The Rona has upend the awards season, and I'm not talking Rona Barrett.
Even a year after the first pandemic Oscars, there are big gaps this year between awards before the Oscars air in June, and I had to dig for a couple of days through Twitter to find the Golden Globe winners via Tweet. I would have thought the askew schedule would have occurred last season, not this one. And we have the Olympics again, actually being played.
How late am I this time? About 12 hours before the nominations are announced. I've never been this late in the game!
Film releases felt muted all year, but everything felt muted this year. Save for seeing w/ some ads "Only in Theaters," most of the possible contenders are available via stream or on-demand, one of the few good elements to come out of this pandemic.
I've not been bowled over by this year's crop of films, save for The Power of the Dog, Licorice Pizza, and Don't Look Up (a hell of a fun mess). I have not seen Belfast nor the Tragedy of MacBeth. West Side Story is fun, but I'm not sure it has momentum. Dune is visually cool but I won't remember it in 20 years (save for Zendaya, but I'm thinking more Euphoria. Jesus!). And there aren't many small or foreign films lurking around for a spot this time, save for Drive My Car, which may at least be up for Director over Spielberg; I know one of the DGA nominees won't make it, and that's the one because WSS underperformed. This is one of those years that lends to my position now that television is better than movies at the moment. You're going to tell me last night's episode of Euphoria isn't better than a theatrical feature?
So not much to say at the moment, but a few observations:
1--The Power of the Dog will get a shit ton of nominations, deservedly. And I think Plemons will sneak in, and Dunst is forgiven for Melancholia.
2--Actress is wide open. Since the fall, many have squawked about Kristen Stewart being left out of nominations for other awards, but I'm not surprised by this. Director Pablo Larrain makes dioramas, not movies. She may make the cut, but I don't see it.
3--So if Wes Anderson isn't going to win a goddamned Oscar this year (love The French Dispatch, but many did not), will the other Anderson win finally? I think he will (Screenplay), and Licorice Pizza will do well nominationswise. And look for Alana Haim to be up for Actress.
Enough already. I'm still wiped out by the pandemic, a new kitten destroying the house, course planning, and trying to sleep. As usual, I don't do docs, shorts, foreign film, or music. No overthinking this time because the crop is slim pickings. I got nothing else, so here goes:
Best Picture
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story
Belfast
Dune
Licorice Pizza
Kind Richard
CODA
Don't Look Up
...tick, tick... Boom!
Nightmare Alley
Best Director
Jane Campion
Paul Thomas Anderson
Kenneth Branagh
Denis Villenueve
Ryusuke Hamaguchi
---
Steven Spielberg
Adan McKay
Guillermo Del Toro
Best Actor
Benedict Cumberbatch
Will Smith
Denzel Washington
Javier Bardem
Andrew Garfield
---
Leonardo DiCaprio
Peter Dinklage
Mahershala Ali
Best Actress
Oliva Coleman
Nicole Kidman
Lady Gaga
Alana Haim
Jessica Chastain
---
Jennifer Hudson
Kristen Stewart
Penelope Cruz
Best Supporting Actor
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Troy Kotsur
Bradley Cooper
Ciaran Hinds
Jesse Plemons
---
Jared Leto
Ben Affleck
Mike Faist
Best Supporting Actress
Ariana DeBose
Kirsten Dunst
Aunjanue Ellis
Baitriona Balfe
---
Rita Moreno
Cate Blanchett
Marlee Matlin
Original Screenplay
Licorice Pizza
Belfast
Don't Look Up
Being the Ricardos
King Richard
---
The French Dispatch
Parallel Mothers
A Hero
Adapted Screenplay
The Power of the Dog
The Lost Daughter
CODA
West Side Story
Drive My Car
---
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Passing
Nightmare Alley
Best Cinematography
The Power of the Dog
Dune
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Belfast
Nightmare Alley
---
West Side Story
Licorice Pizza
Don't Look Up
Best Editing
Dune
The Power of the Dog
Licorice Pizza
Don't Look Up
West Side Story
---
Belfast
No Time to Die
Nightmare Alley
Best Production Design
Nightmare Alley
The French Dispatch
Dune
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story
---
Licorice Pizza
House of Gucci
Spencer
Best Costume Design
Cruella
House of Gucci
Nightmare Alley
Dune
Cyrano
---
West Side Story
Spencer
Licorice Pizza
Best Sound
Dune
West Side Story
No Time to Die
A Quiet Place II
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Best Visual Effects
Dune
Spider-Man: No Way Home
No Time to Die
Godzilla vs Kong
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
---
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The Matrix Resurrections
Eternals
Best Makeup
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Cruella
Dune
House of Gucci
The Suicide Squad
---
West Side Story
Spencer
Cyrano
Nominations
The Power of the Dog 11
Dune 8
West Side Story 8
Licorice Pizza 7
Belfast 7
King Richard 5
CODA 5
Don't Look Up 3
Them's my Predix, and I'm sticking to them. There'll be a smattering of surprises, and ommisions will happen. The agony begins about 8:15am, and my class will be watching along w/ me.
My work is done here until March 27th (okay, a bit earlier than last year, but still. Summer movies are now coming out around that time). Follow me on Facebook, Twitter (@Franster23), and Instagram (@themsmaven) for the usual bitchiest and kvetching. If you can't handle it, mute me two weeks before the ceremony and two days after.
Happy Oscar Nominations Day, y'all! And, of course, Shalom and Season's Screenings!
