June
22
Oscar Watch: Summertime Awards Talk
Is it my imagination? Or are there a lot of promising movies coming up? It's easy in the summer to feel optimistic about the long list of pictures heading for fall festival slots and year-end awards consideration. Most of these films will be filtered out of the mix through festival hazing and actual boxoffice and critical performance. Some of the films, like Revolutionary Road, may come out next year.
For starters, here's my preliminary awards-contender list:
Best Picture:
American Gangster (Uni)
Atonement (Focus)
Beowulf (Par)
The Brave One (Warner)
Charlie Wilson's War (Uni)
Darjeeling Limited (Fox Searchlight)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax)
Eastern Promises (Focus)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Uni)
In the Valley of Elah (WIP)
The Kite Runner (Dwks/Par Vantage)
Love in the Time of Cholera (New Line)
Lions for Lambs (MGM)
Lust, Caution (Focus)
Margot at the Wedding (Par Vantage)
Michael Clayton (Warner)
No Country for Old Men (Miramax/Par Vantage)
Pride and Glory (Par) 2008
Rendition (New Line)
Reservation Road (Focus)
Revolutionary Road (Dwks/Par)
The Savages (Searchlight)
Sweeney Todd (Dwks/Par)
There Will Be Blood (Par Vantage)
Zodiac (Par)

Best Director:
Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Wes Anderson (Darjeeling Limited)
Noah Baumbach (Margot at the Wedding)
Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises)
Marc Forster (The Kite Runner)
Paul Haggis (In the Valley of Elah)
Gavin Hood (Rendition)
Neil Jordan (The Brave One)
Ang Lee (Lust, Caution)
Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)
Mike Newell (Love in the Time of Cholera)
Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson's War)
Robert Redford (Lions for Lambs)
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Ridley Scott (American Gangster)
Joe Wright (Atonement)
Bob Zemeckis (Beowulf)
Best Actor:
Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Christian Bale (Rescue Dawn)
Javier Bardem (Love in the Time of Cholera)
George Clooney (Michael Clayton)
Russell Crowe (American Gangster)
Tom Cruise (Lions for Lambs)
John Cusack (Grace is Gone)
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
Colin Farrell (Pride and GloryCassandra's Dream)
Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson's War)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages)
Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah, No Country for Old Men)
Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Viggo Mortenson (Eastern Promises)
Edward Norton (Pride and Glory) 2008
Joaquin Phoenix (Reservation Road)
Benicio del Toro (Things We Lost in the Fire)
Denzel Washington (American Gangster)

Best Actress
Halle Berry (Things We Lost in the Fire)
Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)
Julie Christie (Away from Her)
Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose)
Jodie Foster (The Brave One)
Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
Nicole Kidman (Margot at the Wedding)
Keira Knightley (Atonement)
Jennifer Jason Leigh (Margot at the Wedding)
Laura Linney (The Savages)
Vanessa Redgrave (Evening)
Charlize Theron (In the Valley of Elah)
Naomi Watts (Eastern Promises)
Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
Reese Witherspoon (Rendition)
Best Supporting Actor:
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Philip Bosco (The Savages)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War)
Clive Owen (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)
Mark Ruffalo (Reservation Road, Zodiac)
Steve Zahn (Rescue Dawn)
Best Supporting Actress:
Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd)
Clare Danes (Evening)
Julia Roberts (Charlie Wilson's War)
Susan Sarandon (In the Valley of Elah)
Meryl Streep (Lions for Lambs)
Charlize Theron (In the Valley of Elah)
Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement)




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Awesome list so far!
Posted by: Ruth | June 23, 2007 at 06:18 AM
Good lists, but Jennifer Jason Leigh will likely be campaigned Supporting for Margot at the Wedding, where she will have a better chance at getting nominated and could even win the Oscar if the trailer is anything to go by.
Posted by: Mushy Pea | June 23, 2007 at 10:30 AM
The list is great. However, Mike Newell directed Love in the Time of Cholera, not Rendition (you do correctly list Gavin Hood as the director of that film). Also, I think that Giovanna Mezzogiorno might have a shot as the lead in Cholera.
But, all in all a great list.
Posted by: Princess of Peace | June 23, 2007 at 09:42 PM
RESCUE DAWN not RESCUE ME for Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Werner Herzog, of course.
Posted by: Lori | June 24, 2007 at 09:36 PM
Very good lists, but a few tips for the Best Supporting Actress slate:
Vanessa Redgrave is in Atonement for about 5 minutes at most.
Claire Danes' chances for Evening died with bad reviews and box-office.
Jennifer Jason Leigh is a huge contender for Margot at the Wedding, but she will be campaigned Supporting not Lead, as already mentioned. Also, she was raved in a recent test-screening review.
Posted by: Suzy | June 28, 2007 at 08:37 AM
Im rooting for Lions for Lambs and Reservation Road.
I love Cruise,Mark Ruffalo and Daniel Day Lewis.
Posted by: Janice | July 15, 2007 at 11:12 PM
I think Viggo Mortensen's time has come. He is one of the best actors out there and does consistently good work. I hope he takes home the Oscar for best actor in Eastern Promises. He should have been nominated for History of Violence, but was overlooked. Hope this is his year.
Posted by: Debbie | July 23, 2007 at 04:48 PM
Joaquin Phoenix can always be counted on to blow audiences away with his power and depth, it would be too obvious a joke if the Academy screws this up for the third time. I'm rooting for him and Reservation Road.
Posted by: jules | August 21, 2007 at 09:30 PM