Oscar Chart Updates: Costume Design

by Nathaniel R

The costume design branch loves Michael O'Connor's film work. Could Ammonite bring him his fourth nomination?

Let us know ask our crystal ball about the robust possibilities in the Costume Design race at the Oscar. This contest don't feel quite as wide open as Best Supporting Actor or as Best-Picture-related-simple as Adapted Screenplay or as 'what the hell will they choose?' unusual as Visual Effects and Makeup. But it does present several interesting options for a nominated quintet.

Oscar's three favourite living costume designers (Atwood, Canonero, Powell) aren't around this year -- well, Sandy Powell is but does anyone think the Academy will watch The Glorias? -- so where will the Academy's costume branch look?

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Oscar Chart Updates: Are the critical leaders in "Supporting" Oscar bound or not?

by Nathaniel R

Is there a stranger 'big eight' Oscar category situation this year than the Supporting categories? Both of them appear to have a weird dearth of mainstream contenders. Meanwhile the critics awards or "precursors" have (thus far) been laser-focused on upping the Oscar viability of just two (or three if we're being generous) arguably non-traditional options in those categories: Maria Bakalova's comic improv genius in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Paul Raci's weary mentor in the hard-edged indie Sound of Metal, and Youn Yuh-Jung's spirited grandmother in Minari. 

Which brings up the natural but loaded question of what part critics do or don't / should or shouldn't play in the televised awards races. There are no doubt complicated reasons why critics all across the nation vote so uniformly in some years but we'd argue that it's never from a lack of good options as hundreds of movies starring plentiful gifted actors come out each year...

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Oscar Chart Updates: The Screenplays

by Nathaniel R

After Visual Effects and Makeup and Animated and Documentary Features let's turn out attention to the written word seeking Oscar approval. The critics awards for Best Screenplays are never very telling because many film critic organizations lump Adapted and Originals together. The only films in the Oscar race that have already won Best Screenplay prizes this year (at this writing) are the originals Promising Young Woman (LAFCA) and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (NYFCC and CFCA) and the adaptation that feels like an original i'm thinking of ending things (BSFC, FFCC, and IFJA). (The various screenplay winners from Cannes, Venice, Sundance and Berlinale are not eligible at the Oscars this year.) That's a long way of saying that we have very little to go on in the Oscar race...

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Oscar Chart Updates: Visual Effects and Makeup

by Nathaniel R

Oscar chart overhaul is upon us. Let's talk two categories that are exceptionally difficult to read without the usual supply of blockbuster style filmmaking to dominate them.

VISUAL EFFECTS
Given that most of the blockbuster style films moved out of 2020 (without those theatrical billions to win), this might be the weirdest Oscar race of the year or the dullest if they don't nominate well...

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Oscar Chart Updates: Animated & Documentary Feature

by Nathaniel R

The Oscar charts overhaul is upon us. Let's discuss each category. First up a two-fer, Animated Feature and Documentary Feature. In both instances we don't have full eligibility lists yet but we know some of the titles that have qualified or will qualify.

ANIMATED FEATURE
We currently know of 15 features that are eligible or that plan to be. Since the threshold is only 16 films to create a full five-wide nominee field, we've decided to change our previous three-only prediction. (We'd love those odds if we were animated producers. It's so crazy easy to get nominated, statistically speaking, unlike other categories where hundreds of competitors vie for 5 slots. As we've said multiple times if the same percentage rules applied to Best Picture each year we'd have like 80-90 Best Picture nominees each year. Teehee.)

The contest is shaping up to be a battle royale between Pixar's Christmas entry Soul and the wondrously individualistic Cartoon Saloon's Wolfwalkers...

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