Oscars 2019: What Will Be Nominated for Best Picture?
Oscar season is here. And it is our favorite time of the year.
People are curious. They are eager to go to the cinema to see something that’s actually worth it after a disappointing 2018. But they wonder: what? Oscar season is confusing. Titles get thrown around for a few days and then are completely out of the race the next week.
Not all, though. OurMovieLife has compiled a definitive list of films that we believe are this year’s Oscar nominees. We will maybe be wrong about some of these. But, as of now, this is what seems likely.
A Star is Born
Director: Bradley Cooper (debut)
Stars: Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga
What is it about? A musician helps a young singer find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
Why will it be nominated? Because both the critics and the general audience love it. It’s an undoubtedly strong movie altogether and the music element makes it stand out as something that’s just the right amount of different. It also cleaned up at the Golden Globe nominations and the SAG awards where it’s nominated for almost everything possible.
Can it actually win? Absolutely. It’s probably going to be this, ‘Green Book’, or ‘Roma’ that takes the Oscar home this year.
Black Panther
Director: Ryan Coogler (Creed)
Stars: Chadwick Boseman & Michael B. Jordan
What is it about? T’Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country’s past.
Why will it be nominated? Because of an extremely high critical praise and an extremely high audience satisfaction rate. The Academy has also been trying to fix their image lately, so ‘Black Panther’ being a Best Picture nominee definitely contributes to that, too, seeing as it is a popular film that general audience knows and enjoys and that it has a predominantly diverse cast.
Can it actually win? No. It’s beneficial for them to have something like this nominated, but the Academy would never give the Oscar to a superhero movie.
BlacKkKlansman
Director: Spike Lee (Malcolm X)
Stars: Adam Driver & John David Washington
What is it about? Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.
Why will it be nominated? Because it has a very strong fan-base of quite a few people that absolutely adored the movie. Also, even though it was released very early in the year, ‘BlacKkKlansman’ has been in favor of a fantastic marketing campaign. And, of course, it’s a Spike Lee movie. That surely contributes a bit.
Can it actually win? Absolutely not. It will be lucky to even get nominated.
Green Book
Director: Peter Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber)
Stars: Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali
What is it about? A working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver of an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
Why will it be nominated? Because it is an altogether really, really strong movie. Think of this as last year’s ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’: a film that is unique in its entirety, with a slight comedic undertone, and telling a great story. ‘Green Book’ has received numerous Golden Globe and SAG nomination and is a certain lock for the Academy Awards, too.
Can it actually win? Actually, yes. And it has a good chance, too.
If Beale Street Could Talk
Director: Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Stars: KiKi Layne & Stephan James
What is it about? A woman in Harlem desperately scrambles to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child.
Why will it be nominated? Because it’s a tragic, lyrical story with a subject matter that attracts the Academy right now. Also, the critics have expressed high regard for this film and the general audience seems to enjoy it as well. It has received zero backlash, may that be political or critical towards the film as an art form, and while it may not reach the heights of ‘Moonlight’ in the Academy’s eyes, a nomination is highly likely.
Can it actually win? Not really, no. It doesn’t even stand a chance, to be completely fair.
Roma
Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Stars: Yalitza Aparicio
What is it about? A story that chronicles a year in the life of a middle-class family’s maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
Why will it be nominated? Because it literally checks all boxes. Black&white? Check. Drama? Check. Family drama? Check. Foreign story? Check. Takes place in the past? Check. ‘Roma’ is your typical Oscar contender. With critical praise and audience satisfaction all around, this is definitely one of the obvious locks.
Can it actually win? Absolutely, but only if the Academy chooses to ignore that it’s in a different language. If so, then ‘Roma’ has a real shot of taking the Oscar home this year.
The Favourite
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Killing of a Sacred Deer)
Stars: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz
What is it about? In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah, governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah.
Why will it be nominated? Because it’s really good (according to… everyone?) and the perfect amount of weird. The director’s previous films, ‘The Lobster’ and ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’, both fought to be Oscar contenders and they probably would have been if it wasn’t for bad marketing and unsuccessful campaigns. ‘The Favourite’ has been popularized well by the studio and has had a good campaign; thus: a good chance of being nominated.
Can it actually win? Highly unlikely, but theoretically possible. We don’t see it happening, but the possibility does exist.
Vice
Director: Adam McKay (The Big Short)
Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell
What is it about? The story of Dick Cheney (Christian Bale), an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.
Why will it be nominated? The film has major friends in the Hollywood Foreign Press and received more Golden Globe nominations than any other production this year. The subject matter seems as something that would attract the Academy and Adam McKay has a knack for telling familiar stories as an oddly spectacular cinematic experience.
Can it actually win? No, not really. Maybe in some alternate universe, sure, but in this one the chances are below 1%.
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