With the help of the festivals, the Oscar picture became a bit clearer this month. Perhaps the biggest news is that the initial response to Harriet, which many people expected to be this year’s front runner, was decidedly lukewarm. The other big news? The Irishman, according to those who have seen it, may be Scorsese’s best yet.
Below, you’ll find my Oscar predictions for September. If you want to see how my thinking has evolved over the course of this year, be sure to check out my predictions for January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August!
Now, admittedly, there’s still an element of wishful thinking in some of the predictions below. For instance, it would be an interesting narrative development if Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy were both nominated for best actor. That doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen but both of them have received a lot of early acclaim for their yet-to-be released films this year. They’re contenders, even if their reputations may make them long shots. What’s the point of making predictions if you can’t have a little fun?
Joker is going to get big Oscar punch. I do think it’s going to probably be a bit too controversial to pick up a Best Picture nomination but I’m still going to go ahead and put down Joaquin Phoenix as a best actor nominee.
Bombshell is the new title of Jay Roach’s Fox News film. To me, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be that good and, quite frankly, Jay Roach’s films usually prove that just being obsessed with politics doesn’t necessarily mean that you have anything interesting to say about the topic. That said, if Vice (a film that even leftist film critics criticized as being heavy handed and cartoonish) could pick up a best picture nomination last year, then I’m going to assume Bombshell could do the same. With both the presidential election and possible impeachment trial looming, it’s reasonable assume that certain Academy members will be even more obsessed with politics than usual.
Meryl Streep for The Laundromat? Why not? They’ll nominate Meryl for anything, regardless of how bad the movie is.
Here are the predictions for this month!
Best Picture
1917
Bombshell
The Farewell
A Hidden Life
The Irishman
JoJo Rabbit
Marriage Story
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Parasite
Waves
Best Director
Bong Joon-ho for Parasite
Terrence Malick for A Hidden Life
Martin Scorsese for The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Taika Waititi for JoJo Rabbit
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas in Pain & Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name
Joaquin Phoenix in Joker
Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo in Harriet
Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story
Charlize Theron in Bombshell
Alfre Woodard in Clemency
Renee Zellweger in Judy
Best Supporting Actor
Sterling K. Brown in Waves
Jamie Foxx in Just Mercy
Anthony Hopkins in The Two Popes
Al Pacino in The Irishman
Brad Pitt in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Best Supporting Actress
Annette Bening in The Report
Scarlett Johansson in JoJo Rabbit
Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers
Zhao Shuzhen in The Farewell
Meryl Streep in The Laundromat
