Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Oscars 2016: What Lies Ahead?

Hello, Bloggers, since the 87th Annual Academy Awards are already behind us, why not take an early look at the 88th Annual Academy Awards and see what films, and actors, could easily make their way to the big show. Let's take a look:

I'll start off with members of the Oscar club who could make their return. After Lincoln, Steven Spielberg looks to strike again with St. James Place, a film based on a true story about the 1960 U-2 incident starring two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks, as well as Oscar nominees Amy Ryan and Alan Alda. Plus, the film is co-written by the Coen Brothers. Quentin Tarantino looks to venture back into Western film territory with The Hateful Eight starring Samuel L. Jackson, which could do for stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kurt Russell what Pulp Fiction did for John Travolta and Bruce Willis. But how about a director that hasn't nabbed a statue yet? After American Hustle went home 0-10, David O. Russell might just return with a vengeance with the biopic Joy starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, and Bradley Cooper, which is about a housewife named Joy Mangano who invented the Miracle Mop. While the Ashton Kutcher vehicle Jobs failed to impress audiences and critics, the Danny Boyle-directed Steve Jobs looks to make a splash with Michael Fassbender taking the titular role and Aaron Sorkin penning the script. Interestingly, the film co-stars Seth Rogen and his frequent collaborator Jonah Hill scored his first Oscar nomination for the Sorkin-penned Moneyball. Could the same thing happen here? They do love when comedians go serious.

 Speaking of directors that haven't gotten their due yet, we also have Sea of Trees, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring recent Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey and fellow Oscar club members Ken Watanabe and Naomi Watts, who looks to have a banner year with this, Insurgent, While We're Young, Three Generations, and Demolition, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee. Gyllenhaal might be going for another round after getting snubbed for Nightcrawler with not just Demolition, but Southpaw, where he physically transforms himself by putting on muscle to play a boxer, and Everest, which is based off a real-life expedition. After Cate Blanchett had a quiet 2014, Blanchett is sure to potentially have a banner year with the Todd Haynes-directed Carol, where she plays a lesbian in the 1950's, Cinderella, the Terrence Malick-directed Knight of Cups, and Truth, which focuses on the last days of news anchor Dan Rather.

Now onto talent that has yet to join the Oscar club. Every year, in the actress categories, they like to shine a light on an up-and-comer. This year, that up-and-comer could be Alicia Vikander, who has quite a bit of films set for release this year: Ex Machina, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, Seventh Son, Tulip Fever, Adam Jones, The Light Between Oceans and The Danish Girl. The last two might garner her awards attention. But her Oceans co-star Michael Fassbender might have a good Oscar year with not just Oceans and Steve Jobs, but the Weinstein-produced adaptation of Macbeth. But how about an actress that has been around for quite a while yet never garnered this type of attention? Rachel McAdams, who has fallen off the radar recently, returns to the screen with a vengeance in 2015, with films like Aloha, Southpaw, and Spotlight, which deals with a Massachusetts Catholic sex abuse scandal and co-stars Oscar club members Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo. Plus, she'll also have the second season of True Detective. 

So, those are my thoughts on what kind of films we will probably see this upcoming awards season. Even though the next Oscars aren't until next year, I will periodically cover it until we get closer to when it takes place. Until then, thanks for reading and I look forward to yet another Oscar season!

No comments:

Post a Comment