Oscar Volley: Best Original Screenplay is the Battle of the Auteurs

In this Oscar Volley, Eric Blume and Cláudio Alves discuss the Best Original Screenplay race…

HARD TRUTHS, Mike Leigh

ERIC BLUME: Hi Cláudio, I put us together on this one because I love arguing with you.  Hope that's okay.  Plus, I am curious to get your takes on some of these films and scripts.

Best Original Screenplay has a lot of strong contenders this year.  What I find particularly interesting is that eight of these feature scripts written by their directors - Seed of the Sacred Fig, A Real Pain, The Substance, September 5, Anora, The Brutalist, All We Imagine as Light, and Hard Truths.  That has to be some kind of record? 

CLÁUDIO ALVES: With the growing connection between the big European film festivals and the awards season, auteur cinema is on the rise as an Oscar gold magnet. And many of those selections favor director-forward productions, often where the folks in the director's chair also penned the script. Indeed, from the octet you mention, only A Real Pain and Hard Truths premiered outside Cannes or Venice. And with Mike Leigh's latest, it wasn't for a lack of trying on his part…

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"Conclave" and "Wicked" Lead with Critics Choice Nods

by Nathaniel R

The Critics Choice, hot on the tail of the Golden Globe nominations, have weighed in on the cinematic year choosing the Pope-selection thriller Conclave and the first half of Wicked based on both the Broadway phenomenon and the lengthier best seller that inspired it as the "most" awards worthy title. They each amassed 11 nominations. [Full disclosure: I remain a member but trust that my ballots are not generally reflected in the consensus which always feel -- at least to me -- closer to Oscar predictions than passion ballots.]

BEST PICTURE... 

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The first Guild Nominations are here!

by Cláudio Alves

THE SUBSTANCE continues to be a hit with precursors. A rare feat for horror cinema.

So far, the season has been dominated by critics' awards, which, while worthy of attention, don't offer great help when it comes to predicting the Oscars. After all, AMPAS is formed by industry people rather than critics. So, the guilds are a better indicator of what might be a hit with the Academy and, at long last, we're starting to see the first guild nominations. These past few days, the American Cinema Editors (ACE) and the Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist Guild (MUHS) announced their yearly honors. The Producers Guild of America (PGA) also announced their documentary contenders. Let's see what we can deduce from the results so far…

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Golden Globe Nominations!

by Eric Blume

Let's take a look at the Golden Globe nominations announced yesterday, in the major categories.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

• THE BRUTALIST, A24
• A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, Searchlight Pictures
• CONCLAVE, Focus Features
• DUNE: PART TWO, Warner Bros. Pictures
• NICKEL BOYS, Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios
• SEPTEMBER 5 Paramount Pictures

It's very "Globe-y" that both NICKEL BOYS and SEPTEMBER 5 received a nomination for the Big Award and for absolutely nothing else.  They're both solid films, tricky to single out actors in.  The Globes went in big for both THE BRUTALIST and CONCLAVE, so it seems like the race is between those two at this point...

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Category Confusion '24: COMEDY or DRAMA – Part One

by Cláudio Alves

Is THE SUBSTANCE a comedy or a drama? What gives?

This year, I am part of the voting body for the Golden Globes, which gives me access to a cornucopia of screeners and FYC material that was erstwhile inaccessible to me. This also means I get a front row seat for the absolute circus that is category fraud from studios and distributors alike. Not just in terms of finagling distinctions between lead and supporting performances. Because this is the Globes, there's also the matter of which films compete in Drama, and which others battle it out in the presumably less competitive realm of Musical or Comedy. Because we all need distractions right now, let's ponder these inconsequential genre divides and enjoy some benign polls whose results don't really matter beyond these awards obsessive circles of ours…

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