Almost There: Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

by Cláudio Alves

History repeats itself, especially when it comes to the Academy Awards. Throughout its 92 years, very few Asian actors have been recognized, even when their films were otherwise embraced. This year, the victim of the insidious trend was Parasite, which won the SAG for Best Ensemble but couldn't muster enough support for a single acting nomination at the Oscars. Thinking back to the last non-English speaking Asian production to score a Best Picture nomination, we see the same phenomenon.

In 2000, Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon conquered a remarkable 10 nominations, including for Picture and Director but none of the nods were for acting. In the end, the blockbuster won four of its categories. Despite the acting branch's oversight, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi received many nominations elsewhere, including the BAFTAs. The younger actress even conquered the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress…

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Jessica Chastain is Tammy Faye...

by Eric Blume

It's never a bad time to start talking about possiblities for NEXT YEAR's Best Actress Oscar, which may include one of our favorites here at TFE, Jessica Chastain.  She just wrapped filming The Eyes of Tammy Faye, where she will play infamous televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, opposite Andrew Garfield as husband Jim. The movie is based from the documentary of the same title from twenty years ago, here directed by the talented Michael Showalter (The Big Sick and Hello, My Name is Doris).  

Seems like inspired casting and an inspired choice for director, since the movie could really deliver in several different tones based on this trio.  What it probably won't be, let's hope, is another straight biopic...

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Renée Zellweger is SAG's Favorite Film Actress

by Murtada Elfadl

Last night's win by Renée Zellweger for her performance in Judy marks her third individual SAG award. She has won previously for Chicago (2002) and Cold Mountain (2003). On the film side she matches Daniel Day Lewis as the two most lauded actors by the Screen Actors Guild. Day Lewis won his awards for Gangs of New York (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007) and Lincoln (2012).

There are five other actresses who are right behind Zellweger with two individual film awards. And none of them are called Meryl Streep. Steeep has two as well though one is for TV. She won for Doubt (2008) and Angels in America (2003). These are the actresses who could match or leapfrog Zellweger soon...

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Final Oscar Nomination Predictions

The 92nd annual Academy Awards are almost upon us. They're just 29 days away at this writing. We'll have the official Oscar charts back up for you as soon as is humanly possible once the potentially exciting event has occurred on Monday (they're coming down now to prep for Monday's unfurling). But until then, it's time to make final predictions.

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The sure things: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite, The Irishman, Joker, Jojo Rabbit, 1917. That's six titles that we can't imagine missing on Monday morning given their success to date in precursor awards and with critics and the public. The extremely probable: Marriage Story. The only reason we've begun to worry is that there's been virtually no traction for Noah Baumbach in Best Director which suggests that people have reduced the movie to "an actor's showcase"... but then where was the SAG Outstanding Cast nomination? It's likely in but if there's a shock omission Monday morning...

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Who'll be this years' surprise snub?

by Cláudio Alves

Nathaniel's final predictions will be up tomorrow morning but until then, let's talk potential snubs. Oscar nomination morning usually holds a few surprises. Sometimes, everything goes according to plan and the performers singled out by the precursors appear in their entirety but that's a rare event. We're thankful for that since the opposite would be dreadfully boring. Usually, there's one big snub like Timothée Chalamet for Beautiful Boy, Amy Adams for Arrival, Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation, Jennifer Anniston for Cake or Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips. At the last minute, they all failed to secure an expected nod.

Of this year's crop of contenders, 12 have conquered nods from the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, SAGs, and Critics Choice Awards. Many pundits say DiCaprio is the most vulnerable and we should never be sure about Hanks given his recent Oscar history. Still, the rest of them seem solid if not altogether locked. Unless, of course, Margot Robbie manages to upset everyone and get in for the Tarantino flick instead of Bombshell. You can never know for sure, that's the eternal truth about prognosticating. 

All that said, here are those 12 contenders...

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