We’re shaking off our lockdown blues by imagining ourselves in ball gowns and tuxes, then getting way ahead of ourselves with some VERY early Oscar predictions. If nothing else, we just want to get excited about some great films coming soon to Palace Cinemas.
From as early as November, we’ll start seeing a line of contenders coming through – and with a build-up of titles being held off post-pandemic, this year is looking JAM packed. Oscar nominations voting begins on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, and will end on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 (US Time). The official Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 (Australia Time), with the ceremony taking place on Monday, March 28, 2022 (Australia time, please don’t email us we’ll be very busy).
Without further adieu, let’s jump into just a few of our predictions, which will make us look either really smart or really dumb come February.
BEST ACTOR
The top contenders: Will Smith (King Richard) vs. Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)
Who’ll take it out? All hail King Richard.
Why these two? Because it’s been 20 years since Will Smith and Denzel Washington battled it out for a best actor Academy Award for Ali and Training Day, respectively. Denzel took out the golden statue back in 2001, but our money’s on King Richard to K.O. King Macbeth this time round. And if Will Smith happens to be reading this, we reckon he should definitely include ‘King Kong ain’t got $&!# on me’ in his acceptance speech.
BEST ACTRESS
No top contenders here because we think this category is going to be absolutely STACKED with talent! I mean even just with early predictions you’ve got Jennifer Hudson (Respect), Kristen Stewart (Spencer), Lady Gaga (House of Gucci), Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers)
Who’ll take it out? Jennifer Hudson deserves some RESPECT
Aside from a remarkable performance – the Academy can’t seem to get past a musical biopic performance – like, literally every year… But seriously, is this going to be the most stacked Best Actress category in recent memory? All of the potential nominees deserve our respect that’s for sure.
BEST DIRECTOR
The Top Contenders: Denis Villeneuve (Dune) vs. Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers)
Who’ll take it out? Denis Villeneuve because eye candy = good directing, right?
It’s a reflective time for cinema, and what it means to audiences in a post-pandemic world, so we reckon it’s about Spectacle (Dune) vs. Intimacy (Parallel Mothers) battling it out. In the end, both directors have been overlooked a few times now and are two of our absolute favourites, but we think the visual spectacle of Dune is going to be too much to look past. Plus, Villeneuve has repeatedly proved that spectacle and intimacy aren’t mutually exclusive (see ARRIVAL).
BEST FILM
The Top Contenders: Dune vs Parallel Mothers
Who’ll take it out? Parallel Mothers
Once again, spectacle vs intimacy will battle it out. The Oscars haven’t typically cared for spectacle in relation to Best Picture (except when one ring ruled them all). But there’s also the question of logic, surely the BEST DIRECTED film is also the BEST FILM, right? Right!? Well no, the Academy has repeatedly proved it loves a script-flip, so our money is on Parallel Mothers for now. Is this speculative? Yes. But our love for Almodóvar deserves some wishful thinking. It’s about time he was recognised beyond the International (Foreign Language) category.
