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June
22
Oscar Watch: Summertime Awards Talk

Diving_bell9254_1Is 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)
Dicapriohead
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)
Clooneyhead
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)
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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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Comments

Awesome list so far!

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.

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.

RESCUE DAWN not RESCUE ME for Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Werner Herzog, of course.

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.

Im rooting for Lions for Lambs and Reservation Road.

I love Cruise,Mark Ruffalo and Daniel Day Lewis.

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.

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.

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About

Variety.com deputy editor Anne Thompson writes a weekly Variety film column as well as this daily blog.


This Week's Variety Column

Smaller pics groom actors for Oscar: Every year, indies vie for awards glory. Every year, a batch of indie underdogs vie for awards glory -- knowing in advance that they lack the deep pockets that come with studio affiliation. What they have are a few good actors who might be able to grab enough attention from their peers to gain some awards traction. Full article.

Read previous columns:
- Baz Luhrmann's flair for the dramatic: Few have seen finished epic Australia.
- 'Twilight' ready for blockbuster B.O.: Women driving teen vampire adaptation's buzz
- Boyle bullish on smaller-scale films: Director basks in freedom of DV 'Slumdog' shoot
- Solace' offers thinking person's 007: Marc Forster brings indie touch to latest Bond
- Hollywood's A-list losing star power:film industry forced to change business model.
- Films up in the air after DreamWorks/Paramount split: Peter Jackson's 'Lovely Bones' changes hands
- No 'Action!' for Hollywood vets: Helmers in limbo seek new direction
- What to expect from DreamWorks 2.0
- Amazon's Kindle gets fired up: Electronic book reader the No. 1 seller
- Big directors turn to foreign investors: 'Locker,' 'Che,' 'Wrestler' all sold at Toronto
- Studios Wary of Big-Budget Auteurs. 'Avatar,' 'Benjamin,' 'Wild Things' are gambles.
- U.S. short on tough guy actors: Filmmakers turn to U.K., Australia for action stars
- Independents change tactics: Stalled indies find new ways to pursue auds
- Universal's Langley supplied menu for Universal's boffo summer b.o.
- New role call for international films
- Comic-Con Finds Miller's 'Spirit'
- Indie sector keeping the faith
- Stars hit box office sweet spot: Will Smith among actors who have stayed hot

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