Is Visual Effects this year's least competitive Oscar category?

by Nathaniel R

Oppenheimer

The Oscar race that looks the most perplexing from this distance and could get worse with strike related delays is surely Best Visual Effects. Dune Part Two, before its departure from the calendar year, was an easy lock for a nomination and threat for a repeat win. Oscar voters are hardly purists or elitists in this category, since some truly questionable nominations have occured over the years. But still, every presumable contender remaining (whether already released or planning to arrive in time) has significant obstacles to success...

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"Dune Part Two" down, "Barbie" up, the Warner Bros Oscar shuffle.

by Nathaniel R

"Dune Part Two" and "Barbie" both come from Warner Bros

No sooner had we entirely completed the first round of Oscar predictions than Warner Bros up and announced that Dune Part Two would be moving to 2024, March 15th to be exact. And we had to rearrange several charts. The delay for the sandy sci-fi sequel is surely due to the ongoing strikes and fears that Timothée and the other stars wouldn't be promoting the movie. [Aside to the AMPT: Just meet the actors and writers demands, already! You can't make movies without them and the asks are not unreasonable given how their wages have been dropping despite still mammoth earnings for entertaining. But it appears that when the only thing you understand is greed, little Oliver asking for slightly more gruel from your abundant pot is offensive!]

When it comes to the Oscar race this means there's far more room for other movies to benefit since the first installment of Denis Villeneuve's take on the classic sci-fantasy opera won a whopping six Oscars from fen nominations two years back. At first glance we think the film that benefits most is Barbie, which also happens to be from Warner Bros...

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Best Actress Predictions - First Round

by Nathaniel R

Annette Bening as "NYAD" (Netflix, 2023)

If I had any hair, I would be tearing it out every time Best Actress predictions must be made. There are so many ways it could go. It's always fun to fantasize about but also agonizing to worry about. Oscar history is wildly hit and miss with Best Actress lineups. Sometimes it's electric quintets and other times they ignore most of the best work for a set of solid but unthrilling performances. 

The contender we're most excited / anxious about is the one and only Annette Bening in Nyad...

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Emmy Analysis: Drama Supporting Categories

By Abe Friedtanzer

Aubrey Plaza and Theo James in The White Lotus. Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO

Sixteen nominees for supporting actor and supporting actress are drawn from a mere four drama series, and two of them netted just a single mention apiece. That’s fourteen bids for two juggernauts from HBO, The White Lotus and Succession. The former is up one nomination from last year while the latter breaks even in these races, but two of its supporting contenders from last year, Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook, got promoted to the lead race (and may be able to win there). Despite heavy internal competition, I think last year’s winners have a good shot at repeating, but let’s look closely at all the nominees and the episodes they’ve submitted for consideration…

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Best Supporting Actress ~ First Round Predictions

by Nathaniel R

Emily Blunt in "Oppenheimer"

So is it finally Emily Blunt's time? She's been thisclose to an Oscar nomination multiple times with other awards bodies like SAG, the Golden Globes, and BAFTA making room for her repeatedly! Somehow an Oscar nomination has never materialized even when she 1000% deserved it (hello comedic genius from The Devil Wears Prada). With the largest female role in the The Year's Biggest Prestige Drama, Oppenheimer, she may finally make the shortlist. But what if previously nominated Florence Pugh joins her in the event that a lot of movies intended for the fall don't arrive as scheduled? Despite the movies lengthy running time they both don't get as many scenes as we would have liked but that might not matter given the film and the response.

Other questions looming over the Best Supporting Actress Oscar race are after the jump.

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