Tag: Jessica Harper

Oscar Predictions: Nightbitch

Like other prognosticators, the trailer for Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch tempered my expectations for its Oscar chances. Based on a 2021 novel by Rachel Yoder, it stars six-time nominee Amy Adams as a stay-at-home who starts believing she’s a dog. The Fox Searchlight production costars Scott McNairy, Arleigh Patrick Snowden, Emmett James Snowden, Zoë Chao, and Jessica Harper. It has premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and rolls out domestically December 6th.

The trailer was underwhelming. I have had Adams listed at #1 in my Actress possibilities for several weeks. After all, there’s an overdue factor at play too. Director Heller has seen her actors get nominated with Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Tom Hanks for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Yet the preview alone had me questioning whether or not to drop her from my projected quintet.

Buzz coming out of Toronto indicates displacing Adams from the #1 slot is definitely the right decision. Nightbitch is garnering mixed notices (69 on Metacritic). Some have said it is stronger than that trailer. Praise for Adams, though, is across the board. I suspect she could still make the final five in Actress and that would stand as its only nom (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay seem unlikely).

Competition could be a hindrance for a seventh podium try. At best, Adams might be fourth or fifth in contention. She could also be sixth or seventh at press time. We’ll see how it shakes out in my next update. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: Memory

No, I’m not rethinking my 2022 decision to forego an Oscar Predictions post on the Liam Neeson action flick Memory. This is the write-up for the same monikered Michel Franco drama that premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The somber drama is led by Jessica Chastain (2021’s Actress winner for The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and Peter Sarsgard with a supporting cast including Merritt Wever, Jessica Harper, Elsie Fisher, and Josh Charles.

The Rotten Tomatoes meter stands at 88% with critics particularly complimenting the performances of the two leads. The Italian fest jury took notice as Sarsgard received the Best Actor award.

Assuming this makes the domestic release calendar by year’s end (release date is still TBD), its distributor MUBI has their work cut for them to break Chastain and Sarsgard into the lead conversations. Some critics prize attention could help and I’m taking a wait and see attitude with Memory‘s prospects. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Bones and All Box Office Prediction

MGM/UA hopes younger viewers are hungry for some cannibal love when Bones and All opens wide on Wednesday, November 23rd. Based on a 2015 novel by Camille DeAngelis, Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet headline the road flick from director Luca Guadagnino. Costars include Mark Rylance, Michael Stuhlbarg, Andre Holland, Chloe Sevigny, David Gordon Green, and Jessica Harper.

The subject matter could be a challenging one for holiday crowds though Chalamet has a rabid fanbase that could turn up. The Thanksgiving release (it’s out five screens November 18 before the expansion) is also the only holiday newbie geared toward teens and young adults. Strange World is for the kids while Devotion and The Fabelmans skew older. Reviews are pretty appetizing with an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score following its September debut at the Venice Film Festival.

With a reported count of around 2500 venues, I’ll say Bones gets to mid single digits for the three-day and for the five.

Bones and All opening weekend prediction: $3.5 million (Friday to Sunday); $5.3 million (Wednesday to Sunday)

For my Strange World prediction, click here:

Strange World Box Office Prediction

For my Devotion prediction, click here:

Devotion Box Office Prediction

For my The Fabelmans prediction, click here:

The Fabelmans Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: Bones and All

Love and cannibalism collide in Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, which has premiered at Venice before its November 23rd stateside theatrical release. The mix of gore and romance reunites the filmmaker with his Call Me by Your Name star Timothee Chalamet (I will refrain from making any Armie Hammer references from now on). Taylor Russell, who drew raves for the little seen Waves, is co-lead with a supporting cast including Mark Rylance, Michael Stuhlbarg, Andre Holland, Chloe Sevigny, and Jessica Harper.

The road movie, based on a 2015 YA novel from Camille DeAngelis, is drawing mostly positive early reaction in Italy. The Rotten Tomatoes meter is a strong 92%. Praise is plentiful for Chalamet (he scored an Oscar nod for Name), but Russell is being called the highlight.

Despite the encouraging buzz, I’m not sure voters will bite for this late 80s set horror tale. Five years ago, Guadagnino’s Name called up four Academy nods including Picture and winning Adapted Screenplay. His 2018 follow-up Suspiria didn’t make a dent with the awards crowd.

MGM/UA would need to mount a major campaign for Russell or Chalamet for them to be viable in my view. I would say Bones‘s best shot could be Adapted Screenplay or perhaps the score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…