Oscar fever is heating up in anticipation of the 96th Academy Awards on March 10. Here are my picks in the six major categories.
Supporting Actress – This year’s race features an eclectic mix of outstanding turns by diverse actresses.
It includes Jodie Foster in the little-seen “Nyad,” Danielle Brooks in “The Color Purple,” America Ferrera in “Barbie,” Emily Blunt in “Oppenheimer” and Da’Vine Joy Randolph in “The Holdovers.” Both Ferrera and Foster have a chance, but Randolph is going to win.
Supporting Actor – In the running are the always amazing and dependable Robert De Niro in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Ryan Gosling in the crowd-pleasing “Barbie,” Sterling K. Brown as Jeffrey Wright’s disgruntled brother in “American Fiction,” Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer” and Mark Ruffalo in the ensemble piece “Poor Things.” Downey is going to win.
Best Actress – For Emma Stone of “Poor Things” and Carey Mulligan of “Maestro,” the nominations are more accolades for their illustrious careers, which have been going full swing for quite a while.
For Sandra Hüller of “Anatomy of a Fall,” the nomination is a feather in her cap, but she’s not going to win.
Annette Bening of “Nyad” has had an amazing career in addition to being married to Warren Beatty. This is just further acknowledgement of a great career. However, Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” who is Native American, should win and will win.
Best Actor – Bradley Cooper of “Maestro” will always be nominated for awards. He’s that great of an actor. Jeffrey Wright of “American Fiction” is going to be nominated often as well. He’s like the late Paul Newman, who will be nominated in some form or fashion.
Cillian Murphy of “Oppenheimer” was in Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later” in 2002. I’m surprised his career has become so stable as well. Colman Domingo of “Rustin” was in a Netflix Original film that nobody saw. Paul Giamatti of “The Holdovers” is going to win this one. He was enjoyable to watch.
Best Director – There will be further accolades for Jonathan Glazer of “The Zone of Interest” as his career continues to head in a strong direction. The same goes for Yorgos Lanthimos of “Poor Things.” The honor for Justine Triet of “Anatomy of a Fall” comes down to the thrill of being nominated.
Martin Scorsese, who took home a directing golden statuette for “The Departed” in 2006, will go home empty-handed this time. Christopher Nolan of “Oppenheimer” was nominated for a directing Oscar for “Dunkirk” in 2017. He’ll win this time for his true-life, biographical three-hour epic.
Best Picture – The bottom line is that out of the 10 nominees, the Academy Award is not going to go to “Poor Things.” It’s not going to be “Barbie” either because of all the hoopla about director Greta Gerwig and lead actress Margot Robbie being left out when the nominations were announced.
“Past Lives” might have an outside chance, and the same goes for “The Holdovers,” Alexander Payne’s quirky familial tale. “Oppenheimer” is going to win because it is that great of a movie.
