Who will take glory in awards ceremony
JESSICA Boulton, Showbiz Editor (Features), predicts Who Will Win and Who Should Win the big awards on Sunday.
Best picture
Will: Nomadland. Worthy? check. AntiTrump? check. Starring Oscar-bait Frances McDormand? check, check, check.
Should: Promising Young Woman. Quirky, clever, and hopefully another MeToo-era wake-up call.
Lead actor
Will: Brits Riz Ahmed, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Gary Oldman are all up, but this one’s all but a done deal for the late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom).
Should: Chadwick.
Lead actress
Will: Andra Day for The United States Vs Billie Holliday.
It’s her film debut, and, boy, what a bar to set. Centred on Billie’s long fight with authorities over her protest song Strange Fruit, it’s incredibly poignant in the week of the
George Floyd verdict.
Should: Probably
Andra. But I’d like to also see a push for The Crown’s young Princess Margaret Vanessa Kirby after her 25-minute birth scene in Pieces of a Woman.
Supporting actor
Will: Sasha Baron Cohen (The Trial of Chicago 7) will probably snag this one over fellow Brit Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah).
Should: Ali G. Sorry, I mean, Sasha.
Supporting actress
Will: The Crown’s Olivia Colman’s up for dementia drama The Father. But Minari’s Yuh-Jung Youn is likely to become the second Asian woman ever to win an acting gong.
Should: Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy). She’s had seven nominations, no wins. That’s seven dresses and seven times she’s had to do the “I’m so pleased for you” smile.
Best director
Will: David “Fight Club” Fincher is up for Mank, about a subject LA loves above all others: itself. Yet the safe money’s on womanof-the-moment Chloe Zhao (Nomadland).
Should: Emerald. Just for once, Camilla deserves the spotlight.