Oscars poll: Who'll win best supporting actor?

Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds") dominated last year's Oscar race for supporting actor from the outset, but now there's no early front-runner. There's a lot of support for Geoffrey Rush's flamboyant role as wily voice coach to Britain's stammering King George VI in "The King's Speech," but voters may feel been-there-done-that due to his 1996 lead actor win for "Shine." What's curious is that this race isn't overshadowed by the kind of villainous role that ruled this category, with fiendish terror, in recent years (Christoph Waltz, Javier Bardem, Heath Ledger). However, there are a lot of bad-boy roles, including Sam Rockwell as a hooligan wrongly imprisoned for murder in "Conviction," Jeremy Renner as a bully bank...

Academy Awards Javier Bardem Jeff Bridges Justin Timberlake Matt Damon Oscars The Kids are All Right The King's Speech The Social Network The Town
10/29/2010 15:48
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Gold Derby nuggets: Steve Pond digs into documentary race | Guy Lodge on category fraud | Guests line up for Conan O'Brien

• Steve Pond delves into the selection process for the documentary feature Oscar race. As he reports, "in a remarkable year for non-fiction filmmaking of all kinds, the looming possibility of more Oscar-doc controversies means it’s time to take a look at a process in which: films are judged by surprisingly few people; the most active filmmakers are ineligible or unable to vote; and the final slate of nominees is almost invariably made up of issue-oriented docs — to the exclusion of the odder, entertaining works that make the field so vital these days." THE WRAP • Sasha Stone finds much to quote from the script for "The Social Network," leading off her list of...

Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Anne Hathaway Annette Bening CMA Awards Conan O'Brien Country Music Association Gotham Awards Gwyneth Paltrow Jake Gyllenhaal Julianne Moore Love and Other Drugs Oscar nominations Oscars The Kids are All Right
10/21/2010 17:10
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One year ago: What Oscar pundits prophesized

Let this be a lesson to all of us smug Oscar seers who insist that they know how the current derby will play out. Most of us now say that it's "The Social Network" versus "The King's Speech" for best picture, Colin Firth ("The King's Speech") versus James Franco ("127 Hours") for lead actor and Natalie Portman ("Black Swan") versus Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right") for lead actress. But true? One year ago today, we weren't even talking about the eventual winners of lead actor and actress: Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart") and Sandra Bullock ("The Blind Side"). BEST PICTURE: Last year in mid-October we had a decent grasp of the best picture race...

127 Hours Academy Awards Annette Bening Black Swan Carey Mulligan Colin Firth Daniel Day-Lewis James Franco Jeff Bridges Natalie Portman Oscars The Kids are All Right The King's Speech The Social Network
10/21/2010 12:29
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Latest Oscar predictions: Lead actress

Two contenders seem to be out front to win the Oscar for lead actress: Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right") and Natalie Portman ("Black Swan"). Both rivals have the Cool Factor and significant camps rooting for them to win. Bening's performance as a lesbian momma is low-key compared with her flamboyant turns in the films that earned her past nominations: "The Grifters," "American Beauty" and "Being Julia." Ordinarily, this role wouldn't reap an Oscar bid, but Bening is so overdue to win that she could ride the same wave that resulted in victory for previous overdue veterans such as Helen Mirren ("The Queen"), Susan Sarandon ("Dead Man Walking") and Shirley MacLaine ("Terms of Endearment")....

Academy Awards Annette Bening Black Swan Natalie Portman Oscars The Kids are All Right
10/20/2010 09:23
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Poll: Will 'Winter's Bone' be nominated for best picture at the Oscars?

Now that "Winter's Bone" leads with the most nominations at the Gotham Independent Film Awards (three), its Oscar hopes brighten. But how much? Only three previous Gotham champs were nommed for best picture in the past: "The Hurt Locker," "Capote" and "Sideways." "Winter's Bone" faces a crowded field at the upcoming Oscar derby. Currently, there are 13 front-runners competing for the 10 best-picture slots: "127 Hours," "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "Hereafter," "How Do You Know," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech," "The Social Network," "The Town," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit" and "The Way Back." Jockeying right behind: "Alice in Wonderland," "Another Year," "Blue Valentine," "For Colored Girls," "The Ghost Writer," "How...

127 Hours Academy Awards Black Swan Gotham Awards Inception Oscars The Fighter The Kids are All Right The King's Speech The Social Network Winter's Bone
10/18/2010 16:20
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Gold Derby nuggets: Pete Hammond: Oscars in November | 'The Hobbit' sets starting date | Supporting race surprises

• After reviewing the pros and cons of moving the Oscars, Pete Hammond proposes that they should indeed change the ceremony's timing. However, for Pete, such a shift should not be just the few weeks being bandied about as of late but months earlier -- in November. DEADLINE • Sasha Stone considers five films that could replicate the success of "The Blind Side" at this year's Oscars. Leading her list is "For Colored Girls" followed by "Love and Other Drugs" and "Secretariat." "How Do You Know" and "The Town" round out her selections for that slot. AWARDS DAILY • Kris Tapley and Anne Thompson welcome In Contention contributor Guy Lodge and Indie Wire blogger Peter...

Academy Awards Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Annette Bening Conviction Gotham Awards Hilary Swank Oscar nominations Oscars Peter Jackson The Hobbit The Kids are All Right
10/15/2010 17:23
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Latest Oscar predictions: Best picture

Since "The Social Network" has not disappointed at the box office, it retains its status as the front-runner to win best picture at the Oscars. However, buzz builds fast for "The King's Speech," which is just the kind of grand historical drama that academy voters used to adore. Normally, royal film pageants don't do well at the early film-critics' awards, though, and nowadays those critics' kudos seem to matter more than ever. Critics' trophies certainly helped to propel "The Hurt Locker" Oscar bound last year. What's possible this year? Anything. Journos often like to shake things up by making oddball calls. This year that could mean victory by, say, "Toy Story 3" at the New...

127 Hours Academy Awards Black Swan Inception Oscars The Kids are All Right The King's Speech The Social Network
10/11/2010 16:32
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'Animal Kingdom' and 'Mother and Child' are first DVD screeners of Oscar season

Being first out of the gate often matters a lot in the Oscar derby. "Frozen River" and "Little Miss Sunshine" reaped top nominations in 2008 and 2006, respectively, after being the first DVDs shipped to academy members. This year, that distinction goes to two releases shipped by Sony Pictures Classics late last week: "Animal Kingdom" and "Mother and Child." In his L.A. Times review, Kenneth Turan praised "Animal Kingdom," which won the world cinema jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival: "Faultlessly acted by top Australian talent, including Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn and Jacki Weaver, 'Animal Kingdom' marries heightened emotionality with cool contemporary style to illustrate one of the oldest of genre truths: 'Crooks always...

127 Hours Academy Awards Inception Oscars The Kids are All Right The King's Speech The Social Network
10/04/2010 18:38
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Gold Derby nuggets: TIFF premieres Oscar hopefuls | 'The Fighter' contends | Foreign language film hopefuls

• Nicole LaPorte recaps the race for the Oscars in the wake of the Toronto film fest, including an analysis of a best actress bout between Hollywood vet Annette Bening ("The Kids Are All Right") and the ingenue Natalie Portman ("Black Swan"). As Nicole writes, "With the acquisitions mood relatively low-key -- long gone are the days of all-night bidding wars, thanks to the economy and the slimmed-down independent film market -- the focus was almost entirely on predicting this season's 'The Hurt Locker.' No one seemed to mind that it's still relatively early, and that a number of films already looming large in the Oscar race, such as David Fincher's Facebook movie, 'The Social...

Academy Awards Annette Bening Black Swan Emmy Awards Emmys Natalie Portman Oscars The Fighter The Kids are All Right The King's Speech Tony Awards Tonys
09/20/2010 13:18
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