Nathaniel's final predictions will be up tomorrow morning but until then, let's talk potential snubs. Oscar nomination morning usually holds a few surprises. Sometimes, everything goes according to plan and the performers singled out by the precursors appear in their entirety but that's a rare event. We're thankful for that since the opposite would be dreadfully boring. Usually, there's one big snub like Timothée Chalamet for Beautiful Boy, Amy Adams for Arrival, Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation, Jennifer Anniston for Cake or Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips. At the last minute, they all failed to secure an expected nod.
Of this year's crop of contenders, 12 have conquered nods from the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, SAGs, and Critics Choice Awards. Many pundits say DiCaprio is the most vulnerable and we should never be sure about Hanks given his recent Oscar history. Still, the rest of them seem solid if not altogether locked. Unless, of course, Margot Robbie manages to upset everyone and get in for the Tarantino flick instead of Bombshell. You can never know for sure, that's the eternal truth about prognosticating.
All that said, here are those 12 contenders...
Laura Dern, MARRIAGE STORY
Leonardo DiCaprio, ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD
Adam Driver, MARRIAGE STORY
Tom Hanks, A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Scarlett Johansson, MARRIAGE STORY
Al Pacino, THE IRISHMAN
Joe Pesci, THE IRISHMAN
Joaquin Phoenix, JOKER
Brad Pitt, ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD
Margot Robbie, BOMBSHELL
Charlize Theron, BOMBSHELL
Renée Zelwegger, JUDY
Which of these performers is likeliest to be absent on nomination morning? Whoever it is, can't wait to write about them for the new series "Almost There".