Lisa Marie’s Oscar Predictions For August

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, it’s that time of the month again! Here are my Oscar predictions for August!

This month, the biggest development in the Oscar race was Dune Part Two being moved to a 2024 release. With no end in sight for the SAG/AFTRA strike, it wouldn’t surprise me if more big productions — like The Color Purple — ended up following Dune to 2024. (One film that will not be moving back is Killers of the Flower Moon, as everyone knows that Martin Scorsese is the true star of that film.) With so many films potentially moving back, this Oscar race could end up paralleling the 2020 race, in which a lot of movie that might otherwise not be nominated moved into the slots that would have otherwise been reserved for the big studio productions. (Regardless of their individual strengths, both Nomadland and CODA owed a bit of their victory to the way COVID disrupted their Oscar races.)

Below are my predictions for August. Be sure to also check out my predictions for March and April and May and June and July!!

Best Picture

Air

Barbie

The Color Purple

Ferrari

The Holdovers

The Killer

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

The Zone of Interest

Best Director

Greta Gerwig for Barbie

Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest

Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer

Alexander Payne for The Holdovers

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper in Maestro

Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon

Colman Domingo in Rustin

Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer

Best Actress

Helen Mirren in Golda

Carey Mulligan in Maestro

Natalie Portman in May December

Margot Robbie in Barbie

Kate Winslet in Lee

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon in Oppenheimer

Robert De Niro in Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey, Jr. in Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling in Barbie

Jesse Plemons in Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer

Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon

Taraji P. Henson in The Color Purple

Julianne Moore in May December

Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special David Fincher Edition

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 61st birthday to David Fincher! It’s time for….

4 Shots from 4 David Fincher Films

Seven (1995, dir by David Fincher. DP: Darius Khondji)

Fight Club (1999, dir by David Fincher, DP: Jeff Croneweth)

Zodiac (2007, dir by David Fincher, DP: Harris Savides)

Mank (2020, dir by David Fincher, DP: Erik Messerschmidt)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Nicolas Roeg Edition

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today would have been the 95th birthday of the great and enigmatic director, Nicolas Roeg. As both a cinematographer and a director, Roeg was responsible for some of the most visually striking films ever made. Today, we honor his legacy with….

4 Shots From 4 Nicolas Roeg Films

Walkabout (1971, dir by Nicolas Roeg, DP: Nicolas Roeg)

Don’t Look Now (1973, dir by Nicolas Roeg, DP: Anthony Richmond)

The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976, dir by Nicholas Roeg, DP: Anthony Richmond)

Insignificance (1985, dir by Nicolas Roeg, DP: Peter Hannan)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Wim Wenders Edition

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 78th birthday to the great German director, Wim Wenders! It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Wim Wenders Films

The American Friend (1976, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Paris, Texas (1984, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Wings of Desire (1987, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Until the End of the World (1991, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special Alfred Hitchcock Edition

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

124 years ago, the master of suspense was born in England. Today, we honor the career and legacy of the great Alfred Hitchock with….

6 Shots From 6 Alfred Hitchcock Films

Rebecca (1940, dir by Alfred Hitchcock, DP: George Barnes)

Shadow of a Doubt (1943, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DP: Joseph A. Valentine)

Notorious (1946, dir by Alfred Hitchcock, DP: Ted Tetzlaff)

Vertigo (1958, dir by Alfred Hitchcock, DP: Robert Burks)

North by Northwest (1959, dir by Alfred Hitchcock, DP: Robert Burks)

Psycho (1960, dir by Alfred Hitchcock, DP: John L. Russell)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sam Fuller Edition

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On this date, 111 years ago, Samuel Fuller was born in Massachusetts. Before he became a filmmaker, Fuller was a crime reporter and a pulp novelist. His films were often melodramatic and unapologetically sordid. They were also often dismissed when they were initially released but almost all of them were subsequently rediscovered by audiences who appreciated Fuller’s striking visuals and the often subversive subtext to be found underneath the surface of his genre films.

Today, we celebrate Fuller’s legacy with….

4 Shots From 4 Sam Fuller Films

Forty Guns (1957, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Joseph Biroc)

Shock Corridor (1963, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Stanley Cortez

The Naked Kiss (1964, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Stanley Cortez)

The Big Red One (1980, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Adam Greenberg)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Stuart Gordon Edition

Posted on August 11, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

76 years ago on this date, director Stuart Gordon was born in Chicago, Illinois. Gordon went from experimental theater to feature films and was responsible for some of the most visually memorable horror films of the past century. Perhaps no other American director was a strong interpreter of the work of H.P. Lovecraft than Stuart Gordon.

Today, we honor Stuart Gordon with….

4 Shots From 4 Stuart Gordon Films

Re-Animator (1985, dir by Stuart Gordon, DP: Marc Ahlberg)

Dolls (1987, dir by Stuart Gordon, DP: Marc Ahlberg)

The Pit and the Pendulum (1991, dir by Stuart Gordon. DP: Adolfo Bartoli)

Castle Freak (1994, dir by Stuart Gordon, DP: Mario Vulpiani)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Nicholas Ray Edition

Posted on August 7, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Director and screenwriter Nicholas Ray was born 112 years ago today, in Galesville, Wisconsin. He would go on to become one of the most influential American directors of all time, making independently-minded films that celebrated rebels and iconoclasts. The directors of the French New Wave loved him and for good reason.

Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of Nicholas Ray with….

4 Shots From 4 Nicholas Ray Films

They Live By Night (1948, dir by Nicholas Ray, DP: George E. Diskant)

In A Lonely Place (1950, dir by Nicholas Ray, DP: Burnett Guffey)

Rebel Without A Cause (1955, dir by Nicholas Ray, DP: Ernest Haller)

Bigger Than Life (1956, dir by Nicholas Ray, DP: Joseph MacDonald)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Wes Craven Edition

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

84 years ago today, Wes Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Craven started his career as an academic, teaching high school English. However, realizing that there was more money to be made in the film industry, Craven changed careers. By his own admission, he started his career directing “hardcore, X-rated films” under a pseudonym and it has been rumored that he was a member of the crew of the first “porno chic” film, Deep Throat. Eventually, Craven broke into the mainstream with some of the most influential and often controversial horror films ever made. From being denounced for the original Last House On The Left to changing the face of horror with A Nightmare on Elm Street to becoming something of a revered statesman and a beloved pop cultural institution with the Scream franchise, Wes Craven had a truly fascinating career.

In honor his films and legacy, it’s time for….

4 Shots from 4 Wes Craven Films

The Last House On The Left (1972, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Victor Hurwitz)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Jacques Haitkin)

New Nightmare (1994, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Mark Irwin)

Scream (1996, dir by Wes Craven, DP: Mark Irwin)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special J. Lee Thompson Edition

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

109 years ago today, the director J. Lee Thompson was born in Bristol, England. Though he never quite got the respect that he deserved while he was alive (though he did receive an Oscar nomination for The Guns of Navarone and later won fame as one of the few directors that Charles Bronson actually liked), J. Lee Thompson has since been recognized as a master of genre filmmaking and as someone who was not afraid to add a little subversive subtext to his films. From The Guns of Navarone to the later sequels of Planet of the Apes to working with Charles Bronson and Robert Mitchum, Thompson was one of the best.

In honor of the man and his legacy, here are….

4 Shots From 4 J. Lee Thompson Films