Netflix
This week, the nominees for the 2019 Academy Awards were announced in Los Angeles ahead of the ceremony later next month. The candidates for the big award, Best Picture, were slightly predictable with most expected to be included on the shortlist. We thought we’d look at the front runners and try to predict which way the Academy will swing on the 24th February when all the awards will be dished out.
The eight films nominated for Best Picture this year are; music biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut A Star Is Born, Spike Lee’s Cannes favourite BlacKkKlansman, Netflix’s first ever nomination Roma, political drama Vice from Adam McKay, British drama-comedy The Favourite, Peter Farelly’s Green Book, and the first ever superhero movie to score a nomination, Marvel’s Black Panther. But who could walk away with the top gong?
Upon its initial release, A Star is Born has held as the favourite to win Best Picture; but now that nomination day has come and gone, filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma has grabbed the mantle as favourite, nestled in its 10 overall nominations. However, Bradley Cooper hasn’t been nominated in the Best Director category, so A Star is Born may get a little traction because of that fact. Green Book won over movie-goers with its funny and poignant moments throughout, and TIFF audiences absolutely loved it when it debuted over there, but it might sway a little too far into comedy realms for voters for the big gong. Expect it to score well elsewhere.
Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman won big in Cannes back in May when it received its world premiere – it even picked up the prestigious Grand Prix award over there and a huge $89 million at the worldwide box-office from a rumoured budget of just $15 million. Will it surprise all and take home the Oscar too?
Another nominee is Marvel’s Black Panther – an excellent piece of work – but a superhero movie has never been nominated for an Oscar before, let alone won one. Looking at the current odds, it is a huge outsider, but who knows – we’d love it to win.
A huge surprise is the presence of Bohemian Rhapsody in the nominee list. The film hadn’t been as well received as some on this – though we loved it – but Rami Malek’s stunning performance -a cert for actor? – could aid it to score here.
The Favourite has had an excellent reception all over the world since its release in the early part of this year, and despite its dark humour, and like it or love it tone, it stands a great chance, particularly because of the performances from its central trio of actors, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone. But let’s not forget Vice, the drama-comedy from Adam McKay. It has, of course, got a slight chance at scoring the top award, but its political tone may sway voters.
We’ll find out who does manage to win the Best Picture Academy Award when it and the rest of the gongs are dished out on 24th February.
