It should come as no surprise then, that in the near aftermath of these 2 festivals, several contenders have built enormous amount of buzz, buzz that should very well carry them over the finish line.
Though the People's Choice Award (Toronto Film Festival's highest honor) has yet to be announced, here are some things we've learned over the last few days as films have had their premieres:
Best Actor is shaping up to be the most competitive category:Michael Keaton, Steve Carrell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jack O'Connell, Eddie Redmayne, Channing Tatum, Bill Murray, Jake Gyllenhaal, Timothy Spall, Robert Downey Jr., and Jaoquin Phoenix are all in the hunt for a spot in Best Actor this year, and those are just the names of the ones with the best chances; if we're including the longer shot contenders, there's Mark Wahlberg, Matthew McConaughey, Tommy Lee Jones, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar Isaac and Bradley Cooper in there as well.
A few months ago, it was easy picturing Steve Carrell walking away at the end of Oscar night with the top prize for his transformative role in "Foxcatcher". Just a few weeks ago, Keaton's role in the acclaimed "Birdman" gave him more of an edge, while Cumberbatch easily won Telluride swooping in with some unexpected acclaim as Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game". But after Toronto, the name on everyone's lips is Eddie Redmayne; critics are going completely bat crazy for the young actor's performance as Stephen Hawking in the biopic "Theory of Everything", so much so that Huffington Post's Christopher Rosen calls it a "formidable, career-redefining performance" one that, "just might win him an Oscar". That's not even the tip of the iceberg, his buzz is so loud it could deafen anyone listening too closely; It was impossible not to log into Twitter and see the young actor's name in an article praising him.
With only 5 slots, someone is bound to be left off of the final lineup. Last year it seemed like multiple men duking it out for that final slot (remember when Christian Bale surprisingly overtook Robert Redford, Forrest Whitaker and Tom Hanks? No one was taking the other 4 actors' slots), with the other 4 seemingly reserved and unavailable. Save for Michael Keaton and Steve Carrell, it won't be like last year; it'll be a fight till the end for every last available spot. Look to the critics, the Globes and SAG to help set a pattern and precedent in terms of contenders/winners, but do not bet the farm on any contender; there's always room for a snub.
When Julianne Moore won Best Actress at this year's Cannes Film Festival, it was easy for lots of people to enthusiastically put her at the top of their Oscar predictions list. An actress long considered overdue for an Oscar (4 previous nominations and still no win), back with her most acclaimed role since her work as Sarah Palin in HBO's "Game Change" (for which she won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a SAG award). So imagine how heartbreaking it was when it was recently announced the film would premiere in early 2015, leaving Moore unable to compete for this year's Oscar race.
That being said, the fight isn't over yet; Moore still has a chance to earn a 5th nomination (and a possible win) with one of Toronto's biggest surprises "Still Alice". Moore stars as a professor who is diagnosed with the early onset of Alzheimer's disease. Reception to the film has been extremely positive, but (naturally) its Moore's performance that is drawing the lion's share of the acclaim. Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter is certainly confident on Moore's chances in the race, calling her performance "nuanced" and "show stopping". If a strong enough distributor claims the film (which remains on the market as of right now), Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Amy Adams Meryl Streep and Rosamund Pike better watch out. Julianne Moore is one of the most celebrated and respected actresses of her generation, and if it came down to a battle of "Who is more overdue?", Moore would easily win it. Then again, this all depends on if the film is picked up by a big enough distributor.... if.
For a long time, it seemed as if Kristen Stewart's career was something of a cruel joke, and if that weren't cruel enough, the reception to much of her mainstream work certainly was. The internet is full of thousands of jokes making fun of Stewart's awkward approach to playing Bella Swan. She, however, laughed all the way to the bank, raking in an unprecedented amount of money from the lucrative YA series.
Stewart's mainstream work, honestly, is very poor, which never really made sense to me because her indie work was so top notch. "Speak", "The Runaways" "Into the Wild" and even "Adventureland" displayed something inside of the actress that Bella or "Snow White and the Huntsman" didn't (a pulse, maybe?).
I already wrote about how her warmly her performance in "Clouds of Sils Maria" was embraced at Cannes this past year. The film also premiered at TIFF for those who missed its Cannes debut, and reception was even kinder; many are banging the drum for the actress to receive her first career Oscar nomination in Supporting Actress for the performance. Movieplot's Nicolas Mogollon describes her as "incredible", and goes on to say that, "She is charismatic, intelligent and intriguing. It is the most naturalistic performance I have ever seen of hers and one devoid of the usual mannerisms Stewart is known, and sometimes humiliated, for. Her chemistry with Juliette Binoche is palpable and they play off each other to brilliant effect." Oscar bloggers Jeff Wells and Sasha Stone have also expressed their enthusiasm for this performance; she does have supporters.
Stewart also stars in "Still Alice" alongside Julianne Moore as her daughter, and has "Camp X-Ray" coming up, both of which provide juicy opportunities for the actress to show us what she really is made of. Whether Stewart finds herself in the Oscar race this year or not ("Clouds" is premiering in the US on December 1st, and will be distributed by IFC, who will have their hands full with "Boyhood") it's just good to see her flexing her acting muscles.
No comments:
Post a Comment