Wake up.
Its awards season again.
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(They settled for giving an imaginary award to the Flash entering the Speed Force.)
Thats what its there for!
Now that the Oscars have our attention, what will they do with it?
Thats not the only way in which the awards industry is hoping to turn back the clock.
Was a one-year timeout enough of a punishment for the HFPAslong history of low-level corruption?
No aspect of the season is untouched by sin.
Heres an overview of the field in the six biggest categories.
(The past ten winners all got nominated.)
(Call it AMPAS Global Entry.)
(Bardo, which I havent seen yet, is allegedly quiteRoma-y itself.)
style questions for those in the moguls orbit.
Are you ready to make Oscar season uncomfortable again?
Best Actor
In Best Actor, we may be in for a classic critics-versus-audiences showdown.
They were also almost universally scorned by critics at TIFF, who calledThe Whaleghastly andThe Sonstaggeringly manipulative.
A dark-horse run at the trophy should not be written off for either.
(Hed be the second-youngest Best Actor nominee of the past decade, after Timothee Chalamet.)
But who knows in a field this open, there might be room forMaverickto fly in.
Thats a robust five right there, with four wins and eighteen nominations between them.
Bring on the drama!
Best Supporting Actor
From the most crowded category to the most wide open.
The trio will have to hope their projects find favor elsewhere on the ballot as well.
The absence of any slam dunks makes it all the more important who we havent seen.
Or will the Academy be forced to do the unthinkable and pickTom Hankss Col. Tom Parker inElvis?
Best Supporting Actress
Michelle Williamss absence also shakes up a category suddenly bereft of a front-runner.
I also see a path forKerry Condonas Farrells level-headed sister inBansheesandGabrielle Unionas a homophobic mother inThe Inspection.
(With the caveat that Union may have the same lone-nominee issue as Hopkins et al.)
Other contenders may take time to shake out.
DoesEEAAOgo with the star power ofJamie Lee Curtisor the madcap villainy ofStephanie Hsu?
Will Brendan Frasers candidacy boostThe Whales angstySadie Sinkor five-tool utility playerHong Chau?
Should TeamWoman Kingprioritize co-leadThuso MbeduorLashana Lynch, whos serving Wahlberg-inThe Departedvibes?
(IfThe Sonmanages to overcome the haters,Laura Dernvs.Vanessa Kirbywill be a similar question.)
On the flip side, theres room to make some wild predictions.
Or maybe voters will simply pull aJudas and the Black Messiahand slotMichelle Williamsin Supporting anyway?
Screw certainty the Oscar race is more fun when we know nothing.
