From journalists to astronauts, mothers to gangsters, physicians to rap stars, and trans pioneers to imperators furiosa, here are the most likely contenders for the 2015 season.
Adam B. Vary / BuzzFeed News; 20th Century Fox; Universal Pictures; Focus Features; The Weinstein Company; Disney-Pixar; Warner Bros. Pictures; Lucasfilm; Fox Searchlight Pictures; Netflix; AMPAS; Ryan McVay / ThinkStock
Before looking at the movies with the best, good, decent, and merely OK chances at making an impact this awards season, it's important to note an unusual and exciting development this year. For the first time in what seems like ages, many of the strongest contenders are films fronted by and largely about women. I'm talking about films like Inside Out, Room, Brooklyn, Carol, The Danish Girl, and (though it has yet to screen anywhere yet) Joy, each of which have the chance of earning a wide array of nominations beyond the accolades expected for the women at their center.
This is not how things usually shake out. Last year, three of the Best Actress nominees were the only nominees for their respective films, and Wild only earned nods for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. But this year, there is a strong chance all five Best Actress nominees will be for films that are also nominated for Best Picture. What makes this especially delicious to watch is that several contenders for the Best Actor category could be either lone wolf nominees or fronting films that earn just a few other nods. I'm talking about films like Mr. Holmes, Black Mass, Trumbo, Legend, and Youth.
Of course, the awards season is still quite young. Although the Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Telluride, Venice, and Toronto Film Festivals have revealed dozens of possible contenders, several of the films on this list have not screened anywhere, for anyone, so their inclusion here is purely speculation. And, as always, there is the chance of a wildcard nominee popping out of nowhere. So please take this list in the spirit of good fun, like awards should be!
Clouds of Sils Maria
Possible nominations: Best Actress (Juliette Binoche), Best Supporting Actress (Kristen Stewart)
Binoche plays a famous actress planning to return to the play that launched her career. She acts her tail off, but she is a long shot for a nomination this year. Stewart, however, as her put-upon assistant, has already made awards history with this film, as the first American actress to ever win at France's César Awards, for Best Supporting Actress. This is also an incredible, beguiling film about what it means to be famous and successful in show business, a theme that brought Birdman all those Oscars last year, so who knows!
When it was released: April 10
Sundance Selects
Ex Machina
Possible nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Alicia Vikander), Best Supporting Actor (Oscar Isaac), Best Original Screenplay (Alex Garland), some craft and technical categories (Cinematography, Production Design, Visual Effects, etc.)
Science fiction used to be a nonstarter at the Oscars, but Gravity, Her, and Interstellar have helped elevate the genre's credibility with the academy (something that will benefit The Martian even more). Plus, last year, The Grand Budapest Hotel was a helpful reminder that movies that open in the first half of the year can still make a big impact on awards season, and there is a genuine contingent of the academy that devours this kind of gorgeous, high-end, brainy film and will vote for it. Vikander's breakout year between this film and The Danish Girl makes her the most obvious acting nominee, but Isaac has become so ubiquitous lately that I wonder if he might snag a supporting nod for his performance as a malevolent bro-tech genius — if for the disco scene alone.
When it was released: April 10
A24
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