With awards season well underway and the Oscars on the horizon, we turned to the best and brightest of Film Twitter to hear their predictions for the big night. Here’s what they had to say…
“One thing that has struck me about the 2018 Oscars is their preference for the brash over the subtle. Oldman over Chalamet, McDormand over Hawkins, Janney over Metcalf all demonstrate the Academy’s leaning towards the flashy, which is somewhat disappointing – for me, it should always be emotion and range over a wig and endless shouting *cough* Oldman *cough*.
For an award season that started so unpredictably, the acting categories look set in stone with the above candidates – and Supporting Actor Sam Rockwell – all likely to have written out and rehearsed their speeches by now.
In terms of Best Picture, a three-horse race between The Shape of Water, Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri appears to have emerged. Despite Billboards sweep at the Golden Globes (and probable BAFTA win), my money is on either Water or Lady Bird taking the major prize next month— at the moment, I’m leaning towards the former as the consensus pick.
The Shape of Water will sweep the technicals, with Picture and Director likely to be split (unless Water manages both) in which case we may be looking at a record-busting haul for Guillermo Del Toro’s fantasy-romance picture.”
“With this year’s Oscars looming, the water has never been muddier. The resurgence of strong, female voices within the film industry is finally bringing it into the 21st century. However, box office hits like Wonder Woman have been snubbed by the Academy in place of less deserving movies like Logan and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Let’s not forget that Wonder Woman had the largest opening of all-time for a movie directed by a woman. Surely that’s worth a nomination or two?
This year the performances of those nominated for Best Actress vastly outweigh those for Best Actor in the Oscars 2018. While household names like Meryl Streep and Francis McDormand deliver their usual level of excellence, the likes of Sally Hawkins, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie are pushing the limits of what it means to command the stage.
The stand out winners for me would be Margot Robbie for her role in I, Tonya, Edgar Wright for Baby Driver and Willem Dafoe for The Florida Project.”
“One of the really interesting things about this year’s Oscars is that unlike some past years, the 90th Academy Awards is going to be a hard one to predict a winner. The field is absolutely packed to the point where I am both upset but yet completely understand that Michael Stuhlbarg isn’t nominated. Given all of this, if I was picking the Best Picture winner myself I would have to go with Get Out which is my favourite of all the entries (note: at time of writing Lady Bird has not been released here so this might change). However, if I was going to pick a winner I think it might be The Shape of Water. I think it captures so many of the different shifts happening in the industry at the moment, and it also has had a good run in the build-up to the awards. Whatever the case, this is one year where each announcement is going to be a good one because the field is so strong, and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.”
“So, awards season is upon us once again. This is both the best and worst time of year to be a cinephile – it’s when the most critically acclaimed films of the year are out, although here in the UK we often have to wait three or four months for them due to distros wanting to capitalise on the awards hype, and of course there’s the disappointment of seeing genuinely great films and performances snubbed.
I’m yet to see most of the Best Picture Oscar noms, although from the ones I have seen I’d be very happy for The Shape Of Water to walk away with the prize – it’s a truly wonderful film that reminds you just why we go to the cinema. As for the snubs, Tom Hanks’ fantastic performance as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in The Post deserved a Best Actor (or Supporting Actor, as he is second-billed) nom, and Michael Stuhlbarg in Call Me By Your Name should really have gotten more attention as well – find a better screen father in the past twelve months and I’ll be genuinely surprised.
As for the BAFTAs, Armando Iannucci’s satire The Death Of Stalin is a fairly unlikely contender for Best British Film, but I’m glad to see it receive attention. The low-key, character-driven war drama Journey’s End is a surprising and unfortunate omission in several categories, especially the acting ones.
The best thing, for me, about this year though is that more original, daring films such as The Shape Of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Get Out seem to be the focus of attention over more traditional “awards bait” – let’s hope this is a trend that continues in the future.”
“There is always an element of Schadenfreude attached to award ceremonies. It is why so many of us revel in watching reaction shots of losing actors pretending to be congratulatory while they are left to rip up their acceptance speeches and stare longingly at the golden statuette. This task of not letting the mask of humility slip is a tough one of some – the performance of lifetime might be needed. To make things harder, our world of memes and gifs means the loser’s face is scrutinised even closer. One sly glance or irrepressible frown will be picked up and spawn an entire ‘Twitter Moment.’
With this in mind, I thought it would be a fun – and slightly mean – exercise to spend a moment thinking about those we wish to lose this awards season. I (like many others I imagine) wince at the thought of Boss Baby or Ferdinand collecting an Oscar for Best Animation. Both were at the forefront of my mind when mulling over the worst films of the year. It would also, above all else, be a cruel slap in the face to the flickering beauty and painstaking artistry of Loving Vincent. I will gladly chop off my ear if Hugh Welchman and Dorota Kobiela’s dazzling film does not win.
One of my less popular opinions is that Meryl Streep should not be nominated. I thought her performance in The Post was passable, but less deserving than the likes of Garance Marillier (Raw) and Kristen Stewart (Personal Shopper) – to name just a few. Streep’s inclusion in the Best Actress category seems to be owed more to her status as the ‘Godmother of Hollywood.’ That being said, I know Meryl will accept the ‘defeat’ with class. No bitter gifs to be found here.
I wonder if there will be the same grace shown online by Harry Styles fans if Dunkirk does not claim an award. Christopher Nolan’s film did not win me over in the way it has many others. I found it technically impressive but lacked the type of edge that would have had me on the edge of my seat. For that reason, I would feel slightly deflated and underwhelmed if it won Best Film or Best Director.
To finish on a more upbeat note, I do believe this year is boasts an incredibly talented selection of nominees – from Greta Gerwig (best director for Lady Bird) to Julian Slater (best sound editing for Baby Driver). Best of luck to all of those involved. And for those nominees that do not make it to the winner’s podium, I suggest you smile and clap politely. That is unless you want to be meme’d for eternity.”
“In terms of the lead acting categories, Gary Oldman has been sweeping up the awards for his magnificent work in Darkest Hour. While he does have some strong competition in Daniel Kaluuya, the legend that is Daniel Day-Lewis, and Timothee Chalomet, it would be a major shock if Oldman does not take home the lead actor gong, he would be more than a worthy winner.
In terms of the leading actress, much like Oldman, Frances McDormand, has been cleaning house and it would be also well deserved if she took home her second Oscar for Three Billboards. Yet it seems impossible to rule out Meryl Streep and Sally Hawkins may yet pull a surprise for her work in The Shape of Water, as to play a mute character and garner a nomination is an extremely impressive achievement.”
“The 90th Academy Awards seem set to be an award ceremony that favours the loud, brash, showy performances over their softer, more delicate and emotional counterparts.
In the Best Actor category, Gary Oldman is set to triumph over Timothée Chalamet; a loud, brash performance taking victory over Chalamet’s quietly devastating turn as a first time lover suffering a first time heartbreak.
Frances McDormand will likely prevail over Sally Hawkins for the Best Actress trophy; an aggressive, forceful performance again beating out Hawkins’ stunning wordless turn in The Shape of Water.
Over in Best Supporting Actress, Allison Janney will be beating Laurie Metcalf; a violent, sweary performance winning over Metcalf’s understated, deeply heartfelt portrayal of Lady Bird’s mother in Greta Gerwig’s film. None of these potential winners are bad performances – except maybe Janney, who forces her character dangerously close to one note territory – but it’s tough to not feel slightly discouraged that a trio of “big” performances are being favoured over the more intimate ones.
Do any of these smaller performances, Chalamet and Hawkins and Metcalf, do any of them stand a chance come Oscar night? Only time will tell…”
Not everyone will be watching this year’s Oscars though…
“Tis award season again. A time for those in the film industry to acknowledge the work of dedicated members of cinema, allowing many of them the chance to one day look back at their nominations or award wins as their greatest achievements. But I ask myself, is that what award season is about? In recent years I have found award season to be less about acknowledging good films, or opening doors to what eventually become greatly overlooked films, and more about the giant popularity contest that is Hollywood…”
Read the rest of @The_MovieOracle‘s thoughts here!
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