2013 - A Hundred Films That Might Pique The Academy's Interest

THE PEDIGREE

1. The Monuments Men (George Clooney)
   In a race against time, a crew of art historians and museum curators unite to recover renown works of art stolen by Nazis before Hitler destroys them. With a great story, and a cast like this (George Clooney, Matt Damon, Daniel Craig, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, Hugh Bonneville and Jean Dujardin), it will be definitely one of the most anticipated of 2013.
2. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)
   A New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration. The Scorsese-Dicaprio duo has an excellent track record, so no reason to NOT expect this one to be a masterpiece...or at least something like it.
3. August : Osage County (John Wells)
   The Weston family overcomes certain differences when their alcoholic patriarch goes missing. Acting giants, movie stars, excellent source material, The Weinstein Company...it's hard to imagine anything going wrong here...although that's exactly what people said about Nine.
4. The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann)
   Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy. Although I still can't get my head around the Luhrmann+Gatsby+3D concept, as it is clearly a remarkably unexpected one, I have high hopes that 'unexpected' will result a masterpiece here.
5. Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass)
   The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. After a few recent misses, it seems like Tom Hanks will get his mojo back this year. Greengrass is a fantastic director and the premise definitely sounds intriguing.
6. The Railway Man (Jonathan Teplitzky)
   A victim from World War II's "Death Railway" sets out to find those responsible for his torture. A true story. It sounds like something right up the Academy's alley and with Oscar winners, Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman at the front and Harvey Weinstein behind it, this could go a long way.
7. Foxcatcher (Bennett Miller)
   The story of John du Pont, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and killed Olympic wrestler David Schultz. Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) has an excellent track record and I'm fairly certain his winning streak won't end now, the material seems strong and Steve Carrell could be his third lead to make the cut in Best Actor.
8. Inside Llewyn Davies (Joel & Ethan Coen)
   A singer-songwriter navigates New York's folk music scene during the 1960s. The Academy loves the Coen brothers, and this one definitely looks great, the first trailer was excellent, so let's just wait and see how it goes!
9. Twelve Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
   A man living in New York during the mid-1800s is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the deep south. Steve McQueen has been an unsung hero for a while now, delivering one masterpiece (Hunger) after another (Shame) but this could be finally the year he receives mainstream recognition...and seeing that several of THE most sought after actors (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch) lined up for this, I'm assuming the script was excellent.
10. Saving Mr. Banks (John Lee Hancock)
    Author P.L. Travers travels from London to Hollywood as Walt Disney Pictures adapts her novel Mary Poppins for the big screen. A holiday release from Buena Vista directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), starring Tom Hanks as Walter Disney and Emma Thompson as Mary Poppins author, P.L. Travers ? If this makes money, it could be easily the crowdpleaser of the Oscar season.

2011 - Best Director II.

POTENTIAL FRONTRUNNERS

1. Steven Spielberg (War Horse)
   The Academy probably doesn't feel the pressure to award Spielberg considering they already gave him Best Director...twice. BUT for now he seems to be the strongest bet for the nomination.
2. Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
   Sure, he has never won BD, but there is a good reason for that...the Academy can always make him settle with a script nod/win, and they'll probably do just that this year, as well.
3. Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
   Could he become this year's Tom Hooper a.k.a. the relatively unknown, unlikely frontrunner who directed the „Weinstein-crowdpleaser” ?
4. Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
   Considering Hugo is basically a love letter to cinema, I can definitely see the Academy embrace Scorsese's latest in a big way. BUT, as bad as it sounds, I think his film needs some strong legs at the Box Office. An expensive contender like 'Hugo' HAS TO make money.
5. Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
   His excellent yet Oscarless track record, the Academy-friendly genre and release date and the truly outstanding ensemble all scream best picture...AND best director. Hopefully it won't be another 'The Lovely Bones'...
6. David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
   If the film will survive the genre-prejudice, it could go all the way...especially because the Academy MIGHT want to give Fincher an Oscar after last year...
7. Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
   Woody Allen's biggest obstacle to overcome is Woody Allen. He is a lock in the original screenplay category, so voters might feel that's enough for him this year.
8. Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
   I REALLY hope the Academy will recognize his outstanding achievement and at least nominate him.
9. Bennett Miller (Moneyball)
   Considering the film's outstanding reviews, Miller could easily find himself once again in the Best Director race, even though he has definitely strong competition this year.
10. David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II)
    IF the studio won't abandon it and provide a killer campaign, the nostalgy-factor should/could help Yates here...the fact that his film is not only the last chapter of THE most succesful franchise, but also the highest grossing AND one of the best-reviewed film of 2011, helps, too.

2011 - Best Director

POTENTIAL FRONTRUNNERS

1. David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
   Sometimes being the previous year's runner-up pays off in the end...just ask Colin Firth!
2. Steven Spielberg (War Horse)
   Spielberg directing an emotional war movie...case closed.
3. Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
   He has the critics and Cannes on his side, that should be enough for the Academy.
4. Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
   He has an excellent track-record in this category (3/3) and considering the Oscar-friendly source material, for now there is no reason NOT to assume he will be back in the game once again...and since it will be his 4^th time, he could even win!
5. Clint Eastwood (J.Edgar)
   It's Eastwood, he is automatically in consideration, the stunning cast helps, too. For now he seems like a rather safe bet here.
6. Martin Scorsese (Hugo Cabret)
   The pic looks definitely promising and he IS Scorsese. Having said that, the Academy did ignore Shutter Island...although the Oscar-friendly release date could make all the difference here.
7. Roman Polanski (Carnage)
   Yes, he is a troubled, scandalous soul...but then again, he had been already a troubled, scandalous soul when the Academy awarded him in this category, so I don't see why a nomination couldn't happen now.
8. Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
   He is an Academy-favourite, but the fact that they can also nominate him in the script category, might weaken his chances here.
9. Jason Reitman (Young Adult)
   Voters LOVE him, he received two consecutive bp/bd nominations for dramedies although they usually don't go for those kind of films. Clearly he is doing something right so there is no reason to think the Academy wouldn't go for this one...we'll see.
10. George Clooney (The Ides of March)
    He is already generating buzz for The Descendants. Could he pull a 2005 ?