No, Scoop is not a remake of the 2006 Woody Allen pic with Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson, but it is centered on a controversial subject. This Scoop is out on Netflix today and focuses on a disastrous TV interview with Prince Andrew about his various scandals. Gillian Anderson plays journalist Emily Maitlis with Rufus Sewell as the aforementioned royalty. Billie Piper and Keely Hawes costar with Philip Martin, known for TV work in Prime Suspect and The Crown, directing.
Like Scoop from Mr. Allen, this Scoop has a mixed reception. At 76% on RT, even the more positive notices temper their plaudits. Here’s a new flash! This won’t a topic in the awards conversation. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…
In 2022, veteran thespian Bill Nighy nabbed his first Oscar nomination for the period drama Living. He’s in coach mode with The Beautiful Game as the leader of a homeless squad of footballers. Thea Sharrock, also behind the camera for the just out Wicked Little Letters with Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, directs the sports drama. The supporting cast includes Micheal Ward from Empire of Light (where he romanced Ms. Colman), Valeria Golino of Rain Man and Hot Shots! fame, and Susan Wokoma.
Following a limited release, Game hit Netflix last weekend to generally pleasing notices (the RT score is 87%). While Nighy’s performance is predictably being praised, this doesn’t appear poised to generate awards buzz and that probably wasn’t the goal in the first place. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…
In 2018, Regina King was a Supporting Actress victor at the Oscars for If Beale Street Could Talk. Her latest project, at least on paper, appears to be another hopeful. In the biographical drama Shirley (not to be confused with 2020’s same titled biographical drama with Elisabeth Moss), King portrays Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman to run for President in 1972. Depicting that time in her life, John Ridley (an Academy winner for penning 2013’s 12 Years a Slave) directs with a supporting cast including the late Lance Reddick, Terrence Howard, Lucas Hedges, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and André Holland. The film is out in limited release this weekend before its March 22nd Netflix premiere.
Early reviews are mostly complimentary while none are really raves. The RT score is 78%. Any thoughts of this being a BP contender can go away (the release date kind of clued us into that). Unsurprisingly, King is being highly praised. I just question whether this will be in the minds of voters several months down the road. Netflix will need to keep her busy on the campaign trail for any possibility of a second nom. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…
As we await the final season of Stranger Things and a third Enola Holmes tale, Millie Bobby Brown’s Netflix adventures continue this weekend in Damsel. The fantasy comes from Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, best known for making zombie sequel 28 Weeks Later. Brown headlines with a supporting cast including Ray Winstone, Angela Bassett, Brooke Carter, Nick Robinson, Robin Wright, and Shohreh Aghdashloo voicing a dragon.
Reviews are of the mixed variety at 59% on RT. The genre can lead to certain tech nods. However, some of the criticism is directed toward the CGI and visual effects appears to be a non-starter. I doubt Netflix will stress Damsel in any awards campaign months down the road. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…
Johan Renck’s Spaceman is not – I repeat, not – about the doctor that Chris Parnell hilariously played on 30 Rock. The sci-fi drama does star a fellow SNL alumni in Adam Sandler as a Czech astronaut on a solo mission. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this week, hits theaters in limited fashion this weekend, and premieres on Netflix March 1st. Costars include Carey Mulligan (currently vying for Best Actress in Maestro), Paul Dano (doing voiceover work), Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini.
Sandler’s serious work has probably come close to making the Academy’s cut with 2019’s Uncut Gems or 2022’s Hustle which earned him a SAG nod. I don’t think you’ll see Spaceman launch him into consideration. The RT score is a mixed 64% with some reviews calling it a bore. Others are far more complimentary, but not to the degree that I think that generates any awards buzz. The lone exception could be Visual Effects. I’m not confident in that. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…
As we do every year on this here blog, Oscar nominations lead to my Case Of series. What are they? Glad you asked. These are 35 posts covering the nominees for Picture, Director, and the four acting contests. For each one, I give you the case for the movie/director/actor winning and the case against it with a verdict tidying it up. It’s like a trial, but no one goes to prison.
It began with the ten BP contenders and now it alternates alphabetically between the hopefuls in the five other big races. Today we arrive at our second performer in Best Actor and that’s Colman Domingo as Rustin. Let’s get to it!
Previous Oscar Acting Nominations:
None
The Case for Colman Domingo:
As the principal organizer of the March for Freedom Rally, Domingo’s turn as Bayard Rustin in George C. Wolfe’s Netflix biopic was identified early on as Academy bait. He’s been nominated in all the key precursors: Globes, SAG, Critics Choice, and BAFTA. It’s been a year of significant exposure with this, his supporting turn in The Color Purple, and the lead in Sing Sing (which premiered at Toronto and could garner awards attention for him next year).
The Case Against Colman Domingo:
The film itself did not become a contender in other categories. Domingo’s nod marks its sole nomination and he’s the only hopeful in Actor from a movie not up for BP. Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) and Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) have emerged in the forerunning contests.
The Verdict:
Given the fact that Rustin never really approached BP vying status, it’s impressive that Domingo checked off all the major ceremonies (leaving Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon on the outside looking in). Don’t expect a rally of support for a major upset win.
My Case Of posts will continue with Danielle Brooks in The Color Purple…
As we do every year on this here blog, Oscar nominations lead to my Case Of series. What are they? Glad you asked. These are 35 posts covering the nominees for Picture, Director, and the four acting contests. For each one, I give you the case for the movie/director/actor winning and the case against it with a verdict tidying it up. It’s like a trial, but no one goes to prison.
It began with the ten BP contenders and now it alternates alphabetically between the hopefuls in the five other big races. Today we arrive at the Actor quintet and it starts with Bradley Cooper in Maestro. Let’s get to it!
Previous Oscar Acting Nominations:
Silver Linings Playbook (2012, Actor); American Hustle (2013, Supporting Actor); American Sniper (2014, Actor); A Star Is Born (2018, Actor)
The Case for Bradley Cooper:
For his portrayal of the legendary EGOT recipient Leonard Bernstein in the Netflix production, Mr. Cooper has been nominated for BAFTA, Critics Choice, SAG, and the Globes. There could also be the feeling that he’s overdue as this marks his fifth acting nod with no hardware to show for it (just like Annette Bening in Nyad per my previous post).
The Case Against Bradley Cooper:
He didn’t win the Globe or Critics Choice as Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) and Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) have split the prizes so far. While Maestro had a decent nomination morning, Cooper was not recognized for his direction. That’s what happened in 2018 when he got the Actor mention for Star (he would lose to Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody), but not his behind the camera work. Of all the BP contenders, this has the lowest RT rating and there’s a feeling among some that Cooper is trying too hard in Maestro for the gold.
The Verdict:
Cooper is third behind Murphy and Giamatti. I don’t think his victory is an impossibility. Yet it looks to be a long shot unless he scores an upset at SAG or BAFTA. In other words, the O in EGOT should still be unfulfilled.
My Case Of posts will continue with Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer…
As we do every year on this here blog, Oscar nominations lead to my Case Of series. What are they? Glad you asked. These are 35 posts covering the nominees for Picture, Director, and the four acting contests. For each one, I give you the case for the movie/director/actor winning and the case against it with a verdict tidying it up. It’s like a trial, but no one goes to prison.
It began with the ten BP contenders and now it alternates alphabetically between the hopefuls in the other five big races. Today we arrive at the Actress quintet and it starts with Annette Bening in Nyad. Let’s get to it!
Previous Oscar Acting Nominations:
The Grifters (1990, Supporting Actress); American Beauty (1999, Actress), Being Julia (2004, Actress), The Kids Are All Right (2010, Actress)
The Case for Annette Bening:
SAG and Globe nominations preceded this, but Bening’s potential ace in the hole could be the overdue factor. While costar Jodie Foster (up for Supporting Actress) is a two-time Oscar recipient, Bening is 0 for 4.
The Case Against Annette Bening:
She’s swimming upstream for the victory with Nyad. The picture itself is not an awards player beyond its two leads. Bening missed the cut at BAFTA and Critics Choice. Emma Stone (Poor Things) vs. Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) appears to be the showdown for the gold.
The Verdict:
The strong likelihood is Bening will be 0 for 5 come March 10th.
My Case Of posts will continue with our first write-up in Actor. That’s Bradley Cooper in Maestro…
Orion and the Dark is streaming as of today on Netflix. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and marking the directorial debut of Sean Charmatz, the animated fantasy deals with themes of existentialism and fear. This is not too surprising considering the script comes from Charlie Kaufman, adapting Emma Yarlett’s children’s book. The voice cast includes Jacob Tremblay, Colin Hanks, Paul Walter Hauser, Angela Bassett, Ike Barinholtz, Natasia Demetriou, Nat Faxon, Carla Gugino, and Werner Herzog.
Kaufman is no stranger to the genre. He wrote and directed 2015’s Anomalisa. That critically acclaimed effort was up for Animated Feature at the Oscars, ultimately losing to Pixar’s Inside Out. Netflix knows how to get their animated material awards attention. Recent nominees include The Mitchells vs. the Machines, The Sea Beast, the victorious Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and Nimona.
Orion is getting a warm reception so far with 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. We don’t know yet what this category’s landscape will look like several months down the road. However, I wouldn’t underestimate the chances for this to make it in. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…
As we do every year on this here blog, Oscar nominations lead to my Case Of series. What are they? Glad you asked. These are 35 posts covering the nominees for Picture, Director, and the four acting contests. For each one, I give you the case for the movie/director/actor winning and the case against it with a verdict tidying it up. It’s like a trial, but no one goes to prison.
It begins with the ten BP contenders and then alternates alphabetically between the hopefuls in the other five big races. I’ve already covered the first half of the BP lineup. They are linked at the bottom of the post. Next up is Bradley Cooper’s Maestro.
The Case for Maestro:
Marking the filmmaker’s second behind the camera effort after 2018’s A Star is Born, the Leonard Bernstein biopic landed BP nods at Critics Choice and the Globes. Cooper and costar Carey Mulligan have been a fixture in the lead acting derbies. Its seven total nominations matched and arguably even exceeded expectations. The other nods (Star managed one better at 8): the aforementioned Cooper and Mulligan in their respective races, Original Screenplay, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Sound.
The Case Against Maestro:
It hasn’t won any of those BP competitions. The 80% Rotten Tomatoes score is actually the lowest of the ten hopefuls. BAFTA didn’t recognized it for Best Film. There were key misses in Director (just as Cooper missed that category for Star five years back) and Film Editing.
The Verdict:
Maestro has a solid chance at taking Makeup and Hairstyling. Everything else looks questionable and BP looks totally out of reach.
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