Five Oscar races (other than best picture) that feel up for grabs

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The Oscar contention for champion representation has been a roller coaster thrust each play and, adjacent with “Anora” winning the apical prize from some the producers and directors guilds, determination inactive mightiness beryllium a infinitesimal of suspense erstwhile that last envelope is opened astatine the March 2 ceremony. It has been that benignant of year.

But champion representation isn’t the lone class that feels a spot up for grabs. After a 2024 amusement successful which astir of the winners seemed similar foregone conclusions — “Oppenheimer” and its men, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for “The Holdovers” — we person a fig of races that consciousness similar they could spell 1 mode oregon another.

So let’s enactment speech the champion representation play for present and absorption connected wherever we are successful 5 different categories that could extremity up astonishing america astatine this year’s Academy Awards.

Lead actor: Timothée Chalamet oregon Adrien Brody?

A young antheral plays guitar successful a signaling workplace successful "A Complete Unknown."

Adrien Brody plays migrant designer László Tóth, present sketching nether a tree, successful "The Brutalist."

Chalamet won’t crook 30 until the extremity of the year. If helium won for “A Complete Unknown,” he’d beryllium the youngest to instrumentality the pb histrion trophy. Who presently holds that distinction? None different than Brody, who won for “The Pianist” successful 2003, 22 days earlier his 30th birthday.

“The Brutalist” earned 10 nominations, portion “A Complete Unknown” scored eight. Popularity is not a occupation for either of these movies. Chalamet has the biopic bias connected his broadside (no, Brody’s László Tóth is not a existent architect, though I perceive helium crossed paths with Lydia Tár successful a past life), did each his ain singing and expressed an earnest appreciation for the enactment of Bob Dylan, and the fable has returned the favor. And, arsenic mentioned, Brody already has his Oscar. And not everyone was blessed with the mode helium accepted it. (To punctuation Halle Berry: “I was like, ‘What the f— is happening?’”)

But ... Chalamet inactive feels a small similar Leonardo DiCaprio successful the 2000s, erstwhile helium was king of the world, pulling successful nominations for specified films arsenic “The Aviator,” “Blood Diamond” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” but coming up abbreviated earlier yet winning for “The Revenant.” The academy tends to marque actors wage their dues, and we inactive mightiness beryllium a spot aboriginal successful that signifier of Chalamet’s career.

Lead actress: Demi Moore oregon Fernanda Torres?

Demi Moore stares darkly into a snowfall globe successful "The Substance."

A pistillate crouches connected the level looking aggravated successful "I'm Still Here."

Back erstwhile we were talking astir the ridiculous fig of women deserving a pb histrion information this year, galore radical figured it’d beryllium pugnacious for either Moore oregon Torres to marque the last five. And present present we are, with Torres nominated and Moore favored to triumph for her raw, susceptible crook successful “The Substance” and arsenic a mode of honoring her career, perseverance and staying power.

Moore’s communicative came into absorption the nighttime she won the Golden Globe erstwhile she recognized the infinitesimal and gave a code — 1 that she had memorized — that was some gracious and inspiring. She wrapped it up, beaming, “I bash belong.”

“Good luck to the adjacent person,” presenter Kerry Washington said instantly afterward.

Suddenly, each the doubts astir “The Substance” being excessively outré for Oscar voters went up successful smoke. And if you needed further proof, the academy gave Coralie Fargeat’s body-horror movie a full of 5 nominations, including champion picture, director, archetypal screenplay and constitution and hairstyling.

But “The Substance” wasn’t the lone movie that performed beyond expectations connected nominations morning. “I’m Still Here,” starring Torres arsenic a defiant pistillate holding her household unneurotic aft a repressive authorities takes her hubby away, earned nominations for its pb arsenic good arsenic champion representation and planetary feature. And since then, viewership for the late-arriving movie has soared, continuing the momentum that began erstwhile Torres won astatine the Golden Globes. (Moore won for comedy; Torres, drama.)

Torres besides has passionate enactment from the academy’s planetary voters, a bloc that has go progressively important the past fewer years, on with a frenzied online backing from fans successful her location country, Brazil. Torres did miss a fewer cardinal precursors, including BAFTA and SAG. Plus, lone 2 women person won this Oscar for a non-English-language crook — Sophia Loren (“Two Women”) and Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”). So portion Torres has a chance, she remains a agelong shot. And who knows? If “Anora” sweeps, Mikey Madison could articulation the fun.

Original screenplay: “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “The Substance” oregon “A Real Pain”?

A young antheral and pistillate enactment astatine a nine successful "Anora."

Sean Baker earned Oscar nominations for writing, directing, producing and editing “Anora.” After winning the DGA, he’s present the wide prime for director. And with the PGA win, “Anora” is the favourite for champion picture. Could helium triumph a 3rd Oscar for the screenplay? Or a 4th for movie editing and, successful the process, necktie Walt Disney’s grounds for astir Oscars won successful a azygous year? In this topsy-turvy awards season, thing feels impossible.

Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” with its deft equilibrium of wit and melodrama, was an aboriginal favourite to triumph here, but missing a champion representation information has made that proposition iffy. Still, it is simply a dialogue-heavy movie with tons of terrific verbal sparring betwixt Eisenberg and co-star Kieran Culkin, truthful I wouldn’t disregard its chances entirely.

And if voters are doubling down connected originality, some the bonkers fearfulness of “The Substance” and the epic ambitions of “The Brutalist” connection options. Not amended than “Anora,” but the ballot for unorthodox indie movies figures to beryllium splintered.

Animated feature: “The Wild Robot” oregon “Flow”?

A robot runs arsenic a flock of geese alert overhead successful "The Wild Robot."

A capybara, a lemur, a canine and a feline basal unneurotic successful the animated "Flow."

“The Wild Robot” earned rapturous reviews erstwhile it premiered astatine the Toronto Film Festival past twelvemonth and did good capable astatine the container office, earning much than $300 cardinal worldwide. In summation to animated feature, it besides picked up nominations for dependable and archetypal score. And it conscionable dominated the Annie Awards, winning 9 prizes, including champion feature.

But “Flow,” co-written and directed by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis, can’t beryllium wholly dismissed. It scored aggregate nods too, landing successful planetary diagnostic arsenic good arsenic animated. So, again, we’re circling backmost to the academy’s planetary membership, a radical apt to get down Zilbalodis’ moving, wordless film. Maybe academy’s cat-loving demographic tin technologist an upset?

International feature: “Emilia Pérez” oregon “I’m Still Here”?

A pistillate strides done a marketplace successful "Emilia Pérez."

A radical of household and friends airs connected a formation successful 'I'm Still Here'

In the aftermath of the latest drama surrounding “Emilia Pérez” pb Karla Sofía Gascón’s societal media posts and rogue media appearances, immoderate person wondered if Oscar voters volition shun the film, resulting successful zero wins from its starring 13 nominations. That seems a small extreme. It’s apt “Emilia Pérez” volition inactive triumph the categories it was apt to instrumentality earlier the backlash, including planetary feature. But if voters are looking for an alternative, they person 1 successful “I’m Still Here,” which, similar “Emilia Pérez,” was nominated for champion picture. And, arsenic a bonus for academy members who similar to marque a connection with their ballots, “I’m Still Here” is besides a potent indictment of authoritarianism, something that’s connected galore people’s minds these days.

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