Stars all aglow
Oscar nominations loom – expect these names on the list
Is it possible Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” is poised to become the first foreign language film to win a best picture Academy Award? If the Golden Globes and the more recent film industry guild nominations are any indication, yes.
The Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 22, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can nominate as many as 10 films for best picture. Expected to be in the running for the Feb. 24 festivities is Bradley Cooper’s Screen Actors Guild-nominated “A Star Is Born.” Since the Golden Globe snubs, the film swept the guilds’ nominations (Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, etc.) and a recordbreaking number of British BAFTA nods.
Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” and Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” are also expected to be nominated. “Bohemian Rhapsody” was another surprise Globes winner and SAG recipient. Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Spike Lee’s SAG, DGA- and BAFTA-approved “BlackKklansman,” Rob Marshall’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” Jon M. Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” another SAG nominee, and Adam McKay’s DGA nominee “Vice” also have strong shots.
Glenn Close, whose electric acceptance speech at the Globes probably fired up her chances to win (she’s a definite to be nominated for “The Wife”).
But can the Academy voters afford to ignore Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” which has won big at critics’ year-end meetings, without seeming too eager to embrace big hits for bigger television ratings? “Roma” picked up two crucial wins at the Globes, foreign language film and director for Oscar winner Cuaron (“Gravity”) and several Guild nominations, such as DGA, although not SAG. Is it likely that “Roma” gets nominated for a best picture Academy Award? Yes. Could it win? Yes, again.
In the best actress race, everyone expects Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”), Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”), Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and six-time nominee Close to hear their names Jan. 22. Also in the running are Emily Blunt (“Mary Poppins Returns”), Nicole Kidman (“Destroyer”) and Rosamund Pike (“A Private War”).
Still, Toni Collette (“Hereditary”), Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”), Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”) or Joanna Kulig of Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” could be dark horses here. Regina Hall (“Support the Girls”), who was bestowed the best actress award by the New York Film Critics Circle, deserves a shot, too.
Best actor is also up for grabs. Yes, Bradley Cooper will be nominated. The odds have just swung in the favor of Globe surprise winner Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”). Bale (“Vice”) likely has a slot. Viggo Mortensen is also expected to get a nod for “Green Book.”
John C. Reilly of “Stan & Ollie” deserves a best actor spot. Ditto for three-time nominee Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”). Ryan Gosling (“First Man”), Ethan Hawke (“First Reformed”) and Ben Foster (“Leave No Trace”) are also within Oscar range. Joaquin Phoenix (“You Were Never Really Here”) is a possibility. Spike Lee of “BlackKklansman” just became only the fifth African-American to receive a nomination (his first) from the Directors Guild of America, raising his film’s chances for nominations.
In the supporting actress category, the shoo-ins for nominations are probably five-time nominee Amy Adams (“Vice”), Claire Foy (“First Man”), Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), who has won most year-end critics awards, and “The Favourite” twins Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz. Also in the mix are, again, Nicole Kidman (“Boy Erased”), Elizabeth Debicki (“Widows”), Margot Robbie (“Mary Queen of Scots”) and Sissy Spacek (“The Old Man & the Gun”).
In supporting actor, expect Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”), Timothee Chalamet (“Beautiful Boy”), Adam Driver (“BlackKklansman”), Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Sam Rockwell (“Vice”). But don’t be surprised if you hear Sam Elliott (“A Star Is Born”) or Michael B. Jordan (“Black Panther”) announced instead of one of those.