WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

We are about at the half way mark from last years Oscars to this years. This week also officially begins the film festival season where movies get screened for critics and Academy voters. Some also use the festivals to get distribution for their movies. A movie company that distributes your movie, promotes your movie and pays for an Oscar campaign is a huge win for a film maker.  Telluride begins Friday in Colorado. I will be posting news about Telluride as it happens. For now here is a list of possible Oscar Contenders that have already been released. If you like to see all of the movies before Oscar time check them out now because soon there will be a ton to see:

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS-Woddy Allen's highest grossing film of all time. It has had great reviews and some Oscar buzz. It will most likely not maintain the Oscar momentum, but you never know. It is still showing in some theaters. DVD release date may not be until December.

TREE OF LIFE-At the beginning of the year the word was this was going to be the film to beat. Since its release that has faded. Reviews are mostly positive, but I am not really sure if they are campaigning for awards. It may get a Director nomination for Terrence Malick and a screenplay nomination, so check it out. Still showing in some theaters. Sean Penn hates that he was cut out so much and apparently a ton of other parts were cut. DVD release date October 11th and it could include a special 4 hour edition with everything left in.

THE HELP-Oh the little movie that could. Distributers spend millions promoting and campaigning for Oscars and then comes THE HELP to take over. It opened small and soon word of mouth pushed it to many Best Picture predictions. Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and possibly Jessica Chastain have chances at getting acting nominations. You definately should see it before the Oscars. Still playing in theaters. No DVD release date yet.

APES, POTTER, TRANSFORMERS, PIRATES-Could all be in the running for technical awards. So if you are interested in seeing every possible contender these could be on the list.

BEGINNERS-Christopher Plummer is a good bet for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. In some theaters now, DVD release date is unknown.

THE IDES OF MARCH

THE IDES OF MARCH is almost certain to get a Best Picture nomination. Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Maria Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood all have a great chance of being nominated in acting categories.

According to IMDB the movie is about "An idealistic staffer for a newbie presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail. Based on the play by Beau Willimon."

It is scheduled to be released October 7th in the US.

Check out the trailer below..


IDES OF MARCH TRAILER LINK

THE ARTIST

I wrote about THE ARTIST earlier in the year during Cannes. Everyone seemed to love it. Then again the Cannes audiences are movie buffs who can appreciate the brilliance of silent films. The young ins may have a hard time getting into a silent, 4x3, black and white movie. The movie centers around a movie star who is resistant to movies with sound and how it could ruin his career. The cast includes John Goodman, Malcolm Macdowell and Missi Pyle. It will be interesting to see if in our world of CG and extraordinary sound, THE ARTIST can get a Best Picture nomination.

Check out the trailer below...


THE ARTIST TRAILER

THE HELP (CORRECTION)

I have to take back some of the things I wrote about THE HELP.  Because this movie came out of nowhere I was very quick to say that it didn't have a chance at any Oscar nominations. I definitely spoke too soon. The word of mouth has quickly risen THE HELP to the top of the box office as well as Oscar talk. The performances of Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer can't be ignored as I had presumed.

I have learned that it's really tough to predict how a movie will do until you have seen it. The overall story line of THE HELP has some holes and is not a perfect movie. Some of the racially charged comments can be jarring, but it is a good representation some of the thinking Mississippi during the 60's. I still have my doubts about it getting a Best Picture nomination. I don't have my doubts about Spencer and Davis. The problem then becomes do they both get nominated in a supporting role and compete against each other or does one get a Best Actress nom. over the other? The later gives at least one of them a chance at a win. They could also cancel each other out all together. They are going to be up against Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Tilda Swinton for Best Actress. That is some tough competition. My guess is Viola Davis gets a Best Supporting Actress nomination with a good chance at a win. Octavia Spencer unfortunately could get shut out. Her performance is more comedic against Davis' very emotional range.

THE HELP?

 

I am sticking by my original post about THE HELP.  The buzz surrounding Viola Davis and the fact that the word of mouth made it the number one movie this week still does not convince me that it can be nominated. Sure it may get a few of the other smaller awards, but it is easy to forget that 95% of the Oscar potential films have not been released yet. If Dreamworks was serious about an Oscar run they would have waited for a fall release. Some are comparing this to THE BLIND SIDE effect, or as the little movie that could. Maybe that would be true if the Academy had to come up with 10 nominations, but not with the new voting.  Some were starting to sway me, but I am sticking with my prediction.