91st Oscars: Screener Watch

Instead of posting every time I receive a screener, I’m going to try and post once a week (starting now) a list of all screeners I receive during the prior week. Below is everything I’ve received to date.

Beautiful Boy

Oscar Chances: Uncertain: The film received barely-positive reviews in spite of becoming an early contender upon its announcement. Starring Oscar nominees Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet, the film’s heavy drama sounded like something right up Oscar voters’ alleys. However, the films middling reviews have become an albatross around its neck. While Carell and Chalamet are still in contention for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively, the film just doesn’t seem to have enough traction to succeed beyond those categories and even those categories are no longer certain.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner)
Directing (Felix van Groeningen)
Adapted Screenplay (Luke Davies, Felix van Groeningen)
Actor (Steve Carell)
Supporting Actor (Timothée Chalamet)
Supporting Actress (Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan)
Cinematography (Ruben Impens)
Film Editing (Nico Leunen)
Original Song (“Treasure” – Sampha, Sampha Sisay)
Production Design (Ethan Tobman, Patrick Sullivan, Jennifer Lukehart)
Costume Design (Emma Potter)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Jean Black, Rolf Keppler, Elisa Marsha, Frida Aradottir, Rita Troy)
Sound Editing (Elmo Weber, Ulrika Akander)
Sound Mixing (Lisa Pinero, Elmo Weber, Jeremy Peirson)

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Oscar Chances: Good: When the trailer first came out for this film, it looked like the kind of slight seriocomedy that Academy voters could embrace with Melissa McCarthy getting her most subdued role to date and longtime character actor Richard E. Grant finally getting awards traction. That was before anyone saw the film and it turned out that critics love it. That certainly bolsters the films chances at the Oscar. While I don’t see Best Picture as a strong potential, McCarthy, Grant, and the film’s screenplay are all certainly major players this year. Matter of fact, I could see a case where the highly respected Grant pulls a J.K. Simmons and runs the table of precursors into an Oscar of his own.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Anne Carey, Amy Nauiokas, David Yarnell)
Director (Marielle Heller)
Actress (Melissa McCarthy)
Supporting Actor (Richard E. Grant)
Supporting Actress (Dolly Wells, Jane Curtin, Anna Deavere Smith)
Adapted Screenplay (Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty)
Film Editing (Anne McCabe)
Cinematography (Brandon Trost)
Production Design (Stephen Carter, Sarah E. McMillan)
Costume Design (Arjun Bhasin)
Sound Mixing (Joseph White Jr, Damian Volpe, Roberto Fernandez)
Sound Editing (Damian Volpe)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Kalaadevi, Sarah Stamp)
Original Score (Nate Heller)

Cold War

Oscar Chances: Modest: It’s rare that foreign language films can cross the language barrier and earn regular Oscar nominations. This is Poland’s submission for Oscar consideration for Best Foreign Language Film. I suspect it will contend there, but in no other categories.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Tanya Seghatchian, Ewa Puszczynska)
Directing (Pawel Pawlikowski)
Original Screenplay (Pawel Pawlikowski, Janusz Glowacki, Piotr Borkowski)
Actor (Tomasz Kot)
Actress (Joanna Kulig)
Supporting Actor (Borys Szyc)
Supporting Actress (Agata Kulesza)
Cinematography (Lukasz Zal)
Film Editing (Jaroslaw Kaminski)
Production Design (Katarzyna Sobanska, Marcel Slawisnki, Anna Woloszczuk-Banasiak)
Costume Design (Aleksandra Staszko)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Waldemar Pokromski, Miroslawa Wojtczak, Anna Niuta Kieszczynska, Tomasz Sielecki)
Sound Editing (Maciej Pawlowski, Lukasz Swierzawski)
Sound Mixing (Maciej Pawlowski, Miroslaw Makowski)

Colette

Oscar Chances: Unlikely: It has to be said that whenever Keira Knightley puts on period garb she’s a contender with two nominations under her belt in such roles. Yet, everything she does doesn’t result in Oscar nominations as her high profile failures in Atonement, The Duchess, and A Dangerous Method indicate. This film, which features the prominent lesbian writer, sounded like the kind of movie that Oscar voters could embrace. Yet, the film hasn’t built on its strong reviews and has largely been missed throughout Oscar season. If Knightley can pick up traction from precursor voters, she could still emerge from the race with a nomination, but I’m doubtful.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, Michel Litvak, Gary Michael Walters)
Director (Wash Westmoreland)
Actress (Keira Knightley)
Supporting Actor (Dominic West, Robert Pugh)
Supporting Actress (Denise Gough, Fiona Shaw, Eleanor Tomlinson)
Adapted Screenplay (Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland, Rebecca Lenkiewicz)
Cinematography (Giles Nuttgens)
Film Editing (Lucia Zucchetti)
Production Design (Michael Carlin, Lisa Chugg)
Costume Design (Andrea Flesch)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Ivana Primorac)
Sound Mixing (Csaba Major, Robert Farr)
Sound Editing (Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley)
Original Score (Thomas Ades)
Visual Effects (Sheila Wickens)

Crazy Rich Asians

Oscar Chances: Unlikely: A sleeper hit this summer, Crazy Rich Asians is a beautifully made film that features characters not often seen in wide release at the American cineplex. Those successes, plus the solid reviews could help bolster the film’s Oscar chances. While Adapted Screenplay is its best opportunity, Production Design and Supporting Actress could also be a possibility. However, considering how sleepers like this have cratered with Oscar voters, I wouldn’t count on too much success for the film.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, John Penotti)
Director (Jon M. Chu)
Adapted Screenplay (Peter Chiarelli, Adele Lim)
Actor (Henry Golding)
Actress (Constance Wu)
Supporting Actor (Ken Jeong)
Supporting Actress (Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina)
Cast (Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Harry Shum Jr, Ken Jeong, Michelle Yeoh)
Cinematography (Vanja Cernjul)
Production Design (Nelson Coates, Andrew Baseman)
Film Editing (Myron Kerstein)
Costume Design (Mary Vogt)
Sound Editing (John Marquis, Nancy Nugent Title)
Sound Mixing (Tony Johnson, Scott Millan, John Marquis)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Heike Merker)
Original Score (Brian Tyler)

Disobedience

Oscar Chances: Unlikely: This film has flown far under the radar. While critics have been positive about it, the film has gained almost no traction with Oscar voters. Unless critics pick it up and run with it, I expect it to go unrecognized.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Frida Torresblanco, Ed Guiney, Rachel Weisz)
Director (Sebastian Lelio)
Actress (Rachel Weisz)
Supporting Actor (Alessandro Nivola)
Supporting Actress (Rachel McAdams)
Adapted Screenplay (Sebastian Lelio, Rebecca Lenkiewicz)
Cinematography (Danny Cohen)
Film Editing (Nathan Nugent)
Production Design (Sarah Finlay, Alexandra Slade)
Costume Design (Odile Dicks-Mireaux)
Sound Mixing (Steve Phillips, Ben Baird)
Sound Editing (Sean O’Shea)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Marese Langan)
Original Score (Matthew Herbert)

Eighth Grade

Oscar Chances: Good: The festival circuit saw several films rise to become contenders, but this is probably the smallest and most notable to get elevated. Incredibly well reviewed, the film has been quietly building support and with critics groups likely to give the film plenty of attention, at least for writer/director Bo Burnham, the film has to be considered at least a strong contender for Best Original Screenplay. The rest of the film doesn’t have a lot of hope in other categories, though a case could be made for a stealth Best Picture citation.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture
Director (Bo Burnham)
Original Screenplay (Bo Burnham)
Actress (Elsie Fisher)
Supporting Actor (Josh Hamilton, Jake Ryan)
Film Editing (Jennifer Lilly)
Cinematography (Andrew Wehde)
Production Design (Sam Lisenco, Henriette Vittadini)
Costume Design (Mitchell Travers)
Original Score (Anna Meredith)
Sound Mixing (Skip Lievsay, Larry Zipf, Matt McLarty)
Sound Editing (Skip Lievsay)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Heidi Pakdel, Diana Sikes)

First Reformed

Oscar Chances: Uncertain: This is another film that released on the indie circuit that has picked up a lot of support from critics. Oscar buzz, however, has not bee building and while it’s possible Paul Schrader could be a nominee for Best Original Screenplay, the film’s chances outside of that are slim.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture
Director (Paul Schrader)
Original Screenplay (Paul Schrader)
Actor (Ethan Hawke)
Supporting Actor (Cedric Kyles)
Supporting Actress (Amanda Seyfried)
Film Editing (Benjamin Rodriguez Jr)
Cinematography (Alexander Dynan)
Production Design (Grace Yuan)
Costume Design (Olga Mill)
Original Score (Lustmord)
Sound Mixing (Jerry Stein, Martin Czembor)
Sound Editing (Ruy Garcia)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Eldo Ray Estes, Robin Day)
Visual Effects (Brian Houlihan, John Mangia, Brooke Lyndon-Stanford, Justin Cornish)

Free Solo

Oscar Chances: Good: This is one of the best reviewed documentaries of the year, so it will definitely be a contender.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Documentary Feature

The Great Buddha

Oscar Chances: Unlikely: This documentary hasn’t gotten a lot of buzz surrounding it, suggesting it will probably be forgotten unless a segment of the documentarians in the Academy go gaga for it.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

None

Hereditary

Oscar Chances: Unlikely: The Academy doesn’t love horror as much as it used to, but recent years have seen more consideration given the genre. That said, Toni Collette is the candidate that has the most chance at a nomination and she’s struggling for a spot in the tight Best Actress race.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture
Director (Ari Aster)
Original Screenplay (Ari Aster)
Actress (Toni Collette)
Supporting Actor (Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff)
Supporting Actress (Ann Dowd, Milly Shapiro)
Film Editing (Jennifer Lame, Lucian Johnston)
Cinematography (Pawel Pogorzelski)
Production Design (Grace Yun, Brian Lives)
Costume Design (Olga Mill)
Original Score (Colin Stetson)
Sound Mixing (Lewis Goldstein, Thomas Ryan, Steve Laneri)
Sound Editing (Lewis Goldstein)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Greg Moon, Rockets “Lora” Laing)
Visual Effects (Eran Dinur, Lucien Harriot)

Isle of Dogs

Oscar Chances: Excellent: There’s little doubt that this Wes Anderson film will take a spot in the Best Animated Feature category. Elsewhere, it likely won’t figure, but there’s little chance it’s passed over there. Winning might be a bit more challenging, but depending on the final nominees, it could ride a wave of critics’ support to take the day.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Wes Anderson, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, Scott Rudin)
Animated Feature (Wes Anderson, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, Scott Rudin)
Director (Wes Anderson)
Original Screenplay (Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Kunichi Nomura)
Original Score (Alexandre Desplat)
Production Design (Adam Stockhausen, Paul Harrod)
Film Editing (Andrew Weisblum, Ralph Foster, Edward Bursch)
Cinematography (Tristan Oliver)
Sound Mixing (Christopher Scarabosio, Wayne Lemmer)
Sound Editing (Wayne Lemmer, Christopher Scarabosio)
Visual Effects (Tim Ledbury, Lev Kolobov)

Leave No Trace

Oscar Chances: Unlikely: When it was released, the film was incredibly well reviewed with Ben Foster getting the best notices of his career. Yet, the film has been out awhile and there hasn’t been much buzz for it. That suggests the film and Foster specifically may struggle for recognition.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini)
Director (Debra Granik)
Actor (Ben Foster)
Supporting Actor (Jeff Kober)
Supporting Actress (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Dale Dickey)
Adapted Screenplay (Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini)
Cinematography (Michael McDonough)
Film Editing (Jane Rizzo)
Production Design (Chad Keith, Vanessa Knoll)
Costume Design (Erin Orr)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Anne Sellery, Stuart Gordon Tribble)
Sound Mixing (Christian Dolan, Roberto Fernandez, Damian Volpe)
Sound Editing (Damian Volpe)
Original Song (“Moon Boat” – Kendra Smith, Bryan Norcunas, Alex Peffer)
Original Score (Dickon Hinchliffe)

The Old Man & the Gun

Oscar Chances: Uncertain: When it was released, everyone thought that Robert Redford was a slam dunk Oscar nominee for his purportedly final performance. Yet, the film never gained traction and appears to be slipping off the radar. While it’s still possible for Sissy Spacek to pick up a Best Supporting Actress nomination in a light field, Redford has a lot of competition that he may not be able to overcome.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (James D. Stern, Dawn Ostroff, Jeremy Steckler, Anthony Mastromauro, Bill Holderman, Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Robert Redford)
Director (David Lowery)
Adapted Screenplay (David Lowery)
Actor (Robert Redford)
Supporting Actor (Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, Tom Waits)
Supporting Actress (Sissy Spacek, Tika Sumpter)
Film Editing (Lisa Zeno Churgin)
Cinematography (Joe Anderson)
Production Design (Scott Kuzio, Olivia Peebles)
Costume Design (Annell Brodeur)
Sound Mixing (Geoff Maxwell, Johnny Marshall)
Sound Editing (Johnny Marshall)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Leo “Corey” Castellano, Sara Ann Callaway, Laine Trzinski, Scott H. Reeder)
Original Score (Daniel Hart)

A Star Is Born

Oscar Chances: Unlikely: Did anyone really need a third remake of this classic Hollywood tale? Apparently, the answer was yes and to everyone’s surprise, Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut was celebrated by critics and audiences. The booming box office might have peaked a little too early as the bloom is coming off of the rose, but at this point, there is little else in the film’s way of getting numerous Oscar nominations.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper, Lynette Howell Taylor)
Director (Bradley Cooper)
Adapted Screenplay (Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters)
Actor (Bradley Cooper)
Actress (Lady Gaga)
Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott)
Ensemble Cast (Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Rafi Gavron, Anthony Ramos, Dave Chappelle, Sam Elliott)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Ve Neill, Lori McCoy-Bell)
Cinematography (Matthew Libatique)
Film Editing (Jay Cassidy)
Production Design (Karen Murphy, Ryan Watson)
Sound Mixing (Steve Morrow, Tom Dzanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder)
Original Song (“Shallow” – Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt)
Costume Desing (Erin Benach)

A Quiet Place

Oscar Chances: Uncertain: This critically acclaimed horror film was also a box office hit, which gives it the Get Out berth at this year’s Oscars. Unfortunately, the film isn’t performing nearly at the level of Get Out in terms of buzz and unless critics decide to heap boatlods of praise on it, its chances are minimal. Emily Blunt is a weak contender. Really, he film’s three major opportunities are Original Score, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller)
Director (John Krasinski)
Original Screenplay (Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, John Krasinski)
Supporting Actress (Emily Blunt, Millicent SImmonds)
Supporting Actor (John Krasinski, Noah Jupe)
Cinematography (Charlotte Bruus Christensen)
Production Design (Jeffrey Beecroft, Heather Loeffler)
Film Editing (Christopher Tellefsen)
Costume Design (Kasia Walicka Maimone)
Original Score (Marco Beltrami)
Sound Mixing (Michael Barosky, Brandon Proctor)
Sound Editing (Ethan Van Der Ryn, Erik Aadahl)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Evelyne Noraz, Annemarie Bradley)
Visual Effects (Scott Farrar)

What They Had

Oscar Chances: Uncertain: While some have floated the idea of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Robert Forster, the film’s minimal buzz isn’t going to help him break into an already veteran-heavy field. That said, Forster has a nomination under his belt, so it’s not inconceivable, but he’s going to have to get major support from critics to pull it off.
Campaign-Proposed Categories

Picture (Keith Kjarval, Bill Holderman, Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa, Alex Saks, Tyler Jackson)
Director (Elizabeth Chomko)
Actress (Hilary Swank)
Supporting Actor (Michael Shannon, Robert Forster)
Supporting Actress (Blythe Danner, Taissa Farmiga)
Original Screenplay (Elizabeth Chomko)
Cinematography (Roberto Schaefer)
Film Editing (Tom McArdle)
Production Design (Chris Stull, Caitlin Laingen)
Makeup and Hairstyling (Linda Dowds, Christopher Fulton)
Sound Mixing (Chris Parker, Dennis Leonard)
Sound Editing (Dennis Leonard)
Original Song (“Are You There” – Aoife O’Donovan, Kate Chomko, Elizabeth Chomko)
Original Score (Danny Mulhern)

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Oscar Chances: Good: Another of the best reviewed documentaries of the year. This one is sure to run hard against RGB for this year’s critics prizes and will be in line for an Oscar nomination. This is the kind of film that were it not to get nominated for Best Documentary Feature, a lot of angry people would be calling for still more reforms with the Academy’s documentary branch.
Campaign-Proposed Categories