I feel like a fanboy for predicting Leonardo DiCaprio again after what happened with J. Edgar. He hasn’t had much luck lately in the lead category, but I am wonder if a supporting turn, and a villain at that, might be just what he needs to break into the winners club. I suspect that part of his problem is that he refuses to campaign (or more cynically, his campaign strategy is to pretend that he’s refusing to campaign). That doesn’t get you very far in the hotly contested lead races, but it just might work in supporting.
I suspect that both Seven Psychopaths and Kathryn Bigelow’s Untitled International Thriller (aka Kill Bin Laden) have the possibility of surprising us, but because they are original stories and neither plot details nor character traits have been revealed yet, it’s hard to know which, if any, members of their ensemble casts might surprise. It is worth mentioning that Joel Edgerton has roles in three fairly big releases this year, including Kill Bin Laden, The Great Gatsby and The Odd Life Of Timothy Green, so keep an eye out for him.
Moonrise Kingdom also looks intriguing to me, and has an excellent cast. They’ve missed out on my list mostly due to the May release date, and not knowing which actor to spotlight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them shows up the next time I look at these predictions.
1. Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained (Predicted Winner) (New)
2. Chiwetel Ejiofor in Savannah (previous rank 1)
3. Joaquin Phoenix in The Master (New)
4. Russell Crowe in Les Miserables (New)
5. William H. Macy in The Surrogate (New)
Alternates:
6. David Strathairn in Lincoln (New)
7. Samuel L. Jackson in Django Unchained (New)
8. Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln (previous rank 49)
9. Joel Edgerton in The Great Gatsby (previous rank 23)
10. Mark Strong in Untitled International Thriller (Kill Bin Laden) (New)
11. Michael Fassbender in Twelve Years A Slave (New)
12. Don Cheadle in Flight (New)
13. Garrett Hedlund in On The Road (previously listed in 84th Oscar race, rank 16)
14. Dwight Henry in Beasts Of The Southern Wild (previously listed in lead, rank 30)
15. Josh Brolin in Men In Black 3 (New)
16. George Clooney in Gravity (previously listed in lead, rank 40)
17. Paul Giamatti in Cosmopolis (previous rank 41)
18. Woody Harrelson in Seven Psychopaths (New)
19. John Cusack in The Paperboy (New)
20. Javier Bardem in Untitled Terrence Malick Project (The Burial) (previous rank 21)
21. Tobey Maguire in The Great Gatsby (previous rank 13)
22. Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises New)
23. Robert De Niro in Being Flynn (previous rank 25)
24. Tom Cruise in Rock Of Ages (previous rank 35)
25. Danny Glover in Macbett: The Caribbean Macbeth (previous rank 6)
26. Steve Carell in Great Hope Springs (New)
27. Alexander Skarsgard in What Maisie Knew (New)
28. Joel Edgerton in Kill Bin Laden (New)
29. Jeremy Renner in Lowlife (New)
30. Alan Arkin in Argo (New)
31. Bill Nighy in Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (previously listed in 84th Oscar race, rank 49)
32. Tom Courtenay in Quartet previous rank 15)
33. Greg Wise in Effie (New)
34. Jude Law in Anna Karenina (previously listed in lead, rank 49)
35. Ian McKellen in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (New)
36. Guy Pearce in Wettest County (New)
37. John Travolta in Gotti: In The Shadow Of My Father (previously listed in 86th Oscar lead race, rank 12)
38. Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained (New)
39. Ralph Fiennes in Great Expectations (New)
40. Philip Seymour Hoffman in A Late Quartet (New)
41. Joaquin Phoenix in Lowlife (New)
42. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Lincoln (previous rank 26)
43. Alec Baldwin in Rock Of Ages (New)
44. Eddie Redmayne in Les Miserables (New)
45. James Franco in Lovelace (previous rank 14)
46. Demian Bichir in Savages (New)
47. Tom Wilkinson in Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (previously listed in 84th Oscar race, rank 50)
48. Al Pacino in Gotti: In The Shadow Of My Father (New)
49. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Dark Knight Rises (previous rank 10)
50. Bruce Willis in Lay The Favorite (New)
As always, check the Tracker Pages in the upper right hand corner of this blog for the most updated predictions in all categories!
See Supporting Actor predictions for other years HERE.
Or check out the Lead Actor, Lead Actress and Supporting Actress predictions.
See predictions for other categories at the 85th Oscars HERE.
Switch to another year: 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th
In the past few years, I've made the comment that Leonardo DiCaprio just may be the best actor of the current generation. The only thing that he's missing is the Oscar to solidify his status.
ReplyDeleteI agree that one of his biggest issues is his lack of campaigning. I also agree with you that playing the part of the villain, much like Denzel Washington did in Training Day, could be a smart career move. DiCaprio is far too talented, and with the right script could elevate himself into a position for that elusive award.
So true. I'm hoping that the combination of supporting and the villain helps him pull it off this time!
DeleteI still have a feeling that Joesph Gordan Levitt at the very least is going to be nominated for an acting role this year.
DeleteI would love to see JGL nominated very soon, as I really love his work. As I look at his projects this year, I see two problems: His lead roles in Looper and Premium Rush are probably too far into action flick territory to catch the Academy's attention, while his bigger films like Lincoln, Django Unchained and The Dark Knight Rises are all ensemble pictures with other supporting male roles that seem to more baity. But it is always possible that the films themselves will turn out different than I imagine them to be, and that his role in one of them is larger than I'm expecting.
DeleteI'm hoping that Leo gets an Oscar next year because he deserves that Oscar more than any currently working actor I can think of. Me and my friend are ready to beat some people up so he can get an award (haha)
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking you could easily win in a fight. I mean some of those Academy members are a little old and frail!
DeleteThose are some risky choices. And I hope William H. Macy wins because I''m rooting for The Surrogate or anything from Sundance to get some well deserved love.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paolo. While Macy is on the edge at the moment, I have a suspicion that the combined power of him, Hawkes and Hunt just might get all three nominated.
DeleteAw, no Chris Tucker? :(
ReplyDeleteThanks for this tip. I actually had to go look him up because I hadn't realized he was in The Silver Linings Playbook.
DeleteFor anyone who has read the book, does he have a good part? I did a quick search on his character's name (Danny), but didn't see it mentioned too much in reviews of the novel.
Why is Cloony Supporting for Gravity and not Lead.
ReplyDeleteI have read quite a few articles, including several that interviewed Clooney himself, that make it sound like Bullock is the definite lead and he is just supporting. And the IMDB description seems to back that up: (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT): "The lone survivor of a space mission to repair the Hubble telescope desperately tries to return to Earth and reunite with her daughter." (Note: HER, not his). It's certainly possible that they're trying to fool us, or that they'll do some category fraud somewhere, but for now I put him here.
DeletePersonally, Tom Courtenay si fantastic like Reggie in Quartet:
ReplyDelete1. Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained (
2. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Lincoln
3. John Goodmhan in Argo
4. John Travolta in Gotti: In The Shadow Of My Father
5. Tom Courtenay in Quartet(THE WINNER)
Great set of predictions Anon! I'll have to do some more research about Quartet. So far it doesn't have a US release date set, but is opening in the Netherlands November 8, which certainly puts it in the potential window.
DeleteI'd also love to see Goodman finally get a nomination!
Is good ma David Strathairn is better than Levitt...
ReplyDelete1. Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained (
2. David Strathairn in Lincoln
3. John Goodmhan in Argo
4. John Travolta in Gotti: In The Shadow Of My Father
5. Tom Courtenay in Quartet(THE WINNER)
I have heard that Strathairn's part is pretty big. He plays the Secretary Of State.
Delete