Tag: Oscar Watch

Oscar Watch: Breathe

Andrew Garfield goes for his second Best Actor Oscar nod in a row with Breathe, which has screened at the Toronto Film Festival. In it, Garfield plays a man diagnosed with polio who becomes a disabilities advocate. The drama marks the directorial debut of Andy Serkis, known most for giving life to CG creations in the Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes franchises. Other stars include Claire Foy and Hugh Bonneville.

Early reviews haven’t been too positive, but they’ve pointed out it wears its Oscar hopes on its sleeve. It’s been compared to The Theory of Everything, which did win Eddie Redmayne a statue. With Best Actor looking like it has some open slots (for now), a strong campaign could give Garfield nod #2 after last year’s Hacksaw Ridge. Yet the troubling reviews won’t help.

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Oscar Watch: The Current War

On paper, The Current War certainly looks like a potential Oscar contender. It comes from the Weinstein Company, a studio that knows how to get their pictures nominated. It’s a period piece drama featuring previous nominees Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon, as well as other recognizable faces like Nicholas Hoult, Tom Holland, and Katherine Waterston. It’s director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s follow-up to his acclaimed 2015 indie dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. 

War casts Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison and Shannon as George Westinghouse in their rivalry to determine whose electricity would power the world. Yet the buzz from the Toronto Film Festival over the weekend has dimmed its chances at Academy attention. There’s a small number of reviews available, but most of them have been negative and it’s at just 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Unless the Weinstein group figures out a way to make some nominating magic happen, it’s unlikely Current will factor into the race at all. Mr. Shannon, on the bright side, could get Supporting Actor attention for the far more well-received The Shape of Water. 

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Oscar Watch: The Mountain Between Us

Kate Winslet has received seven total Oscar nominations (with one win), so she pretty much belongs in the Meryl Streep category of almost any movie she makes will get automatic Academy speculation. OK, maybe not Divergent but most of them.

So when The Mountain Between Us got its Toronto Film Festival premiere this weekend, prognosticators were ready. The pic is a disaster pic/romance that casts Winslet as a plane crash survivor along with Idris Elba. They brave the wilderness while falling for each other.

Mountain is based on a 2011 Charles Martin bestseller and marks the English language debut of Israeli filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, who’s received two Foreign Language Picture nods. Sounds like a potential Oscar player, right?

Not so fast. Early reviews out of Toronto are mostly just so-so. It would appear its possibilities for Academy nods are now grounded. The good news for Winslet? She could still find herself in the mix for attention for nomination #9 for Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel later this year. And Elba stands a long shot chance in Supporting Actor for Molly’s Game.

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Oscar Watch: I, Tonya

Blogger’s Note Update (09/11/17): Neon has picked up the distribution rights for I, Tonya. Expect it to be released by year’s end for an Oscar push.

One picture skated into the Toronto Film Festival over the weekend with relatively small expectations. Yet Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya has turned into a major critical and audience favorite. Whispers of Oscar possibilities are getting considerably louder.

The title character is Tonya Harding, the infamous Olympic figure skater accused of masterminding an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. Margot Robbie is Harding and her performance is drawing many raves. Allison Janney portrays Tonya’s mom and she’s getting equal, if not more, attention.

Robbie has yet to be nominated for an Oscar in her short but fruitful career thus far. Prognosticators are also keeping an eye on her supporting turn in this fall’s Goodbye Christopher Robin. The packed nature of Best Actress has been discussed several times over the last few days on this blog. Even with fierce competition, early notices seem to indicate that Robbie could be a factor.

The Supporting Actress race looks less crowded as of now. Janney, a seven-time Emmy winner, would also be a newcomer for Academy attention. Her inclusion in that category is looking like a major possibility.

One potential hiccup: I, Tonya doesn’t have a distributor at press time and it’s not 100% certain it’s released before the end of the year. However, based on the sizzling buzz emanating from our neighbor to the north, look for that to happen rapidly.

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Oscar Watch: Molly’s Game

Jessica Chastain has landed two Oscar nods over the years – for Supporting Actor in 2011’s The Help and in lead actress in 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty. Since then, she’s been in the mix but didn’t land nods for films such as A Most Violent Year and Miss Sloane.

Screening at the Toronto Film Festival yesterday, it appears Chastain is back in the fold once again for Molly’s Game. The pic marks the directorial debut of acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and tells a true life tale that features Chastain running a high-priced and eventually dangerous underground poker empire.

Reviews for Game have been mostly positive and it stands at 86% currently on Rotten Tomatoes. Costars include Idris Elba and Kevin Costner, who appear to be long shots for Supporting Actor. If that changes, expect Elba to get the attention. The film itself is unlikely to play in Best Picture.

For Chastain, it’s a different story. Critical notices have noted she carries Game and could well find herself recognized in an extremely competitive Best Actress field. I had her listed in my initial round of early Oscar predictions last week and that will almost surely hold true this week.

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Oscar Watch: The Leisure Seeker

Paolo Virzi’s The Leisure Seeker has played at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals to mixed reaction. The road pic comedic drama features Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren as an aging couple embarking on a final trip.

First things first – the so-so critical reaction (63% currently on Rotten Tomatoes) will keep it far from seeking a Best Picture nomination. The already packed Best Actress race will eliminate previous winner Mirren from contention.

Sutherland, on the other hand, could be a different story. The 82 year-old thespian has been a fixture on the silver screen for decades and recently introduced himself to a whole new generation of moviegoers in The Hunger Games franchise. Yet he’s never been nominated for an Oscar.

It was just recently announced that Sutherland will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at next year’s ceremony. Perhaps some of the voters might consider it a cherry on top to give the actor his first official nod. Additionally, the Best Actor race (save for Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour) looks fairly wide open right now though that certainly may change.

Bottom line: Sutherland is probably a long shot, but the possibility of his inclusion is worthy of mention.

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Oscar Watch: Stronger

The Toronto Film Festival is underway and that means a fresh round of Oscar Watch posts hitting the blog after Venice and Telluride provided their own.

Last night, David Gordon Green’s Stronger screened. It tells the true story of Jeff Bauman, who lost his legs during the Boston Marathon bombing with Jake Gyllenhaal playing him. Early reviews have been positive yet it probably won’t factor into the Picture or Director races.

Gyllenhaal is a different story. His performance has been praised and it would not be surprising if he landed his first nod for Best Actor (he did get a Supporting Actor nomination for 2005’s Brokeback Mountain). Additionally, the Actor race seems somewhat light at press time and the voters could make up for other nominations Gyllenhaal could have received (Nightcrawler anyone?).

Costar Tatiana Maslany could also find herself in discussion for a Supporting Actress nod over her costar Miranda Richardson.

Bottom line: Toronto has bolstered the chances for Gyllenhaal to be among the five finalists for Best Actor.

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Oscar Watch: Lady Bird

The Telluride Film Festival over the weekend has showcased yet another Best Actress hopeful. This time it’s Lady Bird with Saoirse Ronan and the buzz is loud enough that she looks like a real contender for her third nomination.

The coming-of-age drama marks the directorial debut of actress Greta Gerwig. Reviews from Telluride suggest it’s a winner. If Ronan can emerge from an increasingly crowded field in Best Actress, it would come a decade after her first nod for Supporting Actress in Atonement and two years following her lead nomination in Brooklyn. Critics were also quick to praise the supporting work of veteran performer Laurie Metcalf, who could find herself in the Supporting Actress derby. Gerwig also wrote the screenplay and may have a better shot at Original Screenplay recognition over her direction.

If Lady Bird‘s distributor A24 mounts a major campaign, it could even be a long shot player for a Picture nom. One thing seems certain, though. Ronan is once again in the mix for three nominations at just the age of 23.

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Oscar Watch: mother!

One of the more eagerly awaited titles has screened at the Venice Film Festival as Darren Aronofsky’s mother! has seen its first reactions. The psychological horror pic debuts stateside next weekend and early word-of-mouth indicates it’s quite a head trip.

One could see from the effective trailers that mother! looks bizarre and pretty out there. It’s a tale of a couple (Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem) whose remote home is visited by various strangers, including Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer. The Venice reaction was reportedly all over the map – a mix of wild cheering and boos. This could indicate how audiences may feel about it. mother! is said to be in the vein of the director’s earlier Black Swan (which received multiple nominations and a Best Actress win for Natalie Portman) and Rosemary’s Baby. 

While mother! currently stands at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, its apparent divisiveness could stand as a hindrance for a Best Picture or Director nomination. That said, it could also benefit from some voters ranking it as their #1 or #2 picture on the ballot.

As for the performers, Jennifer Lawrence would be gunning for her fifth nomination. She won in 2012 for Silver Linings Playbook, got lead nominations for Winter’s Bone (2010) and Joy (2015), and was nominated for Supporting Actress for American Hustle (2013). It’s been discussed a lot on this blog recently, but the Actress category is looking very strong right now and her inclusion could be a long shot. The best chance at recognition could belong to Michelle Pfeiffer, a three-time nominees whose last nod came 25 years ago. It should depend on the strength of that category, which is yet undetermined.

Bottom line: mother! has rather unsurprisingly garnered acclaim, but how it plays with audiences remains to be seen. We shall know soon enough and that may be a determining factor as to its Oscar viability.

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Oscar Watch: Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool

Annette Bening is an actress that some might be surprised to find has never won an Oscar. She’s been nominated for four – as Supporting Actress in 1990’s The Grifters and in the lead race for 1999’s American Beauty, 2004’s Being Julia, and 2010’s The Kids Are All Right. In 1999 and 2004, she was considered a front runner for much of the season and was defeated by Hilary Swank both years.

Ms. Bening will not be “swanked” in 2017, but she may have trouble getting into the mix altogether. Paul McGuigan’s Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. The May-December romance casts its lead as old school Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame and focuses on her relationship with a younger man portrayed by Jamie Bell.

Much like another festival screening this weekend – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – the early awards chatter focused solely on the female lead. With Ebbing, the new buzz has also centered on costar Sam Rockwell. With Liverpool, some reviews have singled out Bell as the real revelation and a possibility for Supporting Actor.

Critical reaction has been mixed and even with Best Actress looking extremely competitive, Bening could still manage to get in. However, that looks less likely now than it did before the long weekend began. And despite the Bell praise, I don’t envision him getting in if his counterpart doesn’t.

My Oscar Watch posts will continue…