So..where are the "Oscar" films?
 

Its about that time where we should at least be seeing previews for the 'best' movies of the year. Where are they? I see Alexander and Ray as two potential candidates coming out. Are there any others?

Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray, Hero, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind could all "potentially" be candidates. Long-shot odds on Garden State (just me being overly optimistic).

True, I guess if Finding Neverland if its good. Eternal Sunshine already came out and Hero, well I like it a lot and it deserves more awards than Crouching Tiger, however, I hope it doesn't hog up a lot of nominations. And Aviator is a good example of a movie being made for the sole purpose of winning an Oscar.

Not that it matters much to the Academy, but Ebert and Roeper did a mid-year "Best of 2004 So Far" show. Both agreed that Kill Bill Vol. 2 was the best film of the year up to that point.

I think Closer has some serious oscar potential. And my personal favorite picks of the year Kill Bill Volume 2, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Hero and Shaun of the Dead should all be up for big prizes...

...kidding, but not by much.

Exactly how would Hero "hog" a lot of nominations? It's miles better than any film that's been in theaters this year.

Dont forget the Passion of Christ....

They're the same place they always are: November and December.

Don't get me wrong, I thought Hero was great. But I don't like it when foreign films take up a lot of nominations away from American films. The Oscars should strictly be for American films except of course the Best Foreign Film award category. That's my personal opinion. The Oscars are America's award show, I'm sure other countries have their own ceremonies.

Not a chance in hell. It's too religious and political. The academy won't touch this with a ten foot pole.

Well, concentrating on mainstream Hollywood films certainly eases off the pressure in giving awards to films that are actually worth watching.

I wouldn't care if they always gave the awards to American films, as long as they didn't give them to American films that aren't total shit.

Yet Fahrenheit 9/11 is considered a contender.

Not by anybody who is seriously analyzing the awards. I don't think either film film be nominated, but of the two Passion has the better chance.

I agree with you completely! I was suspended from DVDtalk because I stepped up and said it during the theater release. The Oscars are going to shaft this film all because its been labeled "anti-semitic"

Nice spin. That's not exactly what happened, now is it? ;)

You were suspended for this comment:Geoff's response:Not quite the same thing as just saying "it's too religous and political" now is it?

Can Hero even be up for Best Picture? It was a nominee at the 2003 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film and didn't win. The year Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was up for Best Picture, it won the Best Foreign Film award.

Anyone know if Hero can even be up for Best Picture?

But it was completely misinterpreted. And I didn’t get a chance to clear things….

Hero was co-financed by Miramax as part of the distribution deal. which is why they had say in the final cut even for the theatrical rlease in Hong Kong/China. anyway, in a way, it is partially an american film.

I was talking to my brother the other day about this years movies and the oscars. He is basically just an average film watcher, but he was telling me that he thinks The Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11 will be the 2 biggest contenders for best picture this year. I told him he was crazy and that F 9/11 will only win best crockumentary and that the Passion won't get nominated basically because of reasons already discussed above.

However, I'm starting to think that Jim Caviezel will get best actor nom and Mel Gibso will get best director nod. I also think that it could get nods for best editing and cinematography.

However, we were talking about how this year is missing the big oscar movies. I can't think of anything or anyone that will get nominations that are typical, average oscar movies.

I think Kill Bill should get tons of nominations, however I think it'll be lucky to get more than even 1 nom.

I also think that Garden State should win best original screenplay by far and get best actress or supporting actress for portman, however it'll be lucky to get anything.

I think Bryce Dallas Howard should get best actress nom and M. Night get best director nom along with best cinematography for the Village, but the Academy won't touch the Village.

Eternal Sunshine might get nominated, but it got hardly any buzz this year and doesn't seem like the normal academy movie...which is a good thing.

Also, Hero already got nominated a year or two ago for best foreign film, so is it still eligible for oscars? It was indeed a great movie, so if it is eligible, I would guess it gets quite a few.

I'm thinkin' a lot of the oscar nom's will be to movies that haven't come out yet...

Yes, it should be eligible. It was not released in America until this year, so it was not yet eligible. It will of course not be eligible for best foreign film.

Kris Tapley over at www.oscarwatch.com, has updated his predictions pre-Toronto to the following:

Picture
The Aviator
Alexander
Ray
Spanglish
The Motorcycle Diaries

Note: Passion of the Christ is #6

Director
Martin Scorcese - The Aviator
Oliver Stone - Alexander
Mike Nichols - Closer
Taylor Hackford - Ray
Walter Salles - The Motorcycle Diaries

Actor
Jamie Foxx - Ray
Liam Neeson - Kinsey
Javiar Bardham - Out to Sea
Leonardo DeCaprio - The Aviator
Colin Ferrell - Alexander

Actress
Gwyneth Paltrow - Proof
Annette Benning - Being Julia
Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
Audrey Tautou - A Very Long Engagement
Téa Leoni - Spanglish

Supporting Actor
Clive Owen - Closer
Anthony Hopkins - Proof (or Alexander)
Rodrigo de la Serna - The Motorcycle Diaries
Jim Carrey - Lemony Snickett
Val Kilmer - Alexander

Supporting Actress
Laura Linney - Kinsey
Cate Blanchett - The Aviator (or Life Aquatic)
Natalie Portman - Closer (or Garden State)
Cloris Leachman - Spanglish
Lauren Bacall - Birth

If this happens, I'll buy ever dvdtalker a BMW.

Spider-Man 2 has a better chance than Alexander. just seeing colin in that outfit and hair dye makes me bust out in tears and laughter.