The Dark Knight Rises
DIR. Christopher Nolan /July 20
In my opinion the only reason we are looking at the possibility of 10 nominees is due to the fact The Dark Knight was not nominated for Best Picture in 2009. Most everyone loved it and it would have increased the number of people watching the Oscar telecast and the Academy just couldn’t let the possibility of a fan favorite be overlooked again, especially if it was as well-reviewed as The Dark Knight was.
Now we have The Dark Knight Rises, the last in Christopher Nolan‘s planned trilogy of Batman films and the film that could see a superhero among the Best Picture nominees and potentially see Nolan get his first nomination for Best Director. However, that latter one may be a tough get considering just how stacked this year is.
Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Nestor Carbonell, Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Joey King, Marion Cotillard, Liam Neeson and Adam Rodriguez
Get more on this film here.
Django Unchained
DIR. Quentin Tarantino /December 25
Even though Inglourious Basterds ended up with a Best Picture nomination I’m not as bullish on Django Unchained. It’s a race-driven revenge thriller that is almost sure to inclde Kill Bill-level violence and probably in a less B-level fashion. It may end up being classic Tarantino, but it seems like a film the Academy won’t be immediately biting on.
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Gerald McRaney, Dennis Christopher, Kurt Russell, M.C. Gainey, Don Johnson, Tom Savini, Kerry Washington, Anthony LaPaglia, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, RZA, Misty Upham, James Remar, Rex Linn, James Russo, Tom Wopat and Sacha Baron Cohen
Get more on this film here.
The Gangster Squad
DIR. Ruben Fleischer /RELEASEDATE
I went back and forth with this one, primarily because I can’t help but wonder if the director of Zombieland and 30 Minutes or Less can actually pull off a sprawling crime epic. Of course, the cast he’s assembled should help and the 1949 period setting sure doesn’t hurt.
Cast: Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Holt McCallany, Emma Stone, Robert Patrick, Mireille Enos, Nick Nolte, Troy Garity and Frank Grillo
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Gravity
DIR. Alfonso Cuaron /November 21
There’s a lot of excitement for Gravity in the online movie sector, but I’m not sure how that translates to Oscar. The same people excited over this film are the same people that loved director Alfonso Cuaron‘s Children of Men, myself included, and that film couldn’t even earn a Best Picture nomination or even a win for Best Cinematography, despite having some of the best camerawork I’ve seen in the last ten years. Of course, having a pair of Oscar winners as your leads sure doesn’t hurt.
Cast: George Clooney and Sandra Bullock
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The Great Gatsby
DIR. Baz Luhrmann /December 25
I enjoy Baz Luhrmann‘s enthusiasm, but it’s enthusiasm that doesn’t seem to fit with most of his films. I love Moulin Rouge! and like Strictly Ballroom, but Romeo + Juliet and Australia are just too much. Now he’s bringing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story to the big screen and he’s doing it in 3-D no less. However, he does have some serious talent in his lead roles and I don’t think it hurts to have a little trepidation going into a film. A lowering of expectations can tend to help.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Isla Fisher and Gemma Ward
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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
DIR. Peter Jackson /December 14
Any discussion over The Hobbit that I’ve seen has pretty much found people agreeing Peter Jackson has already taken home his share of Oscars thanks to Middle Earth and the Academy is unlikely to give him more attention for more of the same. I won’t disagree with that sentiment, but I will only say I think that applies to him winning. If The Hobbit turns out to be just as good as the Rings films, although I expect the effects to be even better, I don’t see any reason it won’t hoard nominations.
Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Richard Armitage, John Callen, Stephen Fry, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Aidan Turner, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Barry Humphries, Benedict Cumberbatch and Billy Connolly
Get more on this film here.
Inside Llewyn Davis
DIR. Joel and Ethan Coen /TBA
The fact this one doesn’t have a distributor yet gives me slight pause, not because I’m concerned it won’t get picked up, but when will it get picked up? Likeliest scenario is that it plays at the fall season film festivals and gets picked up for a late year, limited release and then expands in early 2013. It’s one of three musically driven features on my list and the last time the Coen‘s got knee deep in music they were wading with the Soggy Bottom Boys and a I don’t know about you, but I loved that flick and can’t wait to see what they do here with what appears to be a less-comical story than O’ Brother.
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund and Justin Timberlake
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Hyde Park on the Hudson
DIR. Roger Michell /December 7
Bill Murray came close to an Oscar in 2004 with his role in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation and many believe his role in Hyde Park on the Hudson will be the one to get him a second nomination and a potential first win. Interestingly enough, it may end up being a Presidential battle for Oscar next year as Murray’s President Franklin Delano Roosevelt may be facing off with the likely nominee and front-runner, Daniel Day-Lewis in Steven Spielberg‘s Lincoln.
Cast: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Wilson, Eleanor Bron and Samuel West
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Les Miserables
DIR. Tom Hooper /December 7
Between Les Miserables and Django Unchained, the Academy may have to figure out what they’re going to do with Sacha Baron Cohen on next year’s red carpet as well, not to mention Cohen also voices a character in potential Best Animated nominee, Madagascar 3. However, I think taking stage over Cohen in this case will be Tom Hooper, the Oscar winning director of The King’s Speech, and his stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway. This is a film that fits into the Academy’s sensibilities like a glove and, unless it is a train wreck, you can almost count it as one of the nominees right now.
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried
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Life of Pi
DIR. Ang Lee /December 21
Remember Ang Lee? He made some films you may have heard of such as Sense and Sensibility, Ride with the Devil, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain and this year he is back after three years away with Life of Pi adapted from Yan Martel‘s Booker Prize-winning novel. It’s a story that’s going to be tough to pull off, but if Lee can nail the film from a tonal perspective I see no reason why this won’t become one of the favorites for Best Picture.
Cast: Suraj Sharma, Gerard Depardieu, Adolfo Celi, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain and Tobey Maguire
Get more on this film here.
