NUTSHELL: It goes without saying, don’t take anything you see on this page to the bank. I’m banking on Clint Eastwood’s Nelson Mandela film to be a big player next year, and though The Weinstein Company’s “Nine” is close behind, I have some personal questions about a film’s Oscar hopes within a studio struggling to put together the funds for last year’s Oscar buy, but hey, we’ll balance the books after we get that nomination! Fox Searchlight is always in the game, so presitge pic “Amelia” seems to be the best bet from here, while Focus Features, also a savvy Oscar studio, has Ang Lee’s latest to work with. I’m sticking my neck out for Paramount’s “Shutter Island” over Universal’s “Public Enemies” for now, but either period piece could register.
Column: “Handicapping 2009 a year in advance!?”
Sort charts by: Main Categories/Technical Categories
BEST PICTURE | ||
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1 | “Untitled Nelson Mandela Project” Warner Bros. Pictures |
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2 | “Nine” The Weinstein Company |
NEW | 3 | “Taking Woodstock” Focus Features |
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4 | “Amelia” Fox Searchlight Pictures |
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5 | “Shutter Island” Paramount Pictures |
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6 | “Public Enemies” Universal Pictures |
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7 | “Chéri” Miramax Films |
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8 | “The Informant” Warner Bros. Pictures |
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9 | “The Boat That Rocked” Universal Pictures |
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10 | “The Hurt Locker” Summit Entertainment |
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DIRECTING | ||
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1 | Clint Eastwood “Untitled Nelson Mandela Project” |
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2 | Rob Marshall “Nine” |
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3 | Ang Lee “Taking Woodstock” |
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4 | Martin Scorsese “Shuter Island” |
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5 | Kathryn Bigelow “The Hurt Locker” |
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6 | Michael Mann “Public Enemies” |
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7 | Mira Nair “Amelia” |
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8 | Stephen Frears “Chéri” |
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9 | Steven Soderbergh “The Informant” |
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10 | Richard Curtis “The Boat That Rocked” |
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ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE | ||
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1 | Morgan Freeman “Untitled Nelson Mandela Prjoect” |
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2 | Daniel Day-Lewis “Nine” |
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3 | Matt Damon “The Informant” (or “Green Zone”) |
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4 | Leonardo DiCaprio “Shutter Island” |
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5 | Philip Seymour Hoffman “The Boat That Rocked” |
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6 | Johnny Depp “Public Enemies” |
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7 | George Clooney “Up in the Air” (or “Men Who Stare at Goats”) |
NEW | 8 | Viggo Mortensen “The Road” |
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9 | Demitri Martin “Taking Woodstock” |
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10 | Javier Bardem “Biutiful” |
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ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE | ||
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1 | Michelle Pfeiffer “Chéri” |
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2 | Carey Mulligan “An Education” |
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3 | Hilary Swank “Amelia” |
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4 | Penélope Cruz “Broken Embraces” |
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5 | Saoirse Ronan “The Lovely Bones” |
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6 | Helen Mirren “The Tempest” (or “Love Ranch”) |
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7 | Gabourey Sidibe “Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire” |
NEW | 8 | Audrey Tatou “Coco avant Chanel” |
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9 | Emma Thompson “The Boat That Rocked” |
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10 | Maya Rudolph “Away We Go” |
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ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE | ||
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1 | Matt Damon “Untitled Nelson Mandela Project” |
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2 | Richard Kind “A Serious Man” |
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3 | Billy Crudup “Public Enemies” |
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4 | Mark Ruffalo “Shutter Island” |
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5 | Ewan McGregor “Amelia” |
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6 | Christian Bale “Public Enemies” |
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7 | Alfred Molina “An Education” |
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8 | Jamie Foxx “The Soloist” |
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9 | Kodi Scott-McPhee “The Road” |
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10 | Jonathan Groff “Taking Woodstock” |
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ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE | ||
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1 | Mo’nique “Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire” |
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2 | Michelle Williams “Shutter Island” |
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3 | Penélope Cruz “Nine” |
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4 | Sophia Loren “Nine” |
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5 | Imelda Staunton “Taking Woodstock” |
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6 | Marion Cotillard “Nine” (or “Public Enemies”) |
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7 | Meryl Streep “Julie & Julia” |
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8 | Kathy Bates “Chéri” |
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9 | Judi Dench “Nine” |
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10 | Rachel Weisz “The Lovely Bones” |
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WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) | ||
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1 | “Taking Woodstock” Written by James Schamus Based on the book by Tom Monte |
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2 | “An Education” Written by Nick Hornby Based on the memoir by Lynn Barber |
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3 | “Nine” Written by Michael Tolkin, Anthony Minghella Based on the novel by Arthur L. Kopit |
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4 | “Chéri” Written by Christopher Hampton Based on the novel by Collette |
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5 | “Shutter Island” Written by Brian Helgeland Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane |
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6 | “Untitled Nelson Mandela Project” Written by Anthony Peckham Based on the book “Playing the Enemy” by JohN Carlin |
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7 | “The Lovely Bones” Written by Phillipa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh Based on the novel by Alice Sebold |
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8 | “Public Enemies” Written by Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman, Michael Mann Based on the book “Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 ” by Bryan Burrough |
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9 | “Amelia” Written by Ronald Bass Source material to be determined |
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10 | “Up in the Air” Written by Jason Reitman Based on the novel by Walter Kirn |
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WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) | ||
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1 | “Up” Written by Bob Peterson |
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2 | “A Serious Man” Written by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen |
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3 | “Broken Embraces” Written by Pedro Almodóvar |
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4 | “The Boat That Rocked” Written by Richard Curtis |
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5 | “Away We Go” Written by Dave Eggars, Vendela Vida |
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6 | “Biutiful” Written by Amando Bo, Nicolás Giacobone, Alejandro González Iñárritu |
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7 | “Whatever Works” Written by Woody Allen |
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8 | “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal |
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9 | “Funny People” Written by Judd Apatow |
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10 | “The Limits of Control” Written by Jim Jarmusch |
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ANIMATED FEATURE FILM | ||
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1 | “Up” Walt Disney Pictures |
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2 | “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” Walt Disney Pictures |
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3 | “Monsters vs. Aliens” DreamWorks SKG |
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4 | “The Princess and the Frog” Walt Disney Pictures |
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5 | “Coraline” Focus Features |
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6 | “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” 20th Century Fox |
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7 | “A Christmas Carol” Walt Disney Pictures |
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8 | “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” 20th Century Fox |
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9 | “9” Focus Features |
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10 | “G-Force” Walt Dsiney Pictures |
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