Oscar Prediction Updates: Picture, Director, Score, Song, Sound

Just as we'd given up on Minari being released for this year's awards season, a trailer shows up (albeit without a release date attached) and just as we'd decided that No Time to Die was going to be a hit in the craft categories -- especially given the dearth of big studio event films -- it gets delayed until Easter 2021. But we soldier on, happily, with the Oscar charts.

It's looking like a great year for black cinema (multiple films in play), a great year for Netflix (which didn't have the movie theaters closing problem), a good year for Nomadland, but otherwise things are still very uncertain. 

The following charts are all updated... 

• Index
• Picture 
• Director 
• Supporting Actor 

• Costumes & Makeup 
• Sound & Score 
• Screenplays 

• International Feature Overview 
• International Submissions Pt 1: Albania through Greece
• International Submissions Pt 2: Germany through Norway
• International Submissions Pt 3: Pakistan through Vietnam

What'cha think? Know of any original song contenders? (It's always so difficult to track them)...

Babs as director

by Cláudio Alves

Barbra Streisand is a powerhouse in every sense of the word. Her long career has encompassed many facets of show business, from night club singer to Broadway sensation, from Oscar-winning actress to successful producer, and so on. Considering we've been discussing 1991 for the past couple of weeks, it seems appropriate to consider Streisand's legacy, not as a music or movie star, but as a director. That was the year that she released one of her dream projects, The Prince of Tides, which was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Streisand, however, was left out of the directing lineup despite an aggressive campaign and much publicity. The snub stung and robbed Streisand of the honor of becoming the second woman to be nominated for that award, after Lina Wertmüller in the 1970s. 

Still, while it's difficult not to see AMPAS' decision as a blatant rebuke of Streisand as a director, one has to wonder if she'd have deserved the nod. After all, 1991 had a stellar, and historic, Best Director lineup...

Click to read more ...

A long take is a held breath.

by Cláudio Alves

Long takes are a constant subject of fascination for filmmakers and film lovers alike. The technical challenge inherent to them makes many directors salivate at the prospect of showing off their craft. At least, that's what, as an audience member, it sometimes feels like. Though, to characterize the long take as a mere tool of formalistic showmanship would be wrong. Depending on the case, this mechanism can be transformative, capable of bending the audience's perception of time, their attachment to what they're watching and sentimental engagement.

In 1917, Sam Mendes uses the long take as a key to sensorial immersion and ever-tightening tension. Each cut is a blink, a breath, a repositioning of the eye and recalibration of the senses. It's something that's a convention and brings comfort to the viewer. When you take it away, one feels as if the action never stops, like there's no time to breathe or to disengage with the narrative. A long take is a held breath and it can be a gloriously suffocating thing to experience…

Click to read more ...

How often do two top Globe victories translate to Oscar gold?

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

Sam Mendes had a great night on Sunday when he took home both Best Director and Best Motion Picture – Drama for his war epic 1917. That two-hander worked out very well for him exactly twenty years ago for his debut feature, American Beauty, since he went on to repeat at the Oscars. Winning both prizes at both ceremonies, however, doesn’t actually happen often. 

Between Mendes’ two bookends, that feat has only occurred twice...

Click to read more ...

Why Pedro Almodovar will be nominated at the Oscars

by Murtada Elfadl

Pedro Almodovar will be nominated for best director at the Oscars. Currently Bong Joon Ho, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino lead the pack. Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig, Sam Mendes, Todd Phillips and Taika Waititi are fighting for the 4th spot. The 5th is booked for Almodovar. He might not appear on any director shortlist before January 13th, but his name will be called on the day when it most matters. There are 3 reasons why he’ll be nominated...

Click to read more ...