76 days 'til Oscar nominations

Lately we've been telling you how many days it is until Oscar night. But we're still more than two months away from Nomination Morning, or as we like to call it, Christmas. (That makes Oscar night the big New Year's Eve party which is correct since the new film year starts thereafter... at least symbolically).

So for today's trivia, the number is 76! So let's talk one of our all time favorite Best Picture losers Network which fell to the rousing hugely popular Rocky in 1976. It didn't go down without a fight, though, taking home more Oscars than the Best Picture winner! How often has that happened, exactly?

It's happened 18 times in Oscar history all told. How many of the years can you guess before clicking after the jump to see the list Tell us how well you did in the comments.

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Best Picture... Settled Contenders or Confusing Vacuum at Top?

Nathaniel R

In the absence of a Best Picture frontrunner, something I think we all can agree on at this particular juncture in time, does that mean anything could happen with Best Picture nominations? OR does that mean the Best Picture competition is fairly settled but that the films (i.e. campaigns) have yet to sort out who is the most formidable?

I'd argue, perhaps foolishly, that it's the latter. I see a fairly clear situation ahead where these seven films (and maybe only these seven) are going to be nominated. A winner will emerge but none have yet made a clear case that they're "the one".

Call Me By Your Name | Darkest Hour | Dunkirk
Get Out | Mudbound | The Shape of Water
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Since Academy rules allow for 5-10 nominees in a given year in the top category and since we've usually seen the final size of the list land at 8 or 9 that leaves us with only one or two super competitive slots. With rumors (take 'em or leave 'em since it's only hearsay) starting to swirl that the four big remaining unseen films (Phantom Thread, Greatest Showman, The Post, All the Money in the World) aren't all that, perhaps we know the field fully? Methinks The Florida Project  (a little picture that could), I Tonya (*shudder* but easy to picture for counterprogramming vote which also helped it at serious festivals) and Last Flag Flying  (meh but easy to picture as the #1 choice for the manly side of Oscar voting) are next in line should there be enough room for them. It's tough to say but there are several films with pockets of support that are in play for one of those coveted spots if the precursors and media are especially kind to them in the next month or two -- yes, even Wonder Woman.

P.S. Comedy at the Globes?
The comedy category is as wide as the Grand Canyon IF a number of the 'could go either way' films choose drama instead. Three Billboards, rumored to be choosing drama for example, is basically a tragicomedy so you can call it either safely! Films that could theoretically be up for COMEDY OR MUSICAL at the Globes (should they choose to campaign this way) are... 

Baby Driver | Battle of the Sexes | Beauty & The Beast
The Big Sick | Disaster Artist | Downsizing
Get Out ??? | Girls Trip | Greatest Showman
Guardians of Galaxy vol 2 | I Tonya | Lady Bird
Last Flag Flying ??? | Victoria and Abdul 

And theoretically that high profile boost could really help them. As would a Producers Guild or SAG shoutout.  How do you think this will all pan out?

UPDATED OSCAR CHARTS ARE HERE  and  GURUS OF GOLD ALSO UPDATED

Link Roundup

NYT Dan Kois profiles 'the loose screw rattling around inside the Marvel machine,' director Taika Waititi as Thor Ragnarok approaches
Film Stage Murtada interviews the director of Senegal's Oscar submission Félicité
TFE ...which you may recall he raved about right here.
Variety Jamie Foxx and Anthony Mackie will star in a Johnny Cochran biopic (Mackie as Cochran) with Taylor Hackford directing
Guardian can Michael Fassbender survive his string of flops?

Coming Soon The Seagull starring The Bening and Saoirse Ronan will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classic next year
ScriptNotes John and Craig welcome female screenwriters Daley Haggar and Dara Resnik to discuss the possible Post-Weinstein era in Hollywood
The New Yorker Harvey Weinstein's cameo in a 2005 animated movie for Mattel
My New Plaid Pants five photos of rising French actor Rabah Nait Oufella
My New Plaid Pants 'do, dump, or marry' on Greg McLean's Jungle with Daniel Radcliffe
Streamline on William Wyler's now-underdiscussed Wuthering Heights (1939)
Awards Daily Still no Best Picture frontrunner this late in season? (I personally love the more unpredictable years)
Tracking Board Netflix trailer for a western series Godless starring Jeff Daniels and Jack O'Connell and a mysterious town of all women
Variety Ben Mendelsohn eyeing the villain role in Marvel's Captain Marvel

LGBT
Towleroad a step-by-step sculpture of Freddie Mercury
Metro John Boyega is still being asked questions about whether Poe and Finn are gay for each other in Star Wars
Gr8er Days There's a documentary coming about the gay actor who starred in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge

RIP
EW Actor Robert Guillaume, best known for his classic "Soap" character Benson (so popular he spun off into an even more popular series "Benson") but whose career hit all three acting mediums has died at 90.
Browbeat Legendary musician Fats Domino has died

TIFF: Notes on Oscar hopefuls "Darkest Hour" and "Downsizing"

Detroit may have bombed but the letter "D" could still reign come Oscar time with Dunkirk, Darkest Hour, and Downsizing all potential Best Picture players. Though it can sometimes feel gross to discuss rich movies from an Oscar perspective before they've even been considered as films, it happens to us all this time of year and the films invite it with their slow rollouts from festival reviews that result in months of discussion and speculation before the public can buy tickets. In other words: Look what they made me us do!

DOWNSIZING
After 'miniature masterpiece' style reviews at Venice the critics got considerably chillier with Alexander Payne's latest once it hit Telluride. Now the film is playing in Toronto and the reviews continue to be mixed. This could spell trouble for the film, but be patient. Initial reviews are only part of the Oscar equation...

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The Bening hits Venice. Telluride and TIFF queue up.

by Nathaniel R

Consider prestige season officially on. The Venice Film Festival is currently in its first full day of screenings after last night's glitzy opening and Telluride just announced its lineup (which they always keep secret until after everyone has booked their passes). You can safely expect that many of the Oscar players will emerge in the next two weeks though with Spielberg's film not ready for the festivals and with Dunkirk already in theaters this could be the first year in ages where the eventual Best Picture winner does NOT emerge at the fall festivals...

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