"The Two Popes" rising...
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 9:40PM by Nathaniel R
"I have four more Oscars nominations than you. I've also won!"
Yours truly is still trying to get back into the swing of daily life after the always delightful Middleburg Film Festival. At the conclusion of the festival, the votes were counted and The Two Popes emerged as the Audience Award winner. You may recall that Green Book won that prize just last year before it went on to very leggy box office (final international tally $321.7 million on only a $23 million budget) and the Best Picture Oscar win.
The Two Popes is a less controversial crowd-pleaser and surely an Oscar nomination threat for two categories...
You can expect to see Anthony McCarten in the weirdly not crowded Best Adapted Screenplay category and Jonathan Pryce would be a slam dunk Best Actor nomination in most years though this year is bound to have a high profile snub or three given the robust competition.
The Two Popes is the type of movie that disarms people (and critics) enough that they dont get overly critical about it -- think Miramax or the Weinstein Co's "light" Oscar nominees back in the day, charmers that got the hard-sell with voters and were "sleeper hits" with adult audiences. The only reason I'm holding out on that Best Picture nomination prediction is that it's very difficult to imagine Netflix holding 33% of the Best Picture nominations and Marriage Story and The Irishman are already looking comfortably formidable in that realm (and when does one studio ever get that much of the expanded field?). Three nominations woud be astonishing just one year after their Oscar breakthrough via Roma.
At the very least we can expect a strong showing for The Two Popes in the Comedy/Musical section of the Golden Globes. It's looking like it might go something like this (though obviously films and performances aren't locked into specific categories yet)... what'cha think?
BEST PICTURE COMEDY OR MUSICAL
sure things
JoJo Rabbit
The Two Popes
probably
Cats
Rocketman
Knives Out (if deemed a comedy)
maybe?
Dolemite is My Name
The Lighthouse (if deemed a comedy)
Uncut Gems
long shots
Aladdin
Blinded by the Light
Booksmart
Fighting with My Family
Goodboys
Late Night
The Upside
BEST ACTOR COMEDY OR MUSICAL
sure things
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite is My Name
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
maybe
Chris Evans, Knives Out (if deemed a comedy)
Robert Pattinson, The LIghthouse (if deemed a comedy)
Bryan Cranston, The Upside
Matthew McConaughey, Beach Bums
Viveik Kalra, Blinded by the Light (if deemed a comedy)
Hamish Patel, Yesterday
longshots
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
If they decide they're both leads... like they do sometimes with in this category despite Oscar campaigns to the contrary (think Chicago)
Reader Comments (17)
The Two Popes is giving me Philomena vibes and not just because they're both about clergy. ;-)
I hope people remember just how funny and good Booksmart is come Globes time
I think Roman Griffin Davis could have a shot at a Comedy/Musical Actor nomination if "JoJo Rabbit" is strong (I say if he gets in, "JoJo Rabbit" is almost sure to win Comedy/Musical Picture).
Why issit hard imagining Netflix behind 1/3 o the Best Pic noms? Its v likely. Roma had broken tt "resistance", scoring 10 noms n 3 major wins. I dun see why they can't set a new record if The Two Popes turns out to b a major crowdpleaser ala Green Book.
Metink The Two Popes will get into Best Pic, Actor, Supp, n screenplay. The most likely to get snub is indeed Pryce in the overcrowded field. But he might ride on the goodwill o The Wife n this movie to cruise to the final spot!
DeNiro or Leo or Banderas(pls no!!) might b the surprising snub instead.
'The Two Popes' was the runner-up for the Audience Choice Award at Film Fest 919 ('Parasite' being the ultimate winner). We'll see...
The Two Popes also won at the Hamptons Int'l Film Fest and got what is basically second place at the Mill Valley Film Festival...
Its nice to see a comeback from Fernando Meirelles after the disaster that was 360.
I'm expecting Netflix to go with Marriage Story in the comedy categories, where it would absolutely RULE, and with The Irishman as their contender in the drama competition at the GG.
I'd keep an eye on James Corden (CATS) too.
andrew - but none of the cats have big roles except Grizabella
If Viveik Kalra isn't nominated that's pathetic.
Me -- who is Viveik Kalra and what's the movie?
Cats is a good Globe bet for Best Picture because of Mary Poppins Returns, The Greatest Showman, Into the Woods, Burlesque, Nine, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, Across the Universe, The Producers, The Phantom of the Opera...
It doesn't matter how good or bad a musical is: If it's a studio musical with stars, they'll recognize it. They need to keep current on the "MUSICAL/comedy" thing, more than they need to decide whether a musical is good or bad. Plus they want all those people at the ceremony.
That *definitely* doesn't mean we need to take Corden or anyone else in the cast seriously for the Oscars.
why so bearish on Hopkins? i thought he was surprisingly droll and was a fantastic foil to Pryce, especially in their verbal sparring. Pryce is also saddled with being excised from a chunk of the movie whereas you leave the film remembering Hopkins doing what he does best.
is that so -- which part of the movie are you referring to since its' such a two-hander? do you mean the flashbacks with a different actor?
yeah, the parts toward the end where Pryce has to step aside for the extended flashbacks.... it stops the fun momentum and the cute absurdist touches that the interplay between he and Hopkins had... I’m thinking about the piano playing scene and discussing the shot Austin television show Kommisar Rex. :0)
The Globes also *love* a late-breaking film or a Christmas release, which is another reason why CATS will probably get a nomination for Picture (Comedy/Musical) and Original Song, assuming there is one.