Three screeners came in today, one from Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions and two from Fox Searchlight. They are listed alphabetically below.

Arbitrage

Stars: Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling, Nate Parker, Tim Roth
Director: Nicholas Jarecki
Premise: From IMDb: “A troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.”
Oscar Chances: Minor: The film could be a nomination contender in Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, but I don’t see it in play in many other categories and even those aren’t slam dunks.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Laura Bickford, Kevin Turen, Justin Nappi, Robert Salerno)
• Best Director (Nicholas Jarecki)
• Best Original Screenplay (Nicholas Jarecki)
• Best Actor (Richard Gere)
• Best Supporting Actress (Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling)
• Best Supporting Actor (Nate Parker, Tim Roth)
• Best Cinematography (Yorick Le Saux)

Rotten Tomatoes:
84% (113 critics; as of 11/7/12)
Metacritic:
73 out of 100 (33 critics; as of 11/7/12)

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry
Director: Benh Zeitlin
Premise: From IMDb: “Faced with both her hot-tempered father’s fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.”
Oscar Chances: Minor: While there has been a lot of talk of Quvenzhané Wallis nabbing a nod in Best Actress, the film’s chances elsewhere are muted. I could see a case being made for a surprise Best Visual Effects nomination or even an Adapted Screenplay nod, but I’m figure that will be about it.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn)
• Best Director (Benh Zeitlin)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin)
• Best Actress (Quvenzhané Wallis)
• Best Supporting Actor (Dwight Henry)
• Best Film Editing (Crockett Doob), Affonso Goncalves)
• Best Cinematography (Ben Richardson)
• Best Production Design (Alex DiGerlando, Erin Staub)
• Best Costume Design (Stephen Lewis)
• Best Original Score (Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin)
• Best Sound Mixing (Mark Leblanc, Allison Jackson, Steve Boeddecker, Zach Martin, Bob Edwards)
• Best Sound Editing (Bob Edwards)
• Best Visual Effects (Brendan Bellomo, Catherine Tate, Ray Tintori, Aniela Sidorska)

Rotten Tomatoes:
86% (163 critics; as of 11/7/12)
Metacritic:
86 out of 100 (44 critics; as of 11/7/12)

The Sessions

Stars: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy
Director: Ben Lewin
Premise: From IMDb: “A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.”
Oscar Chances: Solid: Apart from the obvious talk we’ve been hearing about Helen Hunt, John Hawkes may be the film’s strongest chance at a nomination. The film also seems like a strong bet for an Adapted Screenplay nomination, but the rest of the categories seem murkier.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Judi Levine, Stephen Nemeth, Ben Lewin)
• Best Director (Ben Lewin)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Ben Lewin)
• Best Actor (John Hawkes)
• Best Supporting Actress (Helen Hunt)
• Best Supporting Actor (William H. Macy)
• Best Film Editing (Lisa Bromwell)
• Best Cinematography (Geoffrey Simpson)
• Best Original Score (Marco Beltrami)
• Best Production Design (John Mott, Sofia Elena Jimenez)
• Best Costume Design (Justine Seymour)
• Best Sound Mixing (Marty Kasparian, Jonathan Wales)
• Best Sound Editing (Steven Iba)

Rotten Tomatoes:
95% (113 critics; as of 11/7/12)
Metacritic:
80 out of 100 (35 critics; as of 11/7/12)