Tales of an awards season tend to unfold over the months as festival winners and various film groups name the premieres and winners, but this is a year that couldn’t settle for a single scenario. And it’s an encouraging and hopeful message and story that everyone can hold on to.
A trend: The return of the blockbuster. “Avatar: Waterway,” from 20th Century Studios and distributed by Disney, and Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” are two movies that can re-engage audiences with the Oscars, which had a strong track record with great -Economic glasses. Indeed, 25 years ago, the most profitable film of all time, “Titanic” (1997), flew away with 11 statuettes. Even afterwards, the Academy did not hesitate to award epics like “Gladiator” (2000) and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003) or detective sagas ranging from “The Departed” ( 2006) to “No Country for Old Men” (2007). Sprinkle in the potentials of Netflix’s “Glass Onion” and Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and the Academy has the ingredients for a delightful ceremony.
Another great story: The Returning Children. Brendan Fraser showing everyone he’s not just a star but a terrific actor in ‘The Whale’ and Ke Huy Quan’s return to the movies in such a moving and audience-pleasing role in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once” are great stories.
Yet another good comeback: Todd Field. It took Field 16 years to return to the director’s chair after shining on the awards stages with “In the Bedroom” (2001) and “Little Children” (2006), and now with Focus Features’ “Tár” he has one more shot gold at the Oscars.
Veteran actors also provide a good narrative for this awards season, as artists such as Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) are all well positioned to receive their first Oscar nominations.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who made her stellar debut over 20 years ago with 2000’s ‘Love & Basketball’, looks set to receive her first Oscar nomination for her action epic ‘The Woman King “.
RRR, (aka RISE ROAR REVOLT), NT Rama Rao Jr., 2022. © Raftar Creations / Courtesy Everett Collection
Courtesy of Everett Collection
International names and titles are meaningfully adopted. Go to any social media platform and type in “RRR” from surprise NYFCC winner SS Rajamouli and you will be greeted by a deluge of song memes and passionate fans of the Indian feature. Moviegoers have long known German actress Nina Hoss, who gave indelible performances in “Barbara” and “Phoenix.” Now, seeing her as Cate Blanchett’s frail but stern wife in “Tár,” Hollywood finally understands the secret that many of us have known for years – Hoss is one of the best in the game.
And let’s not forget the music. Besides historic potentials such as the first black woman to be recognized in the original score – Chanda Dancy for Sony’s “Devotion” – the original song race is packed with the world’s biggest pop stars – Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Joe Jonas, Billie Eilish and the Weeknd – are all in line for a trip to the Dolby Theatre.
The Academy has learned a lot over the past decade. He expanded his membership after #OscarsSoWhite, he knows never to put the lead actor last at an awards show, and now knows that if a would-be winner slaps a presenter, the organizers should probably show the door.
I would say there is a lot to celebrate this year.
See the latest movie predictions, across all 23 categories, in one place on Variety Oscar Collective. To see ranked predictions for each individual category, visit Variety Oscar Center.
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