As the Oscars red carpet is furled for another year, it is time to speculate on the films that will feature at next year’s Academy Awards. Speculation being the key word, as all of the films I will be mentioned are as of yet unseen by myself. It is meant as a little bit of light-hearted fun (though there is a part of me that wonders whether a successful prediction 12 months before said Awards will once and for all convince me of the relative meaninglessness of predictions). If nothing else, hopefully this article will draw attention to a handful of projects that I am looking forward to seeing. Enjoy!
First Man (dir. Damien Chazelle)
Something of an Oscar darling, Chazelle has directed only a handful of feature films thus far yet those films have garnered 9 Oscar wins and 10 further Oscar nominations! The Academy love him and the U.S.-centric subject matter will be a big hit regardless of the film’s quality | Potential Noms: Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Original Score (basically everything!)
Backseat (dir. Adam McKay)
A Dick Cheyne biopic starring Christian Bale and Amy Adams, helmed by The Big Short writer/director Adam McKay. Could this be Amy Adams chance to win an Academy Award? | Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Original Screenplay, Editing
Isle of Dogs (dir. Wes Anderson)
The Academy have come round to Anderson’s stylistic flair and unique voice in the filmic space. His last project The Grand Budapest Hotel garnered 4 Oscar wins out of 9 nominations and expectations are high for his stop-motion follow-up to Fantastic Mr. Fox | Original Screenplay, Animated, Original Score (Desplat)
The Sisters Brothers (dir. Jacques Audiard)
Though he has never received any Oscar recognition, Audiard’s latest vehicle could perhaps push him that way. Billed as a 19th century Western, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, and John C. Reilly. Westerns haven’t had a strong awards showing since Unforgiven but if the film hits the quality of Audiard’s previous work (A Prophet, Rust and Bone, Dheepan) this trend may well change | Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay
Kursk (dir. Thomas Vinterberg)
From the director of The Hunt and the writer of Saving Private Ryan, comes this submarine disaster film starring Matthias Schoenaerts, Léa Seydoux, and Colin Firth | Original Screenplay, Original Score (Desplat)
Annihilation (dir. Alex Garland)
One of my favourite sci-fi writers Alex Garland brings us his second feature in the director’s chair following-up Ex Machina. For a discussion of his career and the distribution issues surrounding Annihilation, check out my article Annihilating Hollywood | Adapted Screenplay
The Little Stranger (dir. Lenny Abrahamson)
Director of Room starring Domnhall Gleeson and Charlotte Rampling | Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot (dir. Gus Van Sant)
The director of Good Will Hunting and Milk returns with a biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, and Rooney Mara | Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress
Widows (dir. Steve McQueen)
Steve McQueen’s first feature since Best Picture Winner 12 Years A Slave (2013) | Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress
The Favourite (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
From the director of The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Nicholas Hoult | Actress
You Were Never Really Here (dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Director of We Need To Talk About Kevin starring Joaquin Phoenix | Actor, Adapted Screenplay
A Rainy Day in New York (dir. Woody Allen)
Allen’s recent films have been forgettable. Could this recapture some of the Awards buzz from 2013’s Blue Jasmine? | Actor, Actress, Original Screenplay
Boy Erased (dir. Joel Edgerton)
Edgerton follows up successful directorial debut The Gift with another stellar cast including Nicole Kidman, Lucas Hedges, and Russell Crowe | Picture, Actor, Actress, Original Score
Mary Poppins Returns (dir. Rob Marshall)
An odd looking sequel of sorts | Supporting Actress (Streep), Production Design, Costume Design (Sandy Powell), Original Score, Original Song
The Incredibles 2 (dir. Brad Bird)
The Incredibles won 2 Oscars (Animated & Sound Editing) and its long-awaited sequel will surely gain at least some nominations | Animated, Original Score, Sound Editing
Wreck-It Ralph 2 (dir. Phil Johnston, Rich Moore)
Some are still annoyed that Brave beat the original Wreck-It Ralph to the Animated Academy Award. Will the sequel fare any better? | Animated, Original Score
…
My Ballot
- Picture: First Man
- Director: Steve McQueen (Widows)
- Actor: Christian Bale (Backseat)
- Actress: Isabelle Huppert (The Widow)
- Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal (The Sisters Brothers)
- Supporting Actress: Amy Adams (Backseat)
- Adapted Screenplay: Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain (The Sisters Brothers)
- Original Screenplay: Woody Allen (A Rainy Day in New York)
- Cinematography: Linus Sandgren (First Man)
- Costume Design: Sandy Powell (Mary Poppins Returns)
- Film Editing: Joe Walker (Widows)
- Make-Up & Hair: Camille Friend & Richard Alonzo (Black Panther)
- Original Score: Jonny Greenwood (Boy Erased)
- Original Song: something from Mary Poppins Returns!
- Production Design: Nathan Crowley & Kathy Lucas (First Man)
- Sound Editing: Richard Hymns (Ready Player One)
- Sound Mixing: Mary H. Ellis (First Man)
- Visual Effects: Mowgli
- Documentary: Fahrenheit 11/9 (dir. Michael Moore)
- Animated: Isle of Dogs
- Foreign Language: Everybody Knows (dir. Asghar Farhadi)
The Draff 