Who could surprise *without* SAG/Globe precursors on Tuesday?

The following article is reprinted from The Many Rantings of John with his permission. We have attempted to lure him to joining The Film Experience but we had to share this wonderful stat-fascinating piece! You should also follow him on Letterboxd. (Consider this piece a companion of sorts to Chris's piece on statistically who might still be vulnerable despite love from the precursors)

Sipping Oscar tea

by John T.

Every year since 2006 at least one nominee for the Oscars was not highlighted by either the HFPA (the Golden Globes) or SAG-AFTRA, and becomes the "shock" of the morning.  At this point in the season, predicting the Oscars is something of a slog because so much is "decided" so trying to guess who will be this nominee becomes quite fun.  

Here are the people from the past ten years who fit this bill:

2021: Penelope Cruz, Jesse Plemons, JK Simmons, Judi Dench, & Jessie Buckley
2020: Paul Raci & LaKeith Stanfield
2019: Florence Pugh
2018: Marina de Tavira & Yalitza Aparicio
2017: Lesley Manville
2016: Michael Shannon
2015: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Hardy, & Mark Ruffalo
2014: Bradley Cooper, Marion Cotillard, & Laura Dern
2013: Jonah Hill
2012: Quvenzhane Wallis, Emmanuelle Riva, & Jacki Weaver

Usually the types of nominees that get in under this designation fall into one of two categories...

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Oscar Volley: Beyond the locks, Best Picture is hard to predict

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category in the lead up to the nominations. Here's Nathaniel Rogers, Cláudio Alves and Nick Taylor to talk Best Picture...

EDITORS - NOTE. THIS DISCUSSION WAS HELD OVER A TWO+ WEEK STRETCH WHERE A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENED. SO THINGS SHIFT WHILE WE'RE TALKING...

 NATHANIEL: Hello teammates. I thought I'd throw you a little unexpected curveball in our last volley. Rather than starting with frontrunners or longshots, let's talk philosophies of selection for a brief moment. When the AFI selects their list annually (depressingly reading like Oscar predictions) the guiding principle is. film that are "culturally and artistically representative of this year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image. When the Library of Congress does their annual retroactive National Film Registry list they choose based on "cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage."

That cultural / aesthetic double-side strikes me a LOT like the very first year of the Oscars when there were two separate Best Picture categories " Outstanding Picture (which went to Wings) and Unique and Artistic Picture (which went to Sunrise) .If we want to get really reductive about it -- which we should so that this conversation doesn't go 10,000 words -- it also strikes me a lot like Commerce vs. ART which has always been the tension of Hollywood itself and by extension, the Oscars…

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Yeoh with the good timing

by Nathaniel R

Michelle Yeoh in "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon"

How's this for campaign timing? While Oscar nominations are announced January 24th (next Tuesday - final predictions right here tomorrow)  Voting on the actual winners doesn't take place until the first week of March (Oscar night is March 12th). In that crucial month inbetween the nominations and the ceremony, look what's coming back to theaters -- CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON (2000) in a 4K restoration! That's right. Michelle Yeoh's other Oscar-worthy Lead Actress performance will be back in theaters on February 17th. Cate Blanchett (TAR) will be hard to beat in Best Actress this time around but this can't exactly hurt the cause to make history in voting for Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once); awards races never happen in vacuums and feelings about whole careers and historical precedent also often enter the room. No Asian actress has ever been nominated for Best Actress and thus no Asian actress has won*... 

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Doc Corner: A to Z of the Longlist (Part 4)

By Glenn Dunks

As we carry forth alphabetically along our merry way through the Academy's 144-title long-list (yes, we'll still be going both after the shortlist as well as after the nominations next week—click here for A through J) we have coincidentally found two consecutive titles about the city of New Orleans. Bost missed the shortlist, which isn't surprising although they each have their virtues. Following these, however, is one film that did make the Oscar shortlist and that doesn't make quite such convenient bedfellows, but rules are rules and we're dealing with what the alphabet gives us.

The strongest of the pair from Louisiana is Katrina Babies, Edward Buckles’ partly autobiographical account of life in the city post Hurricane Katrina. Buckles uses a mixture of interviews, archival news footage and colourful animation to tell the story of how this natural event destroyed the way of life of so many, but in particular a group of children who knew no other life and were quickly forced to grow up.

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The BAFTA nominations are here!

by Cláudio Alves

Despite four nominations, this was a sad day for "Aftersun" | © A24

In the last two years, BAFTA managed to distance itself from the precursor norm, asserting an individual identity separated from the affairs of predicting the Oscars. Well, it seems such idiosyncrasies were a short-lived fad if this year's nominations are to be trusted. The weirdest thing about their latest slew of nominees is how much they align with expectations and repudiate the very possibility of weirdness. All Quiet on the Western Front leads the pack with 14 nominations, having been recognized in all possible categories apart from Best Actor. Next, we find The Banshees of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All At Once, with ten each. Those are the only titles whose bounty amounts to double-digit nods.

Come discover the complete list of nominees, after the jump…

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