For anyone who loves going to the cinema, the past year has been a real treat with more to come in the next few weeks. For example, “War Horse”, directed by Steven Spielberg, premiered in London on Sunday 9 January with the Margaret Thatcher Biopic “The Iron Lady” following on Tuesday 10 January, also in London town. Also in the same week, the Academy Awards Nominations Polls will close on, inauspicious for some, Friday 13 January.
There are 4 categories that represent the Blue Riband of cinema. They are Best Picture (of course), Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. Beyond that there are a myriad of other categories which make viewing the ceremony itself, due to take place on Sunday 26 February, a bit of an epic even for ardent film lovers.
The Academy has changed its voting rules for this, the 84th Academy Awards presentation, making it more difficult to predict the nominees. With the polls due to close on Friday 13 January and the announcement of nominees to be made on Tuesday 24 January, speculation is rife about who will be attending the beauty parade of the nominees’ lunch in early February.
In terms of Best Picture, no one would doubt that The Artist will feature in the list. This French and largely silent movie featuring previously unknown actors, is a major contender and indeed is reckoned by the bookmakers to be the leading film in the race with odds offered of 8/15 by William Hill. The film won 6 Golden Globe nominations, the most of 2011. Its Director, Michel Hazanavicius, will undoubtedly also be on the list for Best Director. Alexander Payne’s The Descendants is also highly likely to be on the list (at best odds of 9/2 from Paddy Power), as is Martin Scorsese’s imaginative film Hugo, at 9/1 with the same bookmaker. War Horse is fancied by the bookmakers, with SkyBET offerering odds of 13/2, but industry insiders reckon that this film will not be a major winner this year. Other possibilities include The Help, Midnight in Paris, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Moneyball.
For Best Director, you would do well to look to the Directors Guild for guidance. Since 1948, winners of the Directors Guild award have featured as Best Director at the Oscars in 58 out of 64 occasions. Nominations for the Directors Guild award, winner not yet announced, include Martin Scorsese for Hugo, Woody Allan for Midnight in Paris, Alexander Payne for The Descendants, David Fincher for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Michel Hazanvicius for The Artist. Interestingly, Stephen Spielberg does not get a look in, nor does Terence Malick for The Tree of Life. Again, the money is on Michel Hazanavicius with bookies William Hill placing him at evens in the running, with Alexander Payne at 3/1, Martin Scorsese at 9/2 and Steven Spielberg at 4/1.
The likely nominations for Best Actor include some of the most fancied men on the planet. Step up George Clooney (for The Descendants), Brad Pitt (Moneyball), and Leonardo deCaprio (J Edgar). Of these 3 stellar talents, only Geoge Clooney has previously won an Oscar and this was for Best Supporting Actor so these men are hungry for a win. Jean Dujardin is also in the running for The Artist. But could it be Michael Fassbender’s year? This amazingly fearless and talented actor ‘s performance in Shame could upset the applecart for the three glamazons. Likewise, the immensely talented Brit Gary Oldman performed out of his socks in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The smart money is on George Clooney who is offered at odds of 10/11 by bookies William Hill with Jean Dujardin at odds of 15/8, Leonardo deCaprio at 3/1 and Brad Pitt at 8/1. Michael Fassbender and Gary Oldman remain outside chances at odds of 12/1 and 10/1 respectively. We can but hope!
And now for the ladies...Meryl Streep is certain to be nominated for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. This would represent the 17th nomination in her illustrious career. She has previously won 2 Oscars and she is leading lady for this one too with odds of 8/11 offered by bookmakers Stan James. Michelle Williams is one of the leading actresses of her generation and her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn was outstanding. Bookmakers William Hill reckon that she is very close to Meryl Streep in the running, at odds of 2/1. Viola Davis, star of The Help, is also a contender (at odds of 5/2 from Ladbrokes) as is Tilda Swinton for We Need To Talk About Kevin. Tilda Swinton is gaining ground on the others, a fact confirmed by her recent nominations for a Screen Actors Guild award, a Golden Globe award AND a Critics Choice award and she is offered at odds of 7/1 by bet365. Youngster Rooney Mara also took on a challenging role as star of the English-speaking re-make of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (odds of 10/1 with bookies William Hill). Other nominations may include previous Oscar winner Charlize Theron for Young Adult (14/1 with bookmaker Stan James)and Glenn Close for Albert Noble (7/1 with the same bookie).
The razzmatazz of the Oscars is enormous and the lead-up will be full of incident, as always, but Academy Award members have to look beyond the hype as they share a massive responsibility to reward the best of the best with the most significant awards in the movie business. The four Oscars – for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress – are the lynchpins of the 84th Academy Awards ceremony. Take your seat on Sunday 26 February and enjoy the show!
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