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Coco is among the 26 films that will vie for Oscar consideration in Best Animated Feature.

Coco is among the 26 films that will vie for Oscar consideration in Best Animated Feature.

2017 Animated Feature Oscar Submissions

November 10, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced 26 films have been submitted for consideration in the category of Best Animated Feature. They are:

“The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales”
“Birdboy: The Forgotten Children”
“The Boss Baby”
“The Breadwinner”
“Captain Underpants”
“Cars 3”
“Cinderella the Cat”
“Coco”
“Despicable Me 3”
“The Emoji Movie”
“Ethel & Ernest”
“Ferdinand”
“The Girl without Hands”
“In This Corner of the World”
“The Lego Batman Movie”
“The Lego Ninjago Movie”
“Loving Vincent”
“Mary and the Witch’s Flower”
“Moomins and the Winter Wonderland”
“My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea”
“Napping Princess”
“A Silent Voice”
“Smurfs: The Lost Village”
“The Star”
“Sword Art Online: The Movie – Ordinal Scale”
“Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming”

November 10, 2017 /Andrew Carden
Oscars 2017, Oscars
Oscars
Comment
Tonya 2.jpg

2017 Oscar Nomination Predictions (November)

November 01, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

Aloha, my fellow Oscar aficionados!

Over the past month, since my October predictions, the following events have gone down in this awesome and unpredictable awards season:

  • Trailers (at last!) dropped for Oscar contenders I, Tonya and Phantom Thread.
     
  • The Gotham Awards bestowed heaps of love upon Call Me By Your Name, The Florida Project, Get Out, I, Tonya and Lady Bird with its nominations.
     
  • Woody Allen's Wonder Wheel premiered to a so-so reception over at the New York Film Festival. With Best Actress probably too crowded for Kate Winslet to make the cut, is the film's only real Oscar prayer now in Best Cinematography?
     
  • The Weinstein Company pushed The Current War back to 2018 (not that early reviews for the Benedict Cumberbatch pic were so hot to begin with).
     
  • Not that either film was poised for much Oscar success but dismal box office receipts (despite warm reviews) certainly won't be helping the awards season hopes of Marshall and Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.
     
  • George Clooney's wannabe-awards season contender Suburbicon? Yeesh.
     
  • Oh, and if you had Kevin Spacey in your Best Supporting Actor predictions for All the Money in the World...probably time to ditch him.

Please see below my latest set of Oscar predictions, for the month of November. In parentheses you will find how many slots a contender has moved up or down since my last rankings. In a number of cases, I have dropped a film or performer entirely.

Enjoy reading and, as always, feel free to comment with your own thoughts as well!

Best Picture

  1. Dunkirk (-)
  2. The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (+2)
  4. The Post (-1)
  5. Darkest Hour (-1)
  6. Call Me By Your Name (-)
  7. Phantom Thread (+4)
  8. Mudbound (-)
  9. I, Tonya (NEW)
    ---
  10. Lady Bird (+2)
  11. The Florida Project (-4)
  12. Get Out (+2)
  13. The Disaster Artist (-4)
  14. Victoria & Abdul (NEW)
  15. The Big Sick (-2)

DROPPED
Coco (-5)
Wonder Wheel (-1)

Best Director

  1. Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water (-)
  2. Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk (-)
  3. Steven Spielberg, The Post (-)
  4. Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (+1)
  5. Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread (+5)
    ---
  6. Joe Wright, Darkest Hour (-2)
  7. Dee Rees, Mudbound (-)
  8. Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name (-2)
  9. Craig Gillespie, I, Tonya (NEW)
  10. Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird (NEW)

DROPPED
Sean Baker, The Florida Project (-3)
Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 (-2)

Best Lead Actor

  1. Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour (-)
  2. Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread (+4)
  3. Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name (-1)
  4. Jake Gyllenhaal, Stronger (-)
  5. Tom Hanks, The Post (-2)
    ---
  6. James Franco, The Disaster Artist (+1)
  7. Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman (NEW)
  8. Andrew Garfield, Breathe (-2)
  9. Steve Carell, Last Flag Flying (-1)
  10. Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq. (-)

DROPPED
Harry Dean Stanton, Lucky (-2)

Best Lead Actress

  1. Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (-)
  2. Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Meryl Streep, The Post (-)
  4. Margot Robbie, I, Tonya (NEW)
  5. Judi Dench, Victoria & Abdul (-)
    ---
  6. Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird (+3)
  7. Jessica Chastain, Molly's Game (-3)
  8. Annette Bening, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (-)
  9. Daniela Vega, A Fantastic Woman (NEW)
  10. Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes (-3)

DROPPED
Kate Winslet, Wonder Wheel (-5)

Best Supporting Actor

  1. Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project (-)
  2. Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (-)
  3. Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name (-)
  4. Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
  5. Michael Shannon, The Shape of Water (-2)
    ---
  6. Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name (-)
  7. Bryan Cranston, Last Flag Flying (+1)
  8. Jason Mitchell, Mudbound (+2)
  9. Ben Mendelsohn, Darkest Hour (-4)
  10. Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water (-1)

DROPPED
Dustin Hoffman, The Meyerowitz Stories (-4)

Best Supporting Actress

  1. Allison Janney, I, Tonya (+2)
  2. Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird (-)
  3. Melissa Leo, Novitiate (-2)
  4. Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water (-)
  5. Kristin Scott Thomas, Darkest Hour (-)
    ---
  6. Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread (NEW)
  7. Holly Hunter, The Big Sick (-1)
  8. Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip (NEW)
  9. Hong Chau, Downsizing (-)
  10. Tatiana Maslany, Stronger (-3)

DROPPED
Claire Foy, Breathe (-3)
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound (-1)

Best Original Screenplay

  1. Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (-)
  2. Anthony McCarten, Darkest Hour (-)
  3. Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water (-)
  4. Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, The Post (-)
  5. Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread (+5)
    ---
  6. Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird (-)
  7. Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch, The Florida Project (-2)
  8. Jordan Peele, Get Out (+1)
  9. Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick (-1)
  10. Steven Rogers, I, Tonya (NEW)

DROPPED
Woody Allen, Wonder Wheel (-4)

Best Adapted Screenplay

  1. James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name (-)
  2. Dee Rees and Virgil Williams, Mudbound (-)
  3. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Disaster Artist (+1)
  4. Angelina Jolie and Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father (-1)
  5. Shrabani Basu and Lee Hall, Victoria & Abdul (NEW)
    ---
  6. Richard Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, Last Flag Flying (-1)
  7. Aaron Sorkin, Molly's Game (-1)
  8. Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled (-1)
  9. John Pollono, Stronger (-1)
  10. Jason Fuchs, Allan Heinberg, William Moulton Marston and Zack Snyder, Wonder Woman (-1)

DROPPED
Matt Greenhalgh and Peter Turner, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (-1)

Best Animated Feature

  1. Coco (-)
  2. Loving Vincent (-)
  3. The Breadwinner (-)
  4. The Girl Without Hands (-)
  5. Cars 3 (-)
    ---
  6. The Lego Batman Movie (+2)
  7. Despicable Me 3 (-1)
  8. Ferdinand (-1)
  9. Mary and the Witch's Flower (-)
  10. The Big, Bad Fox and Other Tales (NEW)

DROPPED
The Lego Ninjago (-1)

Best Documentary Feature

  1. Faces, Places (+1)
  2. City of Ghosts (-1)
  3. Ex Libris (-)
  4. Hell on Earth (-)
  5. Risk (-)
    ---
  6. Cries from Syria (-)
  7. L.A. 92 (-)
  8. Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (+2)
  9. The Life and Death of Marsha P. Johnson (-1)
  10. Abacus (-1)

Best Foreign Language Film

  1. First They Killed My Father (Cambodia) (-)
  2. A Fantastic Woman (Chile) (-)
  3. A Letter to the President (Afghanistan) (-)
  4. Her Love Boils Bathwater (Japan) (-)
  5. A Taxi Driver (South Korea) (-)
    ---
  6. In the Fade (Germany) (-)
  7. BPM (Beats Per Minute) (France) (NEW)
  8. The Square (Sweden) (-1)
  9. Summer 1993 (Spain) (+1)
  10. Foxtrot (Israel) (NEW)

DROPPED
Scary Mother (Georgia) (-3)
The Train of Salt and Sugar (Mozambique) (-2)

Best Cinematography

  1. Hoyte Van Hoytema, Dunkirk (-)
  2. Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
  3. Dan Laustsen, The Shape of Water (-)
  4. Bruno Delbonnel, Darkest Hour (-)
  5. Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread (NEW)
    ---
  6. Janusz Kaminski, The Post (-)
  7. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me By Your Name (-)
  8. Vittorio Storaro, Wonder Wheel (-3)
  9. Rachel Morrison, Mudbound (-1)
  10. Edward Lachman, Wonderstruck (-1)

DROPPED
Masanobu Takayanagi, Hostiles (-1)

Best Costume Design

  1. Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread (+6)
  2. Jacqueline Durran, Darkest Hour (-1)
  3. Ellen Miojnick, The Greatest Showman (-1)
  4. Jacqueline Durran, Beauty and the Beast (-1)
  5. Consolata Boyle, Victoria & Abdul (-1)
    ---
  6. Sandy Powell, Wonderstruck (-1)
  7. Alexandra Byrne and Timothy Everest, Murder on the Orient Express (-1)
  8. Lindy Hemming, Wonder Woman (+2)
  9. Ann Roth, The Post (-)
  10. Stacey Battat, The Beguiled (NEW)

DROPPED
Suzy Benzinger, Wonder Wheel (-3)

Best Film Editing

  1. Lee Smith, Dunkirk (-)
  2. Sidney Wolinsky, The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Jon Gregory, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
  4. Michael Kahn, The Post (+1)
  5. Valerio Bonelli, Darkest Hour (-1)
    ---
  6. Bob Ducsay, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-1)
  7. William Hoy and Stan Salfas, War for the Planet of the Apes (-1)
  8. Tatiana S. Riegel, I, Tonya (NEW)
  9. Joe Walker, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
  10. Walter Fasano, Call Me By Your Name (-1)

DROPPED
Mako Kamitsuna, Mudbound (-2)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

  1. Anita Burger, David Malinkowski and Lucy Sibbick, Darkest Hour (-)
  2. Paula Fleet and Patricia Keighran, The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Sunday English, Gary English, Nicki Ledermann, Angela Levin,Gary Martori, Jerry Popolis, Rania Ribalow, Pamela S. Westmore and Nakoya Yancey, The Greatest Showman (-)
    ---
  4. Flora Moody and Allison Sing, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  5. Mary Everett, Bill Myer and Teresa Vest, I, Tonya (+2)
  6. Alexis Continente, Carol Hemming, Dana Kalder, Jutta Russell, Chiara Ugolini and Wakana Yoshihara, Murder on the Orient Express (-1)
  7. Lizza Lawson, Jo-Ann MacNiel and Donald Mowat, Blade Runner 2049 (-1)
  8. Paul Engelen and Jon Henry Gordon, Phantom Thread (NEW)
  9. Jacqueline Bhavnani, Samantha Denyer, Sarah Kelly and Bradley Simms, Beauty and the Beast (-1)
  10. Sarah Craig, Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Debra Manou, Emily O'Quinn and Sean Sansom, It (-)

DROPPED
Haruyo Sawada and Torsten Witte, Battle of the Sexes (-1)

Best Original Score

  1. Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water (-)
  2. Dario Marianelli, Darkest Hour (-)
  3. John Williams, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  4. Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk (-)
  5. Thomas Newman, Victoria & Abdul (-)
    ---
  6. Carter Burwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (-)
  7. Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread (NEW)
  8. Michael Giacchino, Coco (-1)
  9. John Debney, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, The Greatest Showman (+1)
  10. Hans Zimmer, Blade Runner 2049 (-1)

DROPPED
John Williams, The Post (-3)

Best Production Design

  1. Nathan Crowley, Dunkirk (-)
  2. Paul D. Austerberry, The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Dennis Gassner, Blade Runner 2049 (+1)
  4. Sarah Greenwood, Darkest Hour (-1)
  5. Nathan Crowley, The Greatest Showman (+1)
    ---
  6. Veronique Melery and Mark Tidesley, Phantom Thread (NEW)
  7. David J. Bomba, Mudbound (-2)
  8. Aline Bonetto, Wonder Woman (-)
  9. Rick Heinrichs, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  10. Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, Beauty and the Beast (NEW)

DROPPED
Santo Loquasto, Wonder Wheel (-4)
Rick Carter, The Post (-2)

Best Sound Editing

  1. Richard King, Dunkirk (-)
  2. Matthew Wood, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  3. Will Files, War for the Planet of the Apes (-)
  4. Nathan Robitaille, The Shape of Water (-)
  5. Julian Slater, Baby Driver (-)
    ---
  6. Theo Green and Mark A. Mangini, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
  7. Paul Carter and Becki Ponting, The Greatest Showman (NEW)
  8. Justin Doyle, Coco (-1)
  9. James Mather, Wonder Woman (-1)
  10. Richard Hymns, The Post (-)

DROPPED
Scott Hecker, Hostiles (-2)

Best Sound Mixing

  1. Gregg Landaker, Gary Rizzo and Mark Weingarten, Dunkirk (-)
  2. David Parker and Michael Semanchick, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  3. Christian T. Cooke, Filip Hosek and Brad Zoern, The Shape of Water (-)
  4. Bill Bair, Will Files, Tom Lalley, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson, War for the Planet of the Apes (-)
  5. Christopher Boyes and Michael Semanchick, Coco (-)
    ---
  6. Ron Barlett, Doug Hemphill and Mac Ruth, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
  7. Gary Rydstrom,The Post (-)
  8. Tod A. Maitland, Jason Stasium and Dan White, The Greatest Showman (NEW)
  9. Paul Munro, Wonder Woman (-1)
  10. Tim Cavagin and Julian Slater, Baby Driver (-1)

DROPPED
Craig Berkey and Roger J. Sacdalan, Darkest Hour (-1)

Best Visual Effects

  1. Richard Bain, Ben Morris and Michael Mulholland, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  2. Richard Clegg, Paul Lambert, Victor Muller and John Nelson, Blade Runner 2049 (+2)
  3. Ryan Cook, Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri and Erik Winquist, War for the Planet of the Apes (+1)
  4. Dennis Berardi and Kristen Bligh, The Shape of Water (-2)
  5. Vincent Cirelli, Jake Morrison, Brendan Seals, Alexis Wajsbrot and Chad Wiebe,Thor: Ragnarok (+3)
    ---
  6. Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley and Tim McGovern, Dunkirk (-1)
  7. Frazer Churchill, Viktor Muller, Jessica Norman and Bill Westenhofer, Wonder Woman (-1)
  8. Kyle McCulloch, David Piombino, Kelly Port and Glen Pratt, Beauty and the Beast (-1)
  9. Dan Bethell, Theodore Bialek, Vincent Cirelli, Lou Pecora and Doug Spilatro, Spider-Man: Homecoming (-1)
  10. Matthew Crnich, Ray McMaster, Kevin Andrew Smith, Doug Spilatro and Christopher Townsend, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (-1)
November 01, 2017 /Andrew Carden
Oscars 2017, Oscars
Oscars
1 Comment
Agnes Varda's Faces Places is among the 170 films that will vie for Oscar consideration in Best Documentary Feature.

Agnes Varda's Faces Places is among the 170 films that will vie for Oscar consideration in Best Documentary Feature.

2017 Documentary Feature Oscar Submissions

October 28, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced 170 films have been submitted for consideration in the category of Best Documentary Feature. They are:

“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”
“Aida’s Secrets”
“Al Di Qua”
“All the Rage”
“All These Sleepless Nights”
“AlphaGo”
“The American Media and the Second Assassination of President John F. Kennedy”
“And the Winner Isn’t”
“Angels Within”
“Architects of Denial”
“Arthur Miller: Writer”
“Atomic Homefront”
“The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography”
“Bang! The Bert Berns Story”
“Bending the Arc”
“Big Sonia”
“Bill Nye: Science Guy”
“Birthright: A War Story”
“Bobbi Jene”
“Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story”
“Born in China”
“Born to Lead: The Sal Aunese Story”
“Boston”
“Brimstone & Glory”
“Bronx Gothic”
“Burden”
“California Typewriter”
“Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story”
“Casting JonBenet”
“Chasing Coral”
“Chasing Trane”
“Chavela”
“Citizen Jane: Battle for the City”
“City of Ghosts”
“Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives”
“Cries from Syria”
“Cruel & Unusual”
“Cuba and the Cameraman”
“Dawson City: Frozen Time”
“Dealt”
“The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson”
“Destination Unknown”
“Dina”
“Dolores”
“Dream Big: Engineering Our World”
“A Dying King: The Shah of Iran”
“Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends)”
“Earth: One Amazing Day”
“11/8/16”
“Elian”
“Embargo”
“Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars”
“Escapes”
“Everybody Knows… Elizabeth Murray”
“Ex Libris – The New York Public Library”
“Extraordinary Ordinary People”
“Faces Places”
“The Farthest”
“The Final Year”
“Finding Oscar”
“500 Years”
“Food Evolution”
“For Ahkeem”
“The Force”
“The Freedom to Marry”
“From the Ashes”
"Gaga: Five Foot Two"
“A German Life”
“Get Me Roger Stone”
“Gilbert”
“God Knows Where I Am”
“Good Fortune”
“A Gray State”
“Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It All”
“Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story”
“Hearing Is Believing”
“Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS”
“Human Flow”
“I Am Another You”
“I Am Evidence”
“I Am Jane Doe”
“I Called Him Morgan”
“Icarus”
“If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast”
“The Incomparable Rose Hartman”
“An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power”
“Intent to Destroy”
“Jane”
“Jeremiah Tower The Last Magnificent”
“Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton”
“Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold”
“Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower”
“Karl Marx City”
“Kedi”
“Keep Quiet”
“Kiki”
“LA 92”
“The Last Dalai Lama?”
“The Last Laugh”
“Last Men in Aleppo”
“Legion of Brothers”
“Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982 – 1992”
“Let’s Play Two”
“Letters from Baghdad”
“Long Strange Trip”
“Look & See”
“Machines”
“Man in Red Bandana”
“Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance”
“Motherland”
“Mully”
“My Scientology Movie”
“Naples ’44”
“Neary’s – The Dream at the End of the Rainbow”
“Night School”
“No Greater Love”
“No Stone Unturned”
“Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press”
“Nowhere to Hide”
“Obit”
“Oklahoma City”
“One of Us”
“The Paris Opera”
“The Pathological Optimist”
“Prosperity”
“The Pulitzer at 100”
“Quest”
“Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman”
“The Rape of Recy Taylor”
“The Reagan Show”
“Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan”
“Risk”
“A River Below”
“Rocky Ros Muc”
“Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World”
“Santoalla”
“School Life”
“Score: A Film Music Documentary”
“Served Like a Girl”
“The Settlers”
“78/52”
“Shadowman”
“Shot! The Psycho Spiritual Mantra of Rock”
“Sidemen: Long Road to Glory”
“The Skyjacker’s Tale”
“Sled Dogs”
“Soufra”
“Spettacolo”
“Step”
“Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex-Trafficking”
“Strong Island”
“Surviving Peace”
“Swim Team”
“Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton”
“Take My Nose… Please!”
“They Call Us Monsters”
“32 Pills: My Sister’s Suicide”
“This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous”
“Tickling Giants”
“Trophy”
“Twenty Two”
“Unrest”
“Vince Giordano – There’s a Future in the Past”
“Voyeur”
“Wait for Your Laugh”
“Wasted! The Story of Food Waste”
“Water & Power: A California Heist”
“Whitney. “Can I Be Me””
“Whose Streets?”
“The Work”

October 28, 2017 /Andrew Carden
Oscars, Oscars 2017
Oscars
Comment
Oscar 2.jpg

2017 Oscar Nomination Predictions (October)

October 10, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

What up, my fellow Oscar lovers?

Over the past month, since my September predictions, a host of developments have transpired in this roller coaster ride of an awards season:

  • Trailers were released for a batch of contenders - All the Money in the World, The Meyerowitz Stories, Roman J. Israel, Esq., Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Wonder Wheel
     
  • Oscar hopefuls Battle of the Sexes and Stronger opened to solid critical notices - will, however, they be showered in awards love beyond for Emma Stone and Jake Gyllenhaal? Likewise, will Victoria and Abdul, the recipient of more lukewarm acclaim than those pictures, make much of a mark at all come awards time? (Note, however, that Victoria is faring better at the box office than the other two pics.)
     
  • Speaking of box office, Blade Runner 2049, despite glowing reviews, is struggling a make bank. With lackluster receipts, can the Harrison Ford-Ryan Gosling flick really be a major Oscar contender, beyond the technical categories?
     
  • Darren Aronofsky's mother! (a film I for one adored) polarized critics upon hitting theaters and managed to net that elusive F grade over at CinemaScore. Folks who thought this might just be Michelle Pfeiffer's year probably ought to move on. :(
     
  • In a move that shakes up Lead and Supporting Actor forecasts, Bryan Cranston shall be campaigned in the latter category for Last Flag Flying, with Steve Carell the sole Lead push and Laurence Fishburne (as expected) also in Supporting.
     
  • Sony Pictures Classics has picked up The Wife for distribution...in 2018. Fingers crossed for six-time Oscar nominee/legend Glenn Close next year!
     
  • Entertainment Studios has picked up the Christian Bale drama Hostiles for distribution this year. The picture, which won warm notices at the Telluride Film Festival, joins Chappaquiddick as the distributor's awards season pushes.

No doubt, I'm forgetting something of significance that recently went down.

Please see below my latest set of Oscar predictions, for the month of October. In parentheses you will find how many spots a contender has moved up or down since my last rankings. In some cases, I have dropped a film or performer entirely. Also, this marks the first month I am attempting predictions in both Documentary Feature and Foreign Language Film.

Have fun reading and, as always, feel free to comment with your own thoughts too!

Best Picture

  1. Dunkirk (-)
  2. The Shape of Water (-)
  3. The Post (+2)
  4. Darkest Hour (-1)
  5. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
  6. Call Me By Your Name (-2)
  7. The Florida Project (-)
  8. Mudbound (-)
  9. The Disaster Artist (NEW)
    ---
  10. Coco (+1)
  11. Phantom Thread (+3)
  12. Lady Bird (+3)
  13. The Big Sick (NEW)
  14. Get Out (NEW)
  15. Wonder Wheel (-6)

DROPPED
Last Flag Flying (-10)
Battle of the Sexes (-6)
Blade Runner 2049 (-3)

Best Director

  1. Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water (-)
  2. Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk (-)
  3. Steven Spielberg, The Post (+2)
  4. Joe Wright, Darkest Hour (-1)
  5. Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
    ---
  6. Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name (-2)
  7. Dee Rees, Mudbound (-1)
  8. Sean Baker, The Florida Project (NEW)
  9. Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 (-2)
  10. Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread (-2)

DROPPED
Woody Allen, Wonder Wheel (-2)
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Battle of the Sexes (-1)

Best Lead Actor

  1. Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour (-)
  2. Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name (-)
  3. Tom Hanks, The Post (+5)
  4. Jake Gyllenhaal, Stronger (-1)
  5. Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread (-1)
    ---
  6. Andrew Garfield, Breathe (-1)
  7. James Franco, The Disaster Artist (-1)
  8. Steve Carell, Last Flag Flying (-)
  9. Harry Dean Stanton, Lucky (NEW)
  10. Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq. (-)

DROPPED
Bryan Cranston, Last Flag Flying (-7)

Best Lead Actress

  1. Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (+1)
  2. Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water (+1)
  3. Meryl Streep, The Post (+3)
  4. Jessica Chastain, Molly's Game (-)
  5. Judi Dench, Victoria & Abdul (+4)
    ---
  6. Kate Winslet, Wonder Wheel (-1)
  7. Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes (-6)
  8. Annette Bening, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (-1)
  9. Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird (-1)
  10. Margot Robbie, I, Tonya (NEW)

DROPPED
Glenn Close, The Wife (-2)

Best Supporting Actor

  1. Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project (-)
  2. Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (+2)
  3. Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name (-1)
  4. Michael Shannon, The Shape of Water (+2)
  5. Ben Mendelsohn, Darkest Hour (-2)
    ---
  6. Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name (+1)
  7. Dustin Hoffman, The Meyerowitz Stories (NEW)
  8. Bryan Cranston, Last Flag Flying (NEW)
  9. Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water (-1)
  10. Jason Mitchell, Mudbound (-)

DROPPED
Laurence Fishburne, Last Flag Flying (-5)
Idris Elba, Molly's Game (-2)

Best Supporting Actress

  1. Melissa Leo, Novitiate (-)
  2. Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird (+1)
  3. Allison Janney, I, Tonya (+3)
  4. Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water (-2)
  5. Kristin Scott Thomas, Darkest Hour (-)
    ---
  6. Holly Hunter, The Big Sick (-2)
  7. Tatiana Maslany, Stronger (NEW)
  8. Claire Foy, Breathe (NEW)
  9. Hong Chau, Downsizing (-1)
  10. Mary J. Blige, Mudbound (-)

DROPPED
Michelle Pfeiffer, mother! (-4)
Julianne Moore, Wonderstruck (-2)

Best Original Screenplay

  1. Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (+2)
  2. Anthony McCarten, Darkest Hour (-1)
  3. Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water (-1)
  4. Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, The Post (NEW)
  5. Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch, The Florida Project (-)
    ---
  6. Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird (-)
  7. Woody Allen, Wonder Wheel (-3)
  8. Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick (-1)
  9. Jordan Peele, Get Out (-)
  10. Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread (-2)

DROPPED
Simon Beaufoy, Battle of the Sexes (-1)

Best Adapted Screenplay

  1. James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name (-)
  2. Dee Rees and Virgil Williams, Mudbound (-)
  3. Angelina Jolie and Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father (NEW)
  4. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Disaster Artist (-)
  5. Richard Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, Last Flag Flying (-2)
    ---
  6. Aaron Sorkin, Molly's Game (-)
  7. Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled (-1)
  8. John Pollono, Stronger (NEW)
  9. Jason Fuchs, Allan Heinberg, William Moulton Marston and Zack Snyder, Wonder Woman (NEW)
  10. Matt Greenhalgh and Peter Turner, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (NEW)

DROPPED
Peter Fellos, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Fabien Nury, Theirry Robin and David Schneider, The Death of Stalin (-5)
Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, Blade Runner 2049 (-4)
Andrew Haigh, Lean on Pete (-3)

Best Animated Feature

  1. Coco (-)
  2. Loving Vincent (-)
  3. The Breadwinner (-)
  4. The Girl Without Hands (NEW)
  5. Cars 3 (-1)
    ---
  6. Despicable Me 3 (-1)
  7. Ferdinand (-1)
  8. The Lego Batman Movie (-1)
  9. Mary and the Witch's Flower (NEW)
  10. The Lego Ninjago (-2)

DROPPED
Leap! (-2)
Captain Underpants (-1)

Best Documentary Feature

  1. City of Ghosts
  2. Faces, Place
  3. Ex Libris
  4. Hell on Earth
  5. Risk
    ---
  6. Cries from Syria
  7. L.A. 92
  8. The Life and Death of Marsha P. Johnson
  9. Abacus
  10. Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

Best Foreign Language Film

  1. First They Killed My Father (Cambodia)
  2. A Fantastic Woman (Chile)
  3. A Letter to the President (Afghanistan)
  4. Her Love Boils Bathwater (Japan)
  5. A Taxi Driver (South Korea)
    ---
  6. In the Fade (Germany)
  7. The Square (Sweden)
  8. Scary Mother (Georgia)
  9. The Train of Salt and Sugar (Mozambique)
  10. Summer 1993 (Spain)

Best Cinematography

  1. Hoyte Van Hoytema, Dunkirk (-)
  2. Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
  3. Dan Laustsen, The Shape of Water (+1)
  4. Bruno Delbonnel, Darkest Hour (-2)
  5. Vittorio Storaro, Wonder Wheel (+2)
    ---
  6. Janusz Kaminski, The Post (-1)
  7. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me By Your Name (-2)
  8. Rachel Morrison, Mudbound (-)
  9. Edward Lachman, Wonderstruck (-)
  10. Masanobu Takayanagi, Hostiles (-)

Best Costume Design

  1. Jacqueline Durran, Darkest Hour (-)
  2. Ellen Miojnick, The Greatest Showman (+3)
  3. Jacqueline Durran, Beauty and the Beast (+3)
  4. Consolata Boyle, Victoria & Abdul (-2)
  5. Sandy Powell, Wonderstruck (-2)
    ---
  6. Alexandra Byrne and Timothy Everest, Murder on the Orient Express (+1)
  7. Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread (-3)
  8. Suzy Benzinger, Wonder Wheel (NEW)
  9. Ann Roth, The Post (-1)
  10. Lindy Hemming, Wonder Woman (-1)

DROPPED
Mary Zophres, Battle of the Sexes (-1)

Best Film Editing

  1. Lee Smith, Dunkirk (-)
  2. Sidney Wolinsky, The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Michael Kahn, The Post (+1)
  4. Valerio Bonelli, Darkest Hour (-1)
  5. Jon Gregory, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
    ---
  6. Bob Ducsay, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-1)
  7. William Hoy and Stan Salfas, War for the Planet of the Apes (-1)
  8. Joe Walker, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
  9. Mako Kamitsuna, Mudbound (+1)
  10. Walter Fasano, Call Me By Your Name (-1)

DROPPED
Pamela Martin, Battle of the Sexes (-4)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

  1. Anita Burger, David Malinkowski and Lucy Sibbick, Darkest Hour (-)
  2. Paula Fleet and Patricia Keighran, The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Sunday English, Gary English, Nicki Ledermann, Angela Levin,Gary Martori, Jerry Popolis, Rania Ribalow, Pamela S. Westmore and Nakoya Yancey, The Greatest Showman (+4)
    ---
  4. Flora Moody and Allison Sing, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-1)
  5. Alexis Continente, Carol Hemming, Dana Kalder, Jutta Russell, Chiara Ugolini and Wakana Yoshihara, Murder on the Orient Express (+3)
  6. Lizza Lawson, Jo-Ann MacNiel and Donald Mowat, Blade Runner 2049 (-2)
  7. Mary Everett, Bill Myer and Teresa Vest, I, Tonya (NEW)
  8. Jacqueline Bhavnani, Samantha Denyer, Sarah Kelly and Bradley Simms, Beauty and the Beast (-3)
  9. Haruyo Sawada and Torsten Witte, Battle of the Sexes (-3)
  10. Sarah Craig, Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Debra Manou, Emily O'Quinn and Sean Sansom, It (-)

DROPPED
Jerry DeCarlo and Claus Lulla, Wonderstruck (-3)

Best Original Score

  1. Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water (-)
  2. Dario Marianelli, Darkest Hour (+1)
  3. John Williams, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (+1)
  4. Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk (-2)
  5. Thomas Newman, Victoria & Abdul (-)
    ---
  6. Carter Burwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
  7. Michael Giacchino, Coco (NEW)
  8. John Williams, The Post (-2)
  9. Hans Zimmer, Blade Runner 2049 (-2)
  10. John Debney, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, The Greatest Showman (-)

DROPPED
Carter Burwell, Wonderstruck (-3)
Dustin O'Halloran, The Current War (-1)

Best Production Design

  1. Nathan Crowley, Dunkirk (-)
  2. Paul D. Austerberry, The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Sarah Greenwood, Darkest Hour (-)
  4. Dennis Gassner, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
  5. David J. Bomba, Mudbound (-)
    ---
  6. Nathan Crowley, The Greatest Showman (-)
  7. Santo Loquasto, Wonder Wheel (NEW)
  8. Aline Bonetto, Wonder Woman (-1)
  9. Rick Heinrichs, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-1)
  10. Rick Carter, The Post (-1)

DROPPED
Sarah Finley and Adam Squires, Victoria & Abdul (-2)

Best Sound Editing

  1. Richard King, Dunkirk (-)
  2. Matthew Wood, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  3. Will Files, War for the Planet of the Apes (-)
  4. Nathan Robitaille, The Shape of Water (-)
  5. Julian Slater, Baby Driver (+1)
    ---
  6. Theo Green and Mark A. Mangini, Blade Runner 2049 (-1)
  7. Justin Doyle, Coco (+3)
  8. James Mather, Wonder Woman (-1)
  9. Scott Hecker, Hostiles (-1)
  10. Richard Hymns, The Post (-1)

Best Sound Mixing

  1. Gregg Landaker, Gary Rizzo and Mark Weingarten, Dunkirk (-)
  2. David Parker and Michael Semanchick, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  3. Christian T. Cooke, Filip Hosek and Brad Zoern, The Shape of Water (-)
  4. Bill Bair, Will Files, Tom Lalley, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson, War for the Planet of the Apes (-)
  5. Christopher Boyes and Michael Semanchick, Coco (+5)
    ---
  6. Ron Barlett, Doug Hemphill and Mac Ruth, Blade Runner 2049 (-1)
  7. Gary Rydstrom,The Post (+1)
  8. Paul Munro, Wonder Woman (-1)
  9. Tim Cavagin and Julian Slater, Baby Driver (+1)
  10. Craig Berkey and Roger J. Sacdalan, Darkest Hour (-2)

Best Visual Effects

  1. Richard Bain, Ben Morris and Michael Mulholland, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
  2. Dennis Berardi and Kristen Bligh, The Shape of Water (-)
  3. Ryan Cook, Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri and Erik Winquist, War for the Planet of the Apes (-)
  4. Richard Clegg, Paul Lambert, Victor Muller and John Nelson, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
  5. Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley and Tim McGovern, Dunkirk (-)
    ---
  6. Frazer Churchill, Viktor Muller, Jessica Norman and Bill Westenhofer, Wonder Woman (-)
  7. Kyle McCulloch, David Piombino, Kelly Port and Glen Pratt, Beauty and the Beast (-)
  8. Vincent Cirelli, Jake Morrison, Brendan Seals, Alexis Wajsbrot and Chad Wiebe,Thor: Ragnarok (+2)
  9. Dan Bethell, Theodore Bialek, Vincent Cirelli, Lou Pecora and Doug Spilatro, Spider-Man: Homecoming (-1)
  10. Matthew Crnich, Ray McMaster, Kevin Andrew Smith, Doug Spilatro and Christopher Townsend, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (-1)
October 10, 2017 /Andrew Carden
Oscars 2017, Oscars
Oscars
Comment
Angelina Jolie's First They Killed My Father is among the 92 pictures that will vie for Oscar consideration in Best Foreign Language Film.

Angelina Jolie's First They Killed My Father is among the 92 pictures that will vie for Oscar consideration in Best Foreign Language Film.

2017 Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions

October 05, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

This year, a record 92 countries have submitted pictures for Oscar consideration in Best Foreign Language Film. They are:

Afghanistan, “A Letter to the President,” Roya Sadat, director;
Albania, “Daybreak,” Gentian Koçi, director;
Algeria, “Road to Istanbul,” Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Argentina, “Zama,” Lucrecia Martel, director;
Armenia, “Yeva,” Anahit Abad, director;
Australia, “The Space Between,” Ruth Borgobello, director;
Austria, “Happy End,” Michael Haneke, director;
Azerbaijan, “Pomegranate Orchard,” Ilgar Najaf, director;
Bangladesh, “The Cage,” Akram Khan, director;
Belgium, “Racer and the Jailbird,” Michaël R. Roskam, director;
Bolivia, “Dark Skull,” Kiro Russo, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Men Don’t Cry,” Alen Drljević, director;
Brazil, “Bingo - The King of the Mornings,” Daniel Rezende, director;
Bulgaria, “Glory,” Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva, directors;
Cambodia, “First They Killed My Father,” Angelina Jolie, director;
Canada, “Hochelaga, Land of Souls,” François Girard, director;
Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director;
China, “Wolf Warrior 2,” Wu Jing, director;
Colombia, “Guilty Men,” Iván D. Gaona, director;
Costa Rica, “The Sound of Things,” Ariel Escalante, director;
Croatia, “Quit Staring at My Plate,” Hana Jušić, director;
Czech Republic, “Ice Mother,” Bohdan Sláma, director;
Denmark, “You Disappear,” Peter Schønau Fog, director;
Dominican Republic, “Woodpeckers,” Jose Maria Cabral, director;
Ecuador, “Alba,” Ana Cristina Barragán, director;
Egypt, “Sheikh Jackson,” Amr Salama, director;
Estonia, “November,” Rainer Sarnet, director;
Finland, “Tom of Finland,” Dome Karukoski, director;
France, “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” Robin Campillo, director;
Georgia, “Scary Mother,” Ana Urushadze, director;
Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director;
Greece, “Amerika Square,” Yannis Sakaridis, director;
Haiti, “Ayiti Mon Amour,” Guetty Felin, director;
Honduras, “Morazán,” Hispano Durón, director;
Hong Kong, “Mad World,” Wong Chun, director;
Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director;
Iceland, “Under the Tree,” Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, director;
India, “Newton,” Amit V Masurkar, director;
Indonesia, “Turah,” Wicaksono Wisnu Legowo, director;
Iran, “Breath,” Narges Abyar, director;
Iraq, “Reseba - The Dark Wind,” Hussein Hassan, director;
Ireland, “Song of Granite,” Pat Collins, director;
Israel, “Foxtrot,” Samuel Maoz, director;
Italy, “A Ciambra,” Jonas Carpignano, director;
Japan, “Her Love Boils Bathwater,” Ryota Nakano, director;
Kazakhstan, “The Road to Mother,” Akhan Satayev, director;
Kenya, “Kati Kati,” Mbithi Masya, director;
Kosovo, “Unwanted,” Edon Rizvanolli, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “Centaur,” Aktan Arym Kubat, director;
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, “Dearest Sister,” Mattie Do, director;
Latvia, “The Chronicles of Melanie,” Viestur Kairish, director;
Lebanon, “The Insult,” Ziad Doueiri, director;
Lithuania, “Frost,” Sharunas Bartas, director;
Luxembourg, “Barrage,” Laura Schroeder, director;
Mexico, “Tempestad,” Tatiana Huezo, director;
Mongolia, “The Children of Genghis,” Zolbayar Dorj, director;
Morocco, “Razzia,” Nabil Ayouch, director;
Mozambique, “The Train of Salt and Sugar,” Licinio Azevedo, director;
Nepal, “White Sun,” Deepak Rauniyar, director;
Netherlands, “Layla M.,” Mijke de Jong, director;
New Zealand, “One Thousand Ropes,” Tusi Tamasese, director;
Norway, “Thelma,” Joachim Trier, director;
Pakistan, “Saawan,” Farhan Alam, director;
Palestine, “Wajib,” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Panama, “Beyond Brotherhood,” Arianne Benedetti, director;
Paraguay, “Los Buscadores,” Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori, directors;
Peru, “Rosa Chumbe,” Jonatan Relayze, director;
Philippines, “Birdshot,” Mikhail Red, director;
Poland, “Spoor,” Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik, directors;
Portugal, “Saint George,” Marco Martins, director;
Romania, “Fixeur,” Adrian Sitaru, director;
Russia, “Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
Senegal, “Félicité,” Alain Gomis, director;
Serbia, “Requiem for Mrs. J.,” Bojan Vuletic, director;
Singapore, “Pop Aye,” Kirsten Tan, director;
Slovakia, “The Line,” Peter Bebjak, director;
Slovenia, “The Miner,” Hanna A. W. Slak, director;
South Africa, “The Wound,” John Trengove, director;
South Korea, “A Taxi Driver,” Jang Hoon, director;
Spain, “Summer 1993,” Carla Simón, director;
Sweden, “The Square,” Ruben Östlund, director;
Switzerland, “The Divine Order,” Petra Volpe, director;
Syria, “Little Gandhi,” Sam Kadi, director;
Taiwan, “Small Talk,” Hui-Chen Huang, director;
Thailand, “By the Time It Gets Dark,” Anocha Suwichakornpong, director;
Tunisia, “The Last of Us,” Ala Eddine Slim, director;
Turkey, “Ayla: The Daughter of War,” Can Ulkay, director;
Ukraine, “Black Level,” Valentyn Vasyanovych, director;
United Kingdom, “My Pure Land,” Sarmad Masud, director;
Uruguay, “Another Story of the World,” Guillermo Casanova, director;
Venezuela, “El Inca,” Ignacio Castillo Cottin, director;
Vietnam, “Father and Son,” Luong Dinh Dung, director.

October 05, 2017 /Andrew Carden
Oscars 2017, Oscars
Oscars
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