Streep to go supporting for AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY. — Page 3

As for MUD, I just didn't get it. I was so excited to see it after hearing all these amazing things but man, I was bored out of my mind. I just can't understand how anything about that movie was thought to be as fantastic as it was.

It's not a good time to mention Pines was a major disappointment for me (I know, I know, it was shot in my hometown and everything and I ended up not liking it at all from structure to the script to the believability of the whole third segment) although I'd throw cinematography and editing awards at it in a second.

Mud was fine but I like Jeff Nichols' other movies but those are necessarily ones that are as accessible to the academy. It was a major sleeper hit so I can understand the goodwill it earned.

I feel like even if The Butler gets good notices, it's August. There is Toronto and Telluride happening in a matter of weeks. Only a select group of people have had access to screenings of the major prestige movies and almost always is the buzz from those screenings positive.

I think "I'm So Excited" should get a foreign-picture nomination.

At this (very early) stage, Blanchett is definitely the one to beat for Lead Actress. She has three things going for her: 1) She got "best of" reviews, 2) She's an actress in a Woody Allen movie, 3) The film is a sleeper hit, and might do better than MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, which is Allen's biggest financial hit. Unless Amy Adams or Judi Dench turn out to be undeniable in their respective works, this is Blanchett's year.

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Updated On: 8/13/13 at 10:51 AM

I'm still not sure how Jonah Hill is a legitimate contender for awards, his nomination for playing "Jonah Hill in a serious movie" baffles me.
Strummergirl, I believe I have read that France has never submitted a film for the Foreign Language competition by a non-French director, so chances are THE PAST won't be it. Berenice Bejo is coming off of a win at Cannes (and I love that she proved all the people who underestimated her gorgeous work in THE ARTIST wrong), so either she or the screenplay might gain some traction.
McConaghey won a bunch of awards for MAGIC MIKE, and he got stellar reviews for MUD, he's arguably never been more credible before. I think he has the right momentum to win for DALLAR BUYER'S CLUB, all he needs is for the performance to actually work (the movie doesn't need to be good, after all, Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges have Oscars for atrocious films).

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Jonah Hill was great in MONEYBALL, ray, and earned that nomination as far as I'm concerned.

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I'm not sure this was necessarily Streep's decision to make. Remember the film is being distributed by Harvey Weinstein, so most likely he is the one moving the chips around (Oscar strategy is his forte), not Streep or her people.
Anyway, reps from AMERICAN HUSTLE confirmed the campaign as follows:
Lead Actor: Christian Bale, Lead Actress: Amy Adams, Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Supporting Actors: Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner. We'll see which of them ends up with buzz.
Jennifer Lawrence Joins Supporting Actress Race

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I am going to TIFF and I am leaning toward skipping the matinee of A:OC. It'll be at my local theaters at Christmas, the others I want to see will probably not and only with a bit of luck will they be available in the nearest big city. The gala ticket in the night showing is reportedly sold out which probably means the matinee is the hot ticket, #1 priority for several.

Telluride is currently happening. Payne's Nebraska had a good showing there last check and JC Chandor's All is Lost (out of competition at Cannes but actually one of the best reviewed American features there, more than Fruitvale Station certainly) also seems to be holding court with people who have Robert Redford as a Best Actor front-runner. Supposedly this is an one-act showing for Redford, who only has one Oscar nomination in acting, and he got a lifetime achievement award at Telluride. He's respected by both the industry and festival circuit for Sundance. To me this is actually the most no-brainer of the nominees, although the film itself caught people expecting more a more action-y movie off-guard.

And as far as potential category fraud. People are wondering about Bruce Dern for Nebraska in lead or supporting. He won actor at Cannes (to a very Hollywood/Oscar-inclined jury that featured Spielberg, Kidman, Ang Lee, and Christoph Waltz) but some say it is a supporting part. Ohers believe that mindset is based on strategy due to the Leading Actor category appearing very crowded and that Dern was always more of a supporting player in his career but it is a lead.

And I know this may shock ray but Sandra Bullock for Gravity may happen. Maybe just a nomination but the Venice reviews of that movie and performance is stellar. I am very excited for this, probably my #1 priority for TIFF (even though I am contradicting myself with the rules I set with A:OC). Perhaps this, Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin (which from the word of mouth at Telluride sounds so cult movie which makes me happy that ScarJo is in those kinds of movies again), and Spike Jonze's Her may redeem the sorry sci-fi that came out this past year.

"Category fraud" is the funniest effing thing I've seen all day.

Can't forget about "Wolf of Wall Street" for McConaghey and the rest of the cast. It's Scorsese with DiCaprio which the Academy seems to love. I wouldn't be surprised if this one catches on too/

So I get my schedule ready for TIFF. Of the potential players in the Oscar race I got Gravity, Rush, and Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom. But aside from Gravity, I am most interested in Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin, starring Scarlett Johansson. It is a Nicolas Roeg-ish sci-fi movie that had reported walk-outs in Telluride and it was booed in Venice but the people who love it really LOVE it. Glazer directed Birth (one of the most beautifully constructed movies that I have ever seen) but went on a 10-year break before this movie.

Keep an eye out for Prisoners that should be in some theaters 2 weeks from Friday. It stars Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Leo, Viola Davis, and Paul Dano but to me the most significant part of that movie is that it is directed by Denis Villeneuve who directed Incendies, one of my favorite melodramas/shockers in years, making his English-language debut. Supposedly it has a huge twist but praise be to Warner Bros. making such a tough movie. And Roger Deakins does the cinematography.