“10 Things The Fall Fests Can Tell Us About Award Season”
With the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film fests happening, IndieWire puts out 10 questions to ask about notable movies that could emerge. Here are three questions:
1. How many nominations could George Clooney receive?
Nominated five times previously (for acting in “Syriana,” “Michael Clayton” and “Up In The Air” and for both writing and directing “Good Night, and Good Luck.”) and winning once (“Syriana”), Clooney could double that impressive record with two films debuting on the fall festival circuit: Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” followup, “The Descendants” and Clooney’s own “The Ides of March,” which he wrote, directed, produced and stars in.
The former sees Clooney playing Matt King, a land baron trying to reconnect with his daughters after his wife slips into a coma. The latter has him starring opposite Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei (who have eight Oscar nominations between them) in a political thriller he co-wrote with Grant Heslov. We’ll see which one is his MVP (or if they both are) when “Ides” debuts in Venice and “Descendants” takes Toronto.
2. Is “The Artist” as likely a contender as some out of Cannes led us to believe?
A black-and-white film with no stars and no dialogue, Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” emerged out of Cannes as the most unlikely of Oscar contenders. But Harvey Weinstein saw the film’s golden potential. France-produced but Hollywood-set, the film takes place between 1927 and 1931 and focuses on a declining male film star and a rising actress as silent cinema grows out of fashion. It could appeal very much to industry folks as it pays homage to an era in Hollywood history. The film will get its largest audience yet when it makes its way to Toronto and reaction could confirm whether “The Artist” is the sure-fire bet some think it is. If things go well, it could be come the first black-and-white best-picture nominee since… George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
7. Can Gary Oldman finally get that Oscar nomination?
It’s shocking, but Gary Oldman has never been nominated for an Oscar. Not for “Sid and Nancy,” not for “Prick Up Your Ears,” not for “Dracula,” not even for “The Contender.” This year, that could change. Venice premiere “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” has Oldman taking on the juicy role of George Smiley, a man who comes out of semi-retirement to uncover a Russian agent. Buzz for his performance and for the film, directed by Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson (“Let The Right One In”), has been impressive. Sentimentality will be on his side, so if reviews out of Venice are as strong, Oldman could very well lose his arguable title as the greatest actor never nominated for an Oscar.