BEST PICTURE 2014

JUNE PREDICTIONS

LIKELY

1. THE MONUMENTS MEN (Columbia Pictures, 18 December 2013)

Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov

Director: George Clooney

Writers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov

Cast: Matt Damon, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin

Pre-Oscar Citations: None

Art historians and museum curators attempt to save works of art from the Nazis. With George Clooney directing, writing, and producing (along with constant collaborator Grant Heslov), and the plot being what it is (on top of being a true-to-life story), this is the most Oscar-friendly film on paper.

2. AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (The Weinstein Company, 8 November 2013)

Producers: George Clooney, Jean Doumanian, Grant Heslov, Steve Traxler, Harvey Weinstein

Director: John Wells

Writer: Tracy Letts

Cast: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Chris Cooper, Sam Shepard, Margo Martindale

Pre-Oscar Citations: None

A dysfunctional family is brought together by their matriarch's ailing health over the course of several weeks in August. Meryl Streep headlines as the matriarch, and Julia Roberts is her eldest daughter. Director John Wells is known more as a television director, but with that principal cast and George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Harvey Weinstein among the producers, and the source material being a critically acclaimed play, the film has to be terrible on so many levels to not gain at least some traction in the race.

MAYBE

3. CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (Columbia Pictures, 11 October 2013)

Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

Director: Paul Greengrass

Writer: Billy Ray

Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener

Pre-Oscar Citations: None

Captain Richard Phillips deals with Somali pirates hijacking his American cargo ship. Paul Greengrass has proven with his Oscar-nominated work in United 93 that he can handle such tense, true-to-life thrillers. Having Hanks as actor and Rudin as producer onboard are pluses.

4. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (CBS Films, TBA 2013)

*Formerly #7

Producers: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin

Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writers: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Garrett Hedlund

Pre-Oscar Citations:
Nomination, Palm d'Or, Cannes Film Festival
Win, Grand Prize of the Jury, Cannes Film Festival

A musician explores the New York folk music scene in the 1960s. One can never discount the Coen brothers, no matter how simple the plot sounds. This could be a small charmer, especially with another collaboration with T Bone Burnett on the music.

5. FOXCATCHER (Columbia Pictures, TBA 2013)

*Formerly #4

Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Bennett Miller

Director: Bennett Miller

Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman

Cast: Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, Sienna Miller, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Michael Hall, Vanessa Redgrave

Pre-Oscar Citations: None

A multimillionaire ornithologist, who is also a paranoid schizophrenic, murders his friend, an Olympic wrestler. While this may look more like a possible acting showcase for Steve Carell, Bennett Miller isn't to be underestimated, with one directing nomination under his belt and his two recent films (Capote and Moneyball) having been major Oscar contenders.

6. GRAVITY (Universal Pictures, 4 October 2013)

*Formerly #10

Producers: Alfonso Cuaron, David Heyman

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Writers: Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Pre-Oscar Citations: None

Astronauts try to get back home to Earth after being stranded in space. It's essentially a one-woman show for Sandra Bullock in what could prove to be a claustrophobic masterpiece. One can expect no less from the astounding Alfonso Cuaron.

7. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (Paramount Pictures, 15 November 2013)

*Formerly #6

Producers: Riza Aziz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland, Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writer: Terence Winter

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Bernthal, Kyle Chandler, Jon Favreau, Julie Andrews

Pre-Oscar Citations: None

A New York stockbroker takes a stand against corruption and mob infiltration in Wall Street. Any Martin Scorsese film is, of course, certain to have some amount of Oscar buzz, especially with new muse Leonardo DiCaprio (who has a big year with this and The Great Gatsby) in tow.

8. AMERICAN HUSTLE (Columbia Pictures, 25 December 2013)

*Formerly unranked

Producers: Megan Ellison, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle

Director: David O. Russell

Writers: David O. Russell, Eric Singer

Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Robert De Niro

Pre-Oscar Citations: None

David O. Russell has been on quite a roll lately with The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, films that won Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence Oscar wins and Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper nominations. This film stars all four, plus Jeremy Renner and Robert De Niro. Too much of a good thing, or will this be the vehicle that wins O. Russell his Oscar?

POSSIBLE

9. THE COUNSELOR (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 15 November 2013)
*Formerly #5

Producers: Cormac McCarthy, Paula Mae Schwartz, Steve Schwartz, Ridley Scott, Nick Wechsler
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Cormac McCarthy
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz

Pre-Oscar Citations: None

A lawyer's life turns upside down when he becomes involved in drug trafficking. From the crew to the cast, the film is huge. Cormac McCarthy is a brilliant writer, Ridley Scott is an awesome multi-nominated director, and the film has an intriguing premise. Add to that this cast, with Michael Fassbender possibly getting his first Oscar nomination, and this might be one of the best films of the year.