year. In the Supporting Actress race, which I’m covering today, my impossibly early predictions yielded two of the five eventual nominees, Laura Dern for Wild and winner Patricia Arquette in Boyhood. It’s also worth noting that I predicted Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything, who was nominated in the Lead Actress category. Let’s talk about how things look right now:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Already we seem to have one performer who appears to be a shoo in for a nod: Rooney Mara for Todd Haynes’s 1950s set lesbian romance Carol, which premiered to raves at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this summer. It would be very shocking not to see Mara included, unless she’s campaigned for in the Actress race. That seems unlikely because the studio should be putting her costar Cate Blanchett in that race.
After that – much uncertainty. The Irish immigration drama Brooklyn hit the festival circuit to a rapturous response and that could bode well for Julie Walters. Director Quentin Tarantino knows how to get his actors nominated which could mean a nom for The Hateful Eight’s Jennifer Jason Leigh. Director David O. Russell is exceptional at seeing his performers gets nods and his December release Joy could see kudos for either Virginia Madsen or Diane Ladd (I’m leaving both off, for now).
Elizabeth Olsen has had some critically applauded roles and her performance as Hank Williams’ wife in the biopic I Saw the Light could garner attention. So could Kate Winslet in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic.
The rest of the large field is filled with familiar names and some not. Remember the name Emayatzy Corinealdi for her work in the Don Cheadle/Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead. And we have previous winners like Blanchett, Jane Fonda, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Rachel Weisz in the mix.
TODD’S FIRST PREDICTIONS – BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Elizabeth Olsen, I Saw the Light
Julie Walters, Brooklyn
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Other Possibilities:
Elizabeth Banks, Love and Mercy
Cate Blanchett, Truth
Helena Bonham Carter, Suffragette
Jessica Chastain, The Martian
Emayatzy Corinealdi, Miles Ahead
Marion Cotillard, Macbeth
Ann Dowd, Our Brand is Crisis
Jane Fonda, Youth
Nicole Kidman, Genius
Diane Ladd, Joy
Melanie Laurent, By the Sea
Laura Linney, Genius
Virginia Madsen, Joy
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Ellen Page, Freeheld
Julia Roberts, The Secret in their Eyes
Amy Ryan, Bridge of Spies
Meryl Streep, Suffragette
Rachel Weisz, Youth
And there’s part one of my early Oscar picks. Supporting Actor coming your way tomorrow…
This Friday, Disney continues their new trend of bringing some of their most known animated tales to life with Cinderella. Thor director Kenneth Branagh helms the production with Lily James in the title role and Cate Blanchett as The Wicked Stepmother. Helena Bonham Carter and Stellan Skarsgard round out the cast.
After two ho-hum weekends, Cinderella seems poised to shake the box office out of its slump. Reviews have been very strong and it currently stands at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. With hardly any competition, expect Disney to experience a strong weekend.
This past summer, Maleficent with Angelina Jolie (a Sleeping Beauty retelling) opened at $69 million on its way to a $241 million overall domestic haul. I feel Cinderella will come quite close to that number.
Cinderella opening weekend prediction: $67.8 million
Which stars are at the top of the mountain when it comes to overall domestic box office grosses? Well, this trusty blogger has your answers in my new series. This will be a five-part series revealing the Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time from #25 to #1.
When looking at the performers who make up the list, you’ll notice some very big names aren’t listed. Brad Pitt. Jim Carrey. Nicolas Cage. Denzel Washington. Why? Well, as you’ll see, it helps to be an actor involved in a successful franchise… or franchises. Therefore – some of the names may well surprise you.
Let’s get to it, shall we?
25. Tommy Lee Jones
Career Earnings: $2.4 billion
Franchises: The Men in Black series. The Fugitive/U.S. Marshals. *Jones also made one time appearances in ongoing franchises with Batman Forever and Captain America: The First Avenger.
Highest Grossing Picture: Men in Black – $250 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 8. The Fugitive, Batman Forever, Men in Black, Double Jeopardy, Men in Black II, Captain America: The First Avenger, MIB 3, Lincoln.
Lowest Grosser: House of Cards – $322,000
24. Stellan Skarsgard
Career Earnings: $2.5 billion
Franchises: The Marvel Universe (Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest/Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. *Skarsgard also appeared in Angels&Demons, the Da Vinci Code sequel.
Highest Grossing Picture: The Avengers – $623 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Mamma Mia!, Angels&Demons, Thor, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World.
Lowest Grosser: Boogie Woogie – $2,000
23. Helena Bonham Carter
Career Earnings: $2.5 billion
Franchises: The Harry Potter series. *Bonham Carter also appeared in Terminator: Salvation.
Highest Grossing Picture: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $381 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Terminator: Salvation, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Les Miserables.
Lowest Grosser: The Theory of Flight – $73,000
22. Orlando Bloom
Career Earnings: $2.5 billion
Franchises: The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Hobbit series.
Highest Grossing Picture: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $423 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Black Hawk Down, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Lowest Grosser: Main Street – $2,500
21. Julia Roberts
Career Earnings: $2.6 billion
Franchises: The Ocean’s series.
Highest Grossing Picture: Ocean’s Eleven – $183 million
Number of $100M+ Earners: 11. Pretty Woman, Sleeping with the Enemy, Hook, The Pelican Brief, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Valentine’s Day.
Lowest Grosser: Fireflies in the Garden – $70,000
That’s all for now! I’ll be back tomorrow with numbers 20-16!
All My Life... I Wanted To Be A Blogster 