MINNEAPOLIS — Hollywood is buzzing with events and activity as awards season unfolds, and many start to campaign and submit their ballots for the countless awards that lay ahead on our way to the film industry’s biggest night — the Oscars.
This year’s race promises to be especially competitive, with a mix of box office hits and under-the-radar surprises, this year’s potential nominees showcase a wide range of themes and genres.
Films like Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man” and Azazel Jacobs’ “His Three Daughters” have drawn attention for their deeply personal stories, while “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” ”Nosferatu,” “Gladiator II,” and “Wicked” tug at everyone’s love for nostalgia and deep world-building. We can’t say nostalgia without mentioning “Saturday Night,” which was very enjoyable even if it seemed a little like fan service.
Saoirse Ronan and Luca Guadagnino each have two projects that have been released this year, the bold “Blitz” starring Ronan and “Queer” directed by Guadagnino have seemed like they’d be award-season contenders, but they haven’t been present in the forefront the conversation — except when it comes to Daniel Craig, who this author feels is likely to round out the Best Actor category.
It will be interesting to see if “Kinds of Kindness” and “The Apprentice” will be nominated in any capacity, as there were reports that people walked out of the former and PR teams didn’t want their clients doing press with Sebastian Stan for the latter.
With a little over a month to go before Oscar nominations are announced, KARE 11's Jamie Rogers compiled a list of films she thinks are most likely to earn that coveted Best Picture nomination.
Here's who we think could make the cut.
“Sing Sing” (R)
Colman Domingo stars in “Sing Sing” as Divine G, a man imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he did not commit. While in prison, he begins acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men, including Clarence Maclin, in an attempt to find purpose.
The film is based on “The Sing Sing Follies” by John H. Richardson and “Breakin’ The Mummy’s Code” by Brent Buell, telling the true story of resilience and the transformative power of the arts. Apart from Domingo and a handful of actors, such as Paul Raci, the film stars mostly formerly incarcerated men, including Clarence Macllin as himself, Sean San Jose, Paul Raci, and Sean "Dino" Johnson.
“Sing Sing” is written and directed by Greg Kwedar and distributed by A24.
“The Brutalist” (NR)
Split into two parts, the film follows the story of László Tóth, a Hungarian-born-Jewish architect, as he flees to America after surviving the Holocaust. Settling in Philadelphia, where he has family, hoping to rebuild his life and legacy while witnessing the birth of modern America. László’s life is flipped upside down when he meets a wealthy client, which leads to both extremely happy — and extremely horrible — experiences.
“The Brutalist” stars Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, and Raffey Cassidy, and is written and directed by Brady Corbet.
Filming was originally postponed several times, finally premiering at the 81st Venice Film Festival this past September to a positive response. It is distributed in the U.S. by A24.
“Nickel Boys” (PG-13)
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, "Nickel Boys" is set in Jim Crow-era Florida and captures the story of the powerful friendship between two young African American men at reform school.
The film is RaMell Ross’ fiction feature debut. He co-wrote the screenplay with Joslyn Barnes. Starring Sam Malone, Najah Bradley, and Ethan Herisse, Ethan Cole, and Daveed Diggs as Elwood at different stages of his life.
“Nickel Boys” has been making the film festival rounds since its premiere at Telluride, even making a stop at the Twin Cities Film Festival, and has only been gaining attention and recognition since. The film is distributed by Amazon MGM.
“The Wild Robot” (PG)
Not quite in the same vein as 1986's “Short Circuit” but similar enough to draw a comparison to, “The Wild Robot” sees six ROZZUM robots go missing from a Universal Dynamics, Inc. cargo ship. Of the six robots, Roz is the only one to survive on the uninhabited island they find themselves on. However, in order to survive, she must bond with the island’s animals who are initially frightened of her.
This animated film has a star-studded ensemble cast. Roz is voiced by Lupita Nyong'o, who stars alongside Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O'Hara, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames. “The Wild Robot” was written and directed by Chris Sanders and is based on the science-fiction trilogy of the same name by Peter Brown. The film is released under the Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Animation umbrella.
“Conclave” (PG)
You’ll have seen us mention “Conclave” in a couple of articles when it was showing at the Twin Cities Film Festival and then released in metro theaters. Here is what we said about it when it was showing at TCFF:
When the Pope dies or resigns, the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals gathers at the Vatican for general congregations, the predecessor to the Conclave to vote for a new Pope. Voting, by secret ballot, is held four times a day until a candidate receives the majority of votes. Once a candidate receives two-thirds of the vote and accepts the nomination, the ballots of that final round of voting are burned in a stove near the chapel with chemicals to produce white smoke to signal to the world a Pope has been elected.
These practices make "Conclave" such an interesting film — as far as this author knows, the vow of secrecy of the Conclave has only ever been broken once when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger released his diary which described the events of 2005.
The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as Cardinals at Conclave when one of them discovers secrets left by the previous Head of the Catholic Church that could shake the foundations of the Church. "Conclave" is directed by Edward Berger; written by Peter Straughan and Robert Harris; and distributed by Focus Features.
“Anora” (R)
“Anora” brings Mikey Madison to the screen like you’ve never seen her. Madison plays Ani, a young New York City sex worker, who marries Ivan, the son of a powerful Russian family.
While Ani believes a fairytale has come true, allowing her to quit her job and move out of her shared house, her happiness doesn’t last long. When news reaches Russia, Ivan’s parents board a plane to NY to put an end to their marriage, causing him to run away. This leaves Ani to galavant all over the city looking for him all night.
The wonderful group of actors starring in this film include Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, Yura Borisov, and Vache Tovmasyan. “Anora” is the second Sean Baker film to be focused on sex work, a theme he explores in order to de-stigmatize the profession. It is distributed by NEON.
“A Real Pain” (R)
Written, directed, and produced by Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain” is a dramedy following cousins David and Benji Kaplan, who reunite for a tour through Poland. On the trip to honor their beloved grandmother, the adventure takes a turn as old tensions resurface.
“A Real Pain” had its U.S. premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it was received positively by audiences and eventually picked up for distribution by Searchlight Pictures. The film stars Eisenberg and Kieran Calkin as the aforementioned Kaplan cousins, as well as Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes. The film was released by Searchlight Pictures.
“Emilia Pérez” (R)
Based on the opera libretto of the same name by the film’s director Jacques Audiard and the novel “Écoute” by Boris Razon, “Emilia Pérez” is a crime drama that follows four remarkable women around Mexico. One of those women, Emilia, is a feared cartel leader desperate to finally live as her true self, so she enlists the help of a lawyer named Rita to help her fake her own death to achieve her goal.
The film stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir, and Édgar Ramírez. Shortly after the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Netflix beat out multiple studios for distribution rights.
“A Complete Unknown” (R)
You may be thinking we’re only including this on our list because this is Minnesota – wrong, this film is definitely Oscar material. We covered “A Complete Unknown” during the press tour stop here in Minneapolis, but if you haven’t seen it, don’t read the second half of that story. We don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.
One of many films based on our beloved Bob Dylan, this particular film focuses on Dylan’s arrival in New York, his rise to stardom as a folk musician, and his decision to shake up the Newport Folk Festival by going electric. “A Complete Unknown” was directed by James Mangold, who wrote it alongside Jay Cocks and Elijah Wald. It stars Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, and Scoot McNairy and is distributed by Searchlight Pictures.
“Babygirl” (R)
The second-annual, A24-Harris Dickinson-Christmas release hopefully won't be snubbed this year. The second film this year to see Nicole Kidman have a relationship with a much younger man, this erotic thriller is nothing like “The Iron Claw.”
Funnily enough, those two men did play brothers in “The Iron Claw,” but rather than Zac Efron’s self-absorbed actor, “Babygirl” sees Dickinson as Kidman’s intern who is convinced that he can achieve dominance over powerful women. This leaves her job, reputation, and family in jeopardy.
The film also stars Sophie Wilde and Antonio Banderas and is written and directed by Halina Reijn.
“The Room Next Door” (PG-13)
Based on the novel “What Are You Going Through” by Sigrid Nunez, “The Room Next Door” follows Ingrid and Martha. These two women were friends in their youth when they worked together, but after years of being out of touch they are reconnected in an extreme situation.
This film is written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Audiences couldn’t ask for a better cast for Almodóvar’s English-language feature debut distributed by Sony Picture Classics. “The Room Next Door” stars Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro, and Alessandro Nivola.
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (PG-13)
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” follows Iman, a lawyer who has recently been appointed as an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. As political unrest unfolds in Tehran, and Iman’s family is thrust into the public eye, he becomes paranoid and even believes that his wife and daughter are behind the recent disappearance of his gun. This leads him to invoke severe measures within his family that strain their relationship.
The film, which was shot entirely in secret, was written and directed by Mohammad Rasoulof and stars Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki, Niousha Akhshi, and Missagh Zareh. “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is distributed by NEON.
“We Live in Time” (R)
One of the most highly anticipated films of the year (and the only one to have this author sobbing like a baby in the theater) was "We Live In Time.” The story follows an up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée whose lives are changed forever after a chance encounter.
The emotional and deeply moving romantic drama stars Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, who audiences were begging to star in a movie together after they presented an award at the 95th Academy Awards. The film was written by Nick Payne, directed by John Crowley, and distributed by A24.
“Challengers” (R)
One of two Luca Guadagnino films released this year, “Challengers,” was all audiences could talk about in the early half of 2024.
The film centers around Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy who after sustaining a career-ending injury, becomes a tennis coach. Her student? Her husband, who she manages to transform from a college tennis athlete into a professional tennis champion.
However, he finds himself on a losing streak and is desperate to redeem himself, so Tashi signs him up for matches with fewer stakes. The problem is, that he must face his ex-best friend, who also happens to be Tahsi’s ex-boyfriend.
Distributed by Amazon MGM, “Challengers” stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist.
“Dune Part II” (PG-13)
The 2022 Directing and Best Picture races at the Oscars were full of great movies, however many (this author included) felt that Denis Villeneuve and “Dune” should have been in those categories' nominations. Maybe this year we will see redemption.
The second in Villeneuve’s “Dune” trilogy, audiences pick up where the last left off as Paul Atreides reunites with the Fremen. Atreides is on a warpath trying to avenge his destroyed family but finds himself labeled as Lisan al Gaib and forced to choose between the love of his life and the fate of the universe.
Warner Brothers' “Dune Part II” sees the return of Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, and Javier Bardem. The film also stars Austin Butler, Christopher Walkin, and Florence Pugh.