Thursday, March 28, 2024

Oscars Status Report: Best Picture Possibles Starting to Generate Buzz, Take Slots

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So much Oscar talk! It’s only September 22nd, but the 9 slots for the 10 Best picture nominees (don’t ask) are starting to take slots and take shape. In no order of any kind, here are more than 10 films that could find themselves in the Oscar mix. These are films with release dates and/or definite intentions of opening (or have already opened) in 2014:

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel – directed by Wes Anderson

2. Boyhood — directed by Richard Linklaker

3. The Theory of Everything — directed by James Marsh

4. The Imitation Game – directed by Morten Tyldum

5. St. Vincent — directed by Theodore Melfi

6. Wild — Jean Marc Vallee

7. Birdman — directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

8. Foxcatcher — directed by Bennett Miller

9. Whiplash– directed by Damien Chazelle

10. Belle — directed by Amma Asante

11. Men, Women, and Children — directed by Jason Reitman

12. Mr. Turner — directed by Mike Leigh

There are  a few additional films no one’s seen yet. They are are all major players: Inherent Vice, Gone Girl, Unbroken, Into the Woods, American Sniper, Big Eyes, Interstellar. We’ll see three of them at the New York Film Festival– Gone Girl, Inherent Vice, and Birdman. (Technically, Birdman has been played at Telluride and Venice, so that’s why I’m including it above.) The others will come later. But already there are polarizing opinions about which film deserves what prize, and which actor is yada, yada, yada. Everyone involved would like to see a surprise entry, a dark horse, something to stir the pot. But these will be the group of films we’re working with now, give or take one or two.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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