Thursday, March 28, 2024

Oscars: Selma, American Sniper Add David Oyelowo, Bradley Cooper to Crowded Best Actor List

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Th already crowded best actor race just got more crowded with the L.A. AFI premieres of “Selma” and “American Sniper.” David Oyelowo and Bradley Cooper, respectively, have leaped into the fray, joining Cumberbatch, Redmayne, Keaton, Murray, Oscar Isaac and possibly Al Pacino as front runners.

This will be tricky as there are only five spots and literally any of those guys should be or could be the winner. Pacino has Oscars, so he’s all set as for winning. It’s Bill Murray and Michael Keaton who are the sentimental favorites because they’ve never won (Murray at least has been nominated). Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne are the young Brits, sort of Olivier and O’Toole. They’re each going to accumulate a half dozen nominations in their careers.

Of the new names, Cooper at least has two prior nominations and a popularity factor. Also Cooper is opening in “The Elephant Man” on Broadway. That gives him even more heft. (Whoever planned that was a genius.) Oyelowo, also British, is one of the strongest up and comers ever. Also, he’s playing Dr. Martin Luther King. So Oyelowo comes in very very strong.

What to do? Who knows? I wish the actress category had so many quandaries!

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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