Source:
TheCinemaSource.com
Posted on: Wed, Nov 07, 2007 11:12:10
Written By: Michael Dance
michaelmdance@gmail.com
A colossally slow news week like this one (say, did you hear the writers are still striking, just like they were yesterday?) seems like the perfect time to unveil my new, hopefully weekly column of Oscar ramblings and buzz and ruminations. Call it the Oscar Spiel.
For the uninitiated, there really is an "awards season" for movies, much like the summer season - it kicks off at the Toronto Film Festival in September and continues on until the Oscar ceremony at the end of February. But while September and October are mostly filled with rumors of untangible buzz, by November more of these films are seen, and we start to get a good idea of which movies are actually, you know, good. Not that that necessarily means anything.
So, since this is the first column, I figure I'll start big and give you a general feel for the race. What are the major contenders for the Best Picture race? I've split it up thusly: the frontrunners, the alternates, the probably nots, the wild cards, and those sad souls that are already dead.
The frontrunners:
American Gangster: Like last year's winner The Departed, it's mainstream, splashy, and violent. It also has the better-than-they-could-hope-for combination of critical glory and box office success (it beat Bee Movie last weekend). If the Academy voted tomorrow, this would be in the top five. But will it sustain its high?
Atonement: The early word is fantastic for this adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel (a book Time magazine loved so much it wanted to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant). Star Keira Knightley has been nominated before (for Pride and Prejudice) and James McAvoy could score major "breakout actor" points. What the film needs is a decent box office gross and love from precursor critic-society awards (the New York Circle of Film Critics, etc.) (Dec. 7)
No Country for Old Men: A lot of people are thinking this will be one of those
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