So it’s only a week to go before the 88th Annual Academy Awards and boy how things have changed. For starters we were told that there would be two people hosting the Oscars with many speculating who would be a great duo. But it seems the Academy has had second thoughts and believed that Chris Rock would be the perfect choice. Hmm, that’s convenient – with all the recent press of an all white white nominated Oscars event – that a black comedian is hosting!
Even though this will be Rock’s second time tackling the ceremony it will be more challenging for him to host, as there has been a lot of controversy about how great black actors didn’t receive any nominations for their performances this year. As a successful black comedian who has frequently shown us how white society over-shadows the visibility of a diverse mix of races in entertainment; we can’t expect Chris Rock to stay silent on this one.
This leads me to ask the question which American award ceremony is a more valid representation of the talent in the field; the Oscars, the Globes or the Screen Actors Guild awards? Looking at this years’ nominees, all three ceremonies are very similar for which actors are nominated, with the exception of the Golden Globes where Will Smith received a nomination for ‘Concussion’ and arguably the SAG Awards, as they have a category for best acting ensemble in a motion picture which ‘Straight Outta Compton’ nailed a nomination in. Perhaps this is where the controversy erupted, with ‘Straight Outta Compton’ doing so well in the box office and raising plenty of eyebrows of its success – it was indeed sad to learn that it received only one nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Straight Outta Compton
But then there have been some surprise nominations, one of the biggest being Sylvester Stallone in his reprisal as Rocky in ‘Creed’; how can an actor who has portrayed the same character for forty years finally get nominated for best supporting actor in the latest Rocky saga whilst newcomer Jason Mitchell (who’s moving portrayal of gangster rapper Eazy – E in ‘Straight Outta Compton) gets a snub? Favouritism much?! Not making much sense Mr. Academy, tut tut!
Leonardo Dicaprio – The Revenant
It is already proving a very big year for Leonardo Dicaprio who is the favorite to win for Best Actor in a leading role for ‘The Revenant’ having swept up the Globe and Bafta. Michael Fassbender however has received a lot of praise for ‘Steve Jobs’ along with Matt Damon’s ‘The Martian’ and Bryan Cranston who caught a nomination for his portrayal in ‘Trumbo’. Eddie Redmayne snagged a nomination for his role in ‘The Danish Girl’ and should he win, he will be the fourth male actor to win the Oscar back to back. Before him were Tom Hanks (Philadelphia and Forest Gump) Jason Robards (All The President’s Men and Julia) and Spencer Tracy (Captains Courageous and Boys Town), so Eddie Redmayne is now on the verge of joining lofty ranks by possibly joining these three actors that gave us such unforgettable performances. Then again, the film no longer seems a favourite so I guess there-again – it would be a surprise!
It’s not just Eddie Redmayne who has the chance to win the Oscar two consecutive times, director Alejandro G. Inarritu is definitely one of the front runners to take the prestigious award for ‘The Revenant’ as best Director. Can Alejandro stun us again after bringing us ‘Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance’? If so he will be only the second director to win an Oscar two consecutive times joining John Ford who won for ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ (1940) and ‘How green was my Valley’ (1941).
Cate Blanchet – Carol
I have to admit that the nominees for best actress in a leading role, is too tough to call. There is Cate Blanchet for ‘Carol’, Brie Larson for ‘Room’, Jennifer Lawrence for ‘Joy’, Charlotte Rampling for ’45 Years’ and Saoirse Ronan for ‘Brooklyn’. Every actress in this category has given performances that will be long remembered and if I had to make a prediction it will be down to either Cate Blanchet or Brie Larson who had already won the Golden Globe for her performance. Only time will tell if she will be victorious at the Oscars.
Finally we come to the category for Best Picture, which film will take the ultimate prize? This has to be the biggest brainteaser to predict because out of the eight films nominated each one is as good as the next. We have ‘The Big Short’, ‘Bridge of Spies’, ‘Brooklyn’, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, ‘The Martian’, ‘The Revenant’, ‘Room’ and ‘Spotlight’. According to the indiewire.com, it is said that ‘Bridge of Spies’, ‘Room’ and ‘Brooklyn’ will not pose any threat to the top five. After months of speculation and predictions indiewire.com have revealed that Tom McCarthy is the frontrunner to win in the Best Picture Category for ‘Spotlight’. I myself find it hard to believe since ‘Spotlight’ didn’t do too well at the Golden Globes but that doesn’t mean it won’t succeed at the Oscars. Personally, I predict that the battle for the Best Picture category will be between ‘The Revenant’ and ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’. With ‘The Revenant’ having received a whopping twelve nominations and ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ standing proudly at ten it can tip either way.
I guess we will find out very soon, but if the Academy wants to truly surprise us then perhaps they will cast their nets further afield next time and make 2017 a year to honour truly diverse films and give the ‘Beasts of No Nation’ a place to call home (or at least an audience)!
Author : Majid Andary – Film Editor & Producer