Academy Awards 2017 nominees predictions: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay & Best Adapted Screenplay

BEST DIRECTOR

A year full of newcomers and with some big names back to the discussion boards. Chazelle seems to be in a good position to get a well-deserved Best Director Oscar nom for the beloved and award favorite La La Land (and having Whiplash as his previous feature is a plus). Larraín is on fire thanks to both Neruda and Jackie, two splendid biopics, but it's gonn be Kennedy's widow's biopic that is going to take him far in the Best Director race. Scorsese is back without Leonardo DiCaprio with an epic journey of a search for a priest in Japan and while some still have some doubts about Silence, I truly believe it's gonna be another Scorsese masterpiece which will give him another Oscar nod for directing work. Barry Jenkins brought us one of the most beautifully shot movies of the year and one of the most sensitive tales also... the indie community is in love with Moonlight and so are critics and an Oscar nom just seems natural in this case. And then we have Kenneth Lonergan for his work in the Oscar-buzzy Manchester by the Sea, a movie that in spite of not being a showy directorial effort it does feel like one of the most honest told stories on the big screen thanks to Lonergan's sensitive direction. Villeneuve does a great work in Arrival, but sci-fi film is always a risky bet in Oscar predictions and Best Director lineup is full of more traditional yet fantastic directing work. Gibson would have a nod in the bag for Hacksaw Ridge if he wasn't Hollywood's Nº 1 Enemy... will this one work as his atonement at the AMPAS' eyes? Ford impresses once again with Nocturnal Animals, but he isn't a regular director and Oscar voters might not feel confident enough. Jeff Nichols did great in Loving, but the movie is losing some heat (Ruth Negga aside who's a solid Best Actress contender). The Jungle Book is a major cinematic achievement and a technical wonder, but people seem sceptical about including the movie in the Best Picture predictions or Favreau in the Best Director race - still, it is one of the best cinematic experiences of the year, by far.

1. Damien Chazelle for La La Land

2. Martin Scorsese for Silence

3. Pablo Larraín for Jackie

4. Barry Jenkins for Moonlight

5. Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea

6. Denis Villeneuve for Arrival

7. Mel Gibson for Hacksaw Ridge

8. Tom Ford for Nocturnal Animals

9. Jeff Nichols for Loving

10. Jon Favreau for The Jungle Book

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Manchester by the Sea - Kenneth Lonergan

2. Jackie - Noah Oppenheim

3. Moonlight - Barry Jenkins

4. Hell or High Water - Taylor Sheridan

5. The Lobster - Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthymis Filippou

6. 20th Century Women - Mike Mills

7. La La Land - Damien Chazelle

8. Loving - Jeff Nichols

9. Hail Caesar! - Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

10. Miss Sloane - Jonathan Perera

11. Toni Erdman - Maren Ade

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Love & Friendship - Whit Stillman

2. Silence - Jay Cocks

3. Fences - August Wilson

4. Lion - Luke Davies

5. Nocturnal Animals - Tom Ford

6. Arrival - Eric Heisserer

7. Julieta - Pedro Almodovar

8. Queen of Katwe - William Wheeler

9. The Jungle Book - Justin Marks

10. The Handmaiden - Park Chan-wook

TOP 35 Actors and Actresses Under 35 Working Today - 2017

The almost annual TOP 35 Actors and Actresses Under 35 Working Today is out, with me considering the performers' performances of 2016 also. We have a few changes since last year's list, with Greta Gerwig toping the list thanks to her last 3 great performances in Mistress America , Maggie's Plan and the Oscar buzzy acting turn in 20th Century Women . Scarlett Johansson comes second with her latest distinguished performance being in 2014 ( Under the Skin ), but she managed to be at the spotligh this year thanks to her fine turns in critically acclaimed movies: Hail, Caesar! , Captain America: Civil War , The Jungle Book (voice) and Sing (voice). Emily Blunt adds another great performance to her resume in The Girl on the Train and she comes third, while Elle Fanning 's turning into one of the finest actresses and she's getting to play more adult and complex parts like The Neon Demon and 20th Century Women 's (her two best performances since Super 8 ). Finall...

ACTOR/ACTRESS OF THE MONTH: Michelle, ma belle

Michelle Pfeiffer Born: April 29, 1958 in Santa Ana, California, USA Oscar recognition: 1989 - Best Supporting Actress for Dangerous Liaisons (nom) 1990 - Best Leading Actress for The Fabulous Baker Boys (nom) 1993 - Best Leading Actress for Love Field (nom) One of the most beautiful women that ever walked on Earth, Michelle Pfeiffer was the A-list of the A-list in the late 80's and in the begining of the 90's, managing to get 6 Golden Globe nominations (winning one) 6 years in a round, for 6 amazing performances. She called attentions with her charm and voice in the movie musical flop Grease 2 , but she started gaining a "serious actress reputation" after appearing in Brian de Palma's Scarface . After Scarface , she became the biggest Hollywood movie star and delivered iconic performances as Susie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys and as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Tim Burton's Batman Returns . After some years away from stardo...

Academy Awards 2027 nominees predictions: all categories (2nd ROUND)

Now that the Fall film festival has passed, it's time to make some changes in the Oscar predictions charts: La bola negra is on a winning strike taking home the TIFF's People Choice Award; The movies I Play Rocky and Elsinore revealed themselves as huge crowd-pleasers and can be extremely viable Best Picture candidates; Neon's has found its big Oscar player (Luca Guadagnino's Artificial ) and Paper Tiger got more enthusiastic word from New York and London; the unexpected A24's documentary You Can See Everything is (currently) the most well-reviewed movie of the year and it's on track to become a truly unexpected box-office hit; Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love entered Best International Film race and it can have nice shots in screenplay and directing (according to reviews), suprassing the buzz of early favorites All of a Sudden and Fjord ; Digger is a bomb and not a promising Oscar vehicle; Sense and Sensibility is doing well with critics and it is project...

Cinema and Popcorn

Search This Blog