• The nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced at 8:22 a.m. Tuesday. The Oscars will be handed out on March 4.
• “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “The Shape of Water” have won top honors at various awards shows, but no film has emerged as a clear Oscar favorite.
• Will the #MeToo movement affect the nominations? Could a nomination for James Franco cause backlash?
• Netflix is hoping to snag its first best picture nomination courtesy of “Mudbound.”
Campaigning for the 90th Academy Awards has been going on in Hollywood for five months, with films falling over themselves to claim the cultural zeitgeist.
“Get Out” is about racism and cultural appropriation, the film’s get-out-the-vote team says, but also (in this #MeToo moment) about the abuse of power. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” sees itself as the most topical — it’s got a woman demanding attention on a sexual predator, red state anger and commentary about racist policing. (It also has its detractors.) Others say the crown should go to “The Post,” with its depiction of a woman coming into her own as a leader and taking a stand against the kind of attacks on journalists that resonate today. And don’t forget “The Shape of Water,” about outcasts and monsters, or “Lady Bird,” with its nuanced mother-daughter relationship and self-confident central character.
But no contender has yet rallied unconditional support. Will one snare enough Oscar nominations to establish itself as the film to beat when the awards are handed out on March 4?
“Three Billboards” is in the best position. It won the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. But “The Shape of Water” won the highest Producers Guild honor on Saturday, a recognition that often predicts the best picture winner at the Oscars.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences allows the best picture category to have as many as 10 or as few as five nominees, depending on how the organization’s 8,400 members spread their support. (There were nine last year.) All of the aforementioned films have a good shot to get in, along with “Dunkirk” and “Call Me by Your Name.” That’s seven. Prognosticators see “I, Tonya,” “The Florida Project,” “Darkest Hour,” “Mudbound” and “The Big Sick” as fighting for the remaining slots.
That likely means the end of the road for hopefuls like “All the Money in the World,” “Wind River” and “Wonder Woman.” (They can always hope for an envelope mix-up.)
Expect a best actress nomination for Frances McDormand, a four-time nominee and a winner for “Fargo” in 1997. She has won Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild trophies for her lead performance in “Three Billboards.” Joining her will undoubtedly be Saoirse Ronan for “Lady Bird” and Sally Hawkins for “The Shape of Water.”
Gary Oldman’s performance as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” will almost assuredly land him a best actor nod. Hollywood will be shocked if Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your…
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