So: how are doing on October 25th, with many of the films poised for the Oscar race having been seen? Of course, there are stragglers, like Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” and Alejandro Innaritu’s “The Revenant.” We don’t know what will be from Angelina Jolie’s “By the Sea” or Will Smith in “Concussion.” Ron Howard has “In the Heart of the Sea” and David O. Russell has “Joy.”
This will be a highly competitive year, with a lot of campaigning and jockeying for position. Nothing is a lock so far. Two films that everyone liked, “Black Mass” and “The Walk,” have not caught on at all at the box office. I don’t know what will happen to them.
The names will change, but if we had to go by what we’ve seen so far, here are some short lists. More to come, as they say…
BEST PICTURE:
Bridge of Spies, Carol, The Danish Girl, Steve Jobs, Truth, Youth, Son of Saul, Inside Out, Room, The Martian, Straight Outta Compton, Spotlight
BEST ACTOR
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Jake Gyllenhaal, Southpaw
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Tom Hanks, Bridge of Spies
Michael Caine, Youth
Matt Damon, The Martian
*Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight (I’d put him here, but he wants to be in Supporting)
BEST ACTRESS
*Cate Blanchett, Truth (in the end she can only be nominated in this category once)
*Cate Blanchett, Carol
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Lily Tomlin, Grandma
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Brie Larson, Room
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Patricia Clarkson, Learning to Drive
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jason Mitchell, Straight Outta Compton
Robert Redford, Truth
Sam Elliott, Grandma
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Harvey Keitel, Youth
Jacob Tremblay, Room
Joel Edgerton, Black Mass
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Michael Keaton, Spotlight
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jane Fonda, Youth
Rooney Mara, Carol
Jessica Chastain, The Martian
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Joan Allen, Room
Marcia Gay Harden, Grandma
