Best International Film: Shortlist Wishes and Predictions

by Cláudio Alves

Portugal's BAD LIVING is an actressexual feast, but it's unlikely to get shortlisted.

The Academy will announce its shortlists for various categories tomorrow, including Best International Film. For the past few months, I've been writing about a lot of these movies and have, so far, watched 44 of the 88 submissions. So, it seems logical that I'd have something to say before the race gets whittled down to 15 titles vying for five nomination slots and, inevitably, one little gold man. While predictions are important, I'll start by expressing more movie love, naming what films would make my shortlist. Undoubtedly, it'll be very different from the Academy's selection. If that's for better or worse, you decide…

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Oscar Volley: Is Best Supporting Actress a Done Deal?

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Ben Miller and Cláudio Alves to talk Best Supporting Actress...

So far, Da'Vine Joy Randolph has won EVERYTHING.

BEN: Alright Cláudio, my Portuguese pal...let's dive into BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS.

It's a funny year when it comes to the supporting ladies, because we actually seem to be pretty devoid of any category fraud in the main contenders.  With Lily Gladstone and Carey Mulligan in their correct categories, this race feels wide open.  Here's my big question: why does this happen every year with actresses and never with actors?  I'm glad they are striving to get it correct, but "people" also argue that Gladstone would be walking away with this category if she was still placed here.

Do you think Gladstone or Mulligan would win if they were here, and do you think they should be?  I am of the opinion they should both be leads, though I think Gladstone would be undeniable if she was thusly categorized...

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Oscar Volley: Which Foreign Films Will Voters Choose for Best International Feature?

Before we get the shortlist on Thursday, here’s today’s volley, on Best International Feature, from Elisa Giudici and Abe Friedtanzer...

THE ZONE OF INTEREST feels like a lock in this race.

ABE: Hi Elisa! I'm excited to talk about one of my favorite categories, Best International Feature! This year we have 88 submissions from all around the world. While I'm still hoping to catch more in the next few weeks, I think I've managed to track down a good number of the top contenders. Interestingly, this year's likely frontrunner is from a country that rarely gets noticed, in part because most of its films simply aren't eligible. That would be the United Kingdom, which has quite an intense feature in The Zone of Interest, a haunting portrait of the commandant of Auschwitz and his family, who live right next to the infamous concentration camp but live quite the serene life...

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Oscar Volley: It's a Barbie World in Original Song

Team Experience is discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Today's Oscar Volley, on Best Original Song, is brought to you by Mark Brinkherhoff and Baby Clyde...

Will we see "I'm Just Ken" performed on Oscar night?

MARK: Barbie! Long may she reign.  The pop-cultural juggernaut of 2023 not only drew moviegoers worldwide (to the tune of $1.5 billion globally—Warner Brothers’ biggest hit ever), but also ruled the music charts with international smashes like "Barbie World", "Dance the Night", "What Was I Made For?", etc. And that doesn’t even do justice to perhaps Barbie’s biggest earworm, the delightfully daffy "I’m Just Ken". 

All of them were technically eligible for Academy Awards submission; yet AMPAS rules are such that only three songs from a single film can be submitted for Best Original Song consideration, and only two of them can land actual Oscar nominations... 

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Oscar Volley - Adapted Screenplay

For today's Oscar Volley, Lynn and Elisa discuss the Oscar race for Adapted Screenplay.

LYNN LEE: Let’s start with the elephant giant doll not in the room: Barbie is out!  Assuming, that is, the Academy agrees it’s properly competing for Original rather than Adapted Screenplay.  Personally, I think Barbie does belong in Original even if it is technically based on an existing “property.”  And whatever the calculus behind the decision to compete in that category, I’m not convinced it has an easier path to victory than if it had opted for Adapted.  Be that as it may, its absence means that in stark contrast to last year, this year’s Adapted Screenplay slate may be composed entirely of adaptations of books, glorious books!

But which ones?  Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon are the two obvious frontrunners, and I’m bullish on American Fiction getting a nod based on how enthusiastically it’s been received by early audiences.  Poor Things is probably also in, even if the film proves too outré for the more conservative segment of the Academy. The last slot is hard to predict, but it’s still most likely to be something derived from a book – whether it’s The Zone of Interest, All of Us Strangers, or Priscilla. (Though I feel like Priscilla has faded from the conversation.)  Or The Color Purple, which is adapted from the musical but still derived from the Alice Walker novel...

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