Starting this week through the end of the year, I’ll be taking a look at each week’s slate of award contenders and identifying which categories mark their best shots at a nomination. It may only be early October, but OscarWatchers have a lot to choose from this weekend.
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Best Bets
Best Actress, Anne Hathaway
The 25-year-old fashion plate and recent tabloid staple is thoroughly convincing as an out-of-rehab troublemaker.
Best Original Screenplay, Jenny Lumet
The first produced script from the daughter of filmmaker Sidney Lumet is full of memorable moments—some dark, some light, all truthful.
Possible
Best Supporting Actress, Rosemarie DeWitt
Fresh off her turn as Jon Hamm’s mistress on Season 1 of Mad Men, DeWitt is the perfect foil to Hathaway as the titular bride-to-be.
Long shot
Best Supporting Actress, Debra Winger
The three-time nominee is terrific as the film’s main mother figure but may lack the screen time to score a nod.
FLASH OF GENIUS
Long shot
Best Actor, Greg Kinnear
Kinnear anchors the man-against-corporation drama with ease, but the film’s lukewarm reviews don’t bode well.
BLINDNESS
Long shot
Best Actress, Julianne Moore
One of these years she’ll get her fifth nomination (and surely she’ll actually win eventually). But there just may be too many other strong lead female contenders this year.
RELIGULOUS
Possible
Best Documentary
If Michael Moore can win an Oscar, surely Bill Maher can snag a nomination for his wildly entertaining skewering of organized religion, right? It’ll all depend on how faith-based the Academy is.
addCredit(” Hathaway: Bob Vergara; Kinnear: Kerry Hayes; Moore: Alexandre Erme”)
More Dave Karger = more time spent visiting this site and reading your magazine. Thank you, EW, for finally providing a forum for your intelligent and insightful movie industry reporter.
What about Emma Thompson for “Brideshead Revisited”? I’m sure there might be more possibilities, but it does have the making for a Best Supporting Actress nod from what I saw.
Director – add Fernando Mierelles (Brazil) for Blindness, was nominated for the brilliant “City of God”, one of the best… he deserves an Oscar some day … the Jman
Aw, c’mon now! Isn’t it just a tad ridiculous to appraise a movie’s Oscar
“buzz” on its opening day? Give the critics a chance to pass judgment. Give movie audiences a chance to pass judgment. At least wait to see what happens during the “all-important” opening weekend. A movie’s “buzz” is manufactured by agents and publicity departments. It means nothing until those who were not involved in its production have had an opportunity to weigh in.
Debra Winger could win. Remember Dame Judy Dench won for her small apppearance in Shkespeare in Love so it could happen.
I have a HUGE crush on Dave Karger! Okay, I’ve heard mixed reviews on Blindness but maybe Gael Garcia Bernal will get a Supporting Actor Nod.
hey Jasper, i say the same thing, i have the hugest crush on Dave, i mean, huge… huger than huge.
MESMERIZING!Angelina Jolie did a great acting in “Changeling” she will definitely nominated and win her 2nd Oscar. Congratulation Angie you deserve it! One word: BRAVO!
Debra Winger has always been a terrific actress with a long over due Oscar (Glenn Close too).
Julianne Moore is going the same path as those 2 actresses mentioned before.
If Beatrice Straight could win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her eight minute performance in “Network,” I’m sure Debra Winger could have a shot!
I still say that one of the strongest perfomances of the year is Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City. It’s comedic, emotional and heartbreaking. She deserves to be in the final 5.
I just saw RACHEL GETTING MARRIED yesterday. While all the women mentioned were great, the performance I found most moving was Bill Irwin’s as the father. I hope he at least gets discussed by Oscar taste-makers and Academy voters. His performance was every bit as raw as Anne Hathaway’s, while his character was a million times warmer. I know that’s weird to talk about “rawness” and “warmth” in the same performance, but that’s what made this turn so special for me. This is a guy who loves his family more desperately, the more they spin out of control. It breaks your heart, then fixes and warms it.
MESMERIZING!Angelina Jolie did a great acting in “Changeling” she will definitely nominated and win her 2nd Oscar. Congratulation Angie you deserve it! One word: BRAVO!
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What do you rate the film out of 10? Also what do you think were the Oscar worthy performances?
I knew it. I read here (http://www.projectweightloss.com/index.php) Anne Hathaway lost pounds by starving herself for a role. All celebrities talk about workouts and healthy organic life, and behind the “curtains” they just starve themselves to lose weight.
Dave Karger – Thanks for your early handicapping of Oscar worthy movies for 2008. Your thoughts are always spot on. I really would like to see Anne Hathaway receive a Best Actress nod for her performance in “Rachel Getting Married.” Ms. Hathaway is starting her climb to being a great actress. I’m tired of the movie critics comparing her to Julia Roberts. Ms. Hathaway is a far better actress! David – keep your pre-Oscar thoughts coming.
It keeps me aware of what movies to see.