This upcoming Tuesday morning one can expect to hear big things from such films as the black-and-white, early-Hollywood homage film "The Artist," the George Clooney drama "The Descendants," and the Martin Scorsese-directed "Hugo."
These three films have forged their way the past several weeks as the leading films in contention for Best Picture glory.
The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced Tuesday morning. While one can hope for surprises, most of the nominations will follow the Academy's precursors from this awards season.
At the age of 82, Christopher Plummer has been garnering significant praise for his supporting role in "Beginners," a film about a 75-year-old man who announces his homosexuality after the death of his wife. Comedian Albert Brooks, typecasted in the neo-noir film "Drive," will very likely also receive an Oscar nomination for his role as a savage and ruthless gangster. Also look for Jonah Hill's performance in the baseball drama "Moneyball," Kenneth Branagh's supporting turn in "My Week With Marilyn," and either Viggo Mortenson as Sigmund Freud in "A Dangerous Method" or Nick Nolte in the martial arts drama "Warrior" to take the fifth spot. However, to ignore Patton Oswalt's performance in "Young Adult" or Andy Serkis' motion capture performance in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" would be a mistake.
Considering Octavia Spencer will probably win Best Supporting Actress for her work with "The Help," the actress will be joined by Jessica Chastain for her performance also in "The Help." This would be a nomination more or less for her year's body of work consisting of other performances in "The Tree of Life" and "Take Shelter," among others. Spencer will most likely also be joined by Berenice Bejo for her performance in "The Artist," Janet McTeer for her supporting performance in the period piece Albert Nobbs, and Shailene Woodley for her anguished yet nuanced performance in "The Descendants." That is not to say that Melissa McCarthy's raunchy performance in "Bridesmaids" or veteran actress Vanessa Redgrave's supporting work in the Ralph Fiennes-directed "Coriolanus" have not a chance at a nomination either.
Woody Allen's Parisian comedy "Midnight in Paris" and Michel Hazanavicius's "The Artist" will be vying for Best Original Screenplay, and one should expect to see this category bombarded by comedies. Will Reiser's comedy-drama "50/50" and Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo's comedic "Bridesmaids" also have a definite shot at a nomination. The indie-comedy "Win Win" (the Oscar board likes its independent, quirky comedies) and the Iranian drama "A Separation" also have a probable chance at securing an original screenplay nomination.
As for Best Adapted Screenplay, a more focused field this year, "The Descendants," "Moneyball," "The Help," "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," and "Hugo" will most likely secure nominations. Writer-director Alexander Payne has proven his talent with both his 1999 film "Election" and his excellent 2004 comedy-drama "Sideways." One can expect him to repeat with "The Descendants." Likewise, the Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zallian-penned "Moneyball" features some fantastic writing from two of Hollywood's most prominent screenwriters.
With his star power and dramatic turn as a disconnected father figure, George Clooney will most definitely receive both an Oscar nomination and the coveted award for his work in "The Descendants." One should expect to hear his name read alongside the likes of Jean Dujardin from "The Artist" and Brad Pitt from "Moneyball." The last two spots could almost go anywhere. Leonardo DiCaprio's role as J. Edgar Hoover in the Clint Eastwood film "J. Edgar" could easily score a nomination (he already has three previous nominations and has a lot of respect among fellow actors). Michael Fassbender, Gary Oldman, or Michael Shannon could take the final spot for their work in "Shame," "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," and "Take Shelter," respectively. Fassbender's work as a sex addict in Steve McQueen's sophomore feature Shame seems most likely to nab the fifth nomination slot.
While she beat her competitor at the Golden Globes for Best Actress in a Drama Picture, Meryl Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" will no doubt receive a nomination -that would be Streep's seventeenth Oscar nomination-alongside Viola Davis's work as a maid in "The Help."
One should also expect to hear such names as Michelle Williams for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn" (she already won a Golden Globe for her performance), Tilda Swinton's performance as a grief-stricken mother in the psychological drama "We Need To Talk About Kevin," and Glenn Close's portrait of a woman forced to don the identity of a man in her passion project "Albert Nobbs." The Academy loves both films about historical figures and period pieces, and that would fit four of the five nominees in this category.
And what about Best Director and Best Picture? Expect Michel Hazanavicius, Alexander Payne, and Martin Scorsese to receive directing honors for their labored work on "The Artist," "The Descendants," and "Hugo." Woody Allen will likely receive recognition for his work on "Midnight in Paris," and the fifth slot could go to either Nicolas Winding Refn for his slickly directed and hip "Drive," Terrence Malick for his metaphysical "The Tree of Life," or even to David Fincher for his work on "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (a sort of apology for his awful loss to Tom Hooper at last year's Academy Awards).
As for the prestigious Best Picture nomination, expect "The Descendants," "The Artist," "Hugo," "The Help," "Midnight in Paris," and "Moneyball" to be safe bets, and due to the Academy's recent voting changes, there can be anywhere from five to 10 Best Picture nominees. Four other possible nominees could include Steven Spielberg's sentimental war drama "War Horse," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "The Tree of Life," or even "Drive."
And what about "The Descendants", "Hugo", and "The Artist"? Expect "The Artist" and "Hugo" to gather a swarm of technical nominations apart from picture, director, and screenplay nominations (as well as acting nominations for "The Artist"). A more conventional and "safe" bet given its dramatic and family-oriented subject matter and star power, "The Descendants" will bode well with both younger and older voters of the Academy.
Regardless, the nominees in various categories will most likely represent the Academy's typical voting patterns: honoring films that may seem grand now, but overlooking movies that will gather serious respect as the years pass by.
