Get ready Oscar fans. It’s time to start your engines. September is here and that means the Awards Season is about to heat up. With that in mind here are ten events that will go a long way in determining which films will have a shot at winning awards once September is said and done…
1.
The Venice Film Festival
August 31 – September 10
Okay. Venice technically starts in August (today in fact) and last year’s Golden Lion winner, Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, didn’t make any waves during Awards season. That, however, doesn’t mean this year’s line-up will follow suit, especially with George Clooney‘s The Ides of March kicking off the festivities on opening night and other possible contenders such as Steven Soderbergh‘s Contagion featuring it’s all star cast, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with last year’s Best Actor winner Colin Firth and Gary Oldman and David Cronenberg‘s A Dangerous Method appearing at the festival.
There are also a number of films that have Awards season possibilities appearing as well, including Roman Polanski’s Carnage with Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster and Ami Canaan Mann’s Texas Killing Fields featuring Jessica Chastain and Sam Worthington. And don’t forget films such as Steve McQueen’s Shame, Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights and even Madonna’s W.E.. It’s Oscar season… you never know.
2.
The Telluride Film Festival
September 2 – 5.
Telluride is always a bit of a surprise with its vaunted “secret” line-up. Expect at least one or more of the top Awards contenders to make a stop here. No one is ever sure which top films will appear at Telluride so there is a built in wow factor when one of the heavy hitters shows up, which can go along way to creating buzz for any film that gets the attention of the well-healed Telluride crowds. Juno used a well-received sneak preview at Telluride to launch its surprise run to Awards season contender back in 2007.
3.
The Toronto International Film Festival
September 8 – 18
In the last few years Toronto has separated itself from the other fall Festivals to become the gold standard for breaking Oscar contenders. So much so that TIFF has become quite possibly the most influential film festival in the world at the present time. Especially when it comes to predicting success at Awards time. Last year The King’s Speech used a successful debut at Toronto as a springboard to winning it all, while films like Juno and Up In The Air have done the same. It is important to note, however, all three of those films started with buzz out of Telluride making the two fests a fascinating double whammy.
This year, no fewer than four films that have already made everyone’s Best Picture early prediction lists (The Ides of March, The Descendants, Moneyball, A Dangerous Method) as well as several other sleepers that have an outside chance of making some noise come awards time (Drive, 50/50, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, Machine Gun Preacher, Rampart).
4.
Contagion breaks out in theaters
September 9
Steven Soderbergh‘s new film has been placed on numerous early Oscar lists. Personally, I think this film looks more like a standard Hollywood disaster flick along the lines of Outbreak, Virus or even Armageddon. Still, many people see the name Soderbergh and immediately think Oscar contender. The film is also loaded with former Oscar winners including Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Contagion will need a combination of solid reviews and decent box-office if it going to get in the Oscar hunt. Without that combination look for the film to be quickly forgotten when it comes to awards discussions online.
5.
Drive hits theaters
September 16
Drive enjoyed an excellent kick off this year with it’s well received debut at Cannes back in May (such as Brad’s A+ review). If the film does well nationwide, look for FilmDistrict to mount a serious Awards campaign for both the film and its star Ryan Gosling. It’s violent content may make it a tough sell with the Academy as a Best Picture nominee, but Gosling seems to have enormous good will within the acting community.
