Oscar Chart Updates: Actor & Supp Actor

All sorts of things could yet throw the Best Supporting and Best Lead Actor races into confusion. In a  somewhat uncommon development the former is much more crowded than the latter. The shallow pool of viable Lead Actors is very good news for candidates like Timothée Chalamet (someone Oscar might normally resist due to his age) and Jake Gyllenhaal (someone Oscar has resisted for reasons inexplicable to us).

What do you make of the Supporting Actor race in particular? They way it looks now it could be made up almost entirely of character actors with worthy careers who have never won an Oscar and that's a very exciting thing. More exciting if you happen to be a fan of either Michael Stuhlbarg, Sam Rockwell, Richard Jenkins, or Willem Dafoe. I doubt that all four of them will make it all the way to the shortlist but the buzz is currently in their favor.

UPDATED CHARTS
Picture | Director | Lead Actress | Lead Actor | Supporting Actress | Supporting Actor | Animated Feature | Original and Adapted Screenplays

TIFF: "Disaster" is James Franco's Best Performance

by Chris Feil

It takes a particular kind of cinematic appreciation to love bad movies. For some, there can be a special charm to misguided clunkers and turkeys of only the best intentions. There is a stark difference between laughing at something and laughing with something. The Room has been one of the more recent additions to the beloved trash cinema pantheon and stands as a fascinating psychological testament to its creator and star Tommy Wiseau. As told on the page by Wiseau’s costar and close friend Greg Sestero, the making of the film was as haphazard as you expect.

The risk of The Disaster Artist, adapted from Sestero’s book, is confusing the affection or morbid fascination of The Room’s fanbase for something mockingly mean-spirited. Luckily the film is built on love for its subject, as directed by James Franco who also stars as Wiseau...

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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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Emmy Actors - Who Would You Vote For?

Though we've been reviewing various Emmy categories our team isn't nearly big enough to cover everything and who should suffer. Why the men of course since they just aren't as exciting as the actresses. But let's not just ignore them all together. That would be rude!

Who would you vote for in the male drama acting categories? Make a case for them in the comments. Let's discuss after the jump...

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Yes No Maybe So: LBJ

 by Seán McGovern

Debuting at TIFF on September 9th and primed for a theatrical release on November 3rd, Rob Reiner's LBJ brings to life the story of the man who immediately succeeded John F. Kennedy, following his assassination.

Lyndon B. Johnson appeared on our screens twice last year, with Bryan Cranston in All The Way and John Carroll Lynch in a supporting role in Jackie. Reiner's film looks set to follow the Vice President as he navigates his way from tragedy to the Oval Office. For this LBJ we get Woody Harrelson at his brusque best, with what looks to me like a... prosthetic chin? And when actors get out the heavy make-up you know they mean busines...

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