April Foolish Predictions: Best Supporting Actor

by Nathaniel R

One intriguing possibility is Oscar Isaac as the painter Paul Gauguin in "At Eternity's Gate" -- the film is about Vincent Van Gogh's time in Aries (in which their friendship went awry) -- but will it be ready in time and get strong distribution?

And now we come to the one acting category that arguably has no super devoted fan base: Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Why have we never met an obsessive fan of this category? It's easy to run into people who love leading ladies and/or leading men and, we should know more than anyone given the Supporting Actress Smackdowns that that particular contest tends to fascinate a wide swath of people. So why no love for Supporting Actor? Could it be because the Academy uses this category, we'd argue more than the others, as an afterthought, filling it with 'thanks for the career' citations and 'we like this movie, so, sure' troupers. Any other theories out there as to the lack of love? Please note: this is not to disparage supporting players as we love to sing their praises for jobs well done. Supporting actors (and actresses) are essential to the overall success of the stories they help shape and color.  

We've got at least five true stories this year with heavily male supporting ensembles that could affect this category though it's difficult to know in advance which actor (if any) might make enough of a mark to stand out beyond the leading men or leading ladies

• The undercover in the Klu Klux Klan drama BlacKkKlansman from Spike Lee (August)
• Astronauts to the moon drama First Man  from La La Land's Damien Chazelle (October)
• The Dick Cheney political (comic?) biopic Backseat from the director of The Big Short (December)
• Mary Queen of Scots history is full of men wrestling for power through her (December)
• Mary Poppins Ret --- WAIT, THAT'S NOT A TRUE STORY? GET OUTTA HERE! 

INVESTIGATE THE CHART. What do you think might happen in this category? 

Previous April Foolish Articles
Supporting Actress, Costume Design, Cinematography, Original Score, Screenplays, Animated Features, and the Prediction Charts

April Foolish: First Supporting Actress Predictions!

by Nathaniel R

Amy Adams as Second Lady Lynne CheneyPeople keep talking about whether or not Glenn Close can finally win an Oscar with The Wife... but while we're on the topic of perpetual bridesmaids, whither Amy Adams? She stars as Lynne Cheney in the biopic about Dick Cheney which reunites her with her American Hustle costar Christian Bale so perhaps we'll have to do "make up" Oscar wins this year for past slights? That's just one of the questions we have about this year's Best Supporting Actress competition which so far has zero competitors unless you count Rachel McAdams in Disobedience (but that just opened today so let's give everyone a week or to catch up with it - here's Jason's review) or unless you count fan favorites like Jennifer Garner in Love Simon and Lupita Nyong'o or Letitia Wright in Black Panther but all three of those scenarios are more fan-fiction than real possibilities given the type of roles and movies and performances they are. (They serve their movies well, especially Letitia Wright, don't misunderstand.)

The best supporting actress turn I've seen thus far for women in 2018 (and it's obviously super early in the film year) is from Virginia Madsen who does lovely work as a Christian mom realizing her eldest son is gay in the understated AIDS drama 1985. That's a micro-budget black & white indie, though, so we can't expect awards play unless the fates are miraculously kind to it. Still, there are plenty of exciting performances to come so on the new Supporting Actress Chart where we've selected 20 women who look like possible contenders. At least on paper but we have to start somewhere!

SEE THE CHART AND SOUND OFF RIGHT HERE IN THE COMMENTS. 

Previous April Foolish Articles
Costume Design, Cinematography, Original Score, Screenplays, Animated Features, Supporting Actor and the Prediction Charts

Beauty Break: April Foolish Costume Design Predictions

by Nathaniel R

Fantastic Beasts won Colleen Atwood her 4th Oscar. Will its sequel give her her 13th nomination?

The original Mary Poppins lost the Costume Design competition. Could Sandy Powell win it for the sequel?

Even if the year's Costume Design prospects weren't so tantalizing we'd be salivating because we love the artform. After a relatively weak previous season, this category has the opportunity to come roaring back for 2018 in a big way. Consider that all four of the Academy's favorite working costume designers (with 43 nominations and 13 wins between them) might be back this year...

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April Foolish Predictions: Let's talk Cinematography!

by Nathaniel R

We didn't forget about the April Foolish Predictions. They just got all tangled up with Tribeca screenings, Cannes news, Avengers mania, and everything else going on in April. So herewith another prediction batch. First charts are now up for all of the visual categories, barring Costume Design which will get its own post tomorrow just because. 

Cinematography is always one of the most exciting contests as there are so many genuinely gifted DPs out there doing great work over and over again but only one Oscar to hand out each year. At the moment I'm wondering about the futures of these four DPs in particular...

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April Foolish Predictions: What film scores will be loved in 2018?

by Nathaniel R

Mary Poppins (1964) was nominated for 13 Oscars winning 5. Will Mary Poppins Returns (2018) also win Oscar hearts?

Since scores are often one of the very last components to fall into place in post-production, determining which scores might stand out at year's end is like throwing darts blindfolded. Each year some composers are replaced between our first round of predictions and the time their films arrive. Plus some 2018 movies haven't even hired a composer yet. Presumably they're waiting for Alexandre Desplat's schedule to open up. Only half joking! The perpetually in demand French composer and double Oscar winner generally scores anywhere from 5 to 10 (gulp) movies a year and he only has three films currently scheduled for release in 2018 (Isle of Dogs, Operation Finale, and Kursk... though we suspect The Sisters Brothers will hit this year as well, making it 4). Other Oscar favorites who have suspiciously empty schedules this year include Hans Zimmer and Thomas Newman.

From the year's releases that we've already seen we're curious about how A Quiet Place and Black Panther might hold up in the sound categories, too, since both films are blockbusters and A Quiet Place, especially, relies heavily on its aural elements for its success.

In related news: Best Original Song is next to impossible to predict this early as details are always scarce until late in the year but if you have any premonitions do let us know!  Here is our guesswork on the sound categories for the next Oscar race and the April Foolish Predictions thus far.