By Casey Lee Clark
This past week saw the trailer releases for “The Report” (Scott Z. Burns’ political drama that premiered at Sundance earlier this year) and “Marriage Story” (the upcoming Noah Baumbach divorce film for Netflix). What both these films have in common are their major awards buzz and their lead actor: Adam Driver. With other films this year in addition to these two, Driver appears to be having a great year. However, when you look at the number of great films he has been in and directors he has worked with this entire decade, not to mention his work outside of film, it is clear that Driver has had an incredible decade and there’s only one way to end that kind of decade, with an Oscar win. Although both of these films are garnering awards buzz, Driver’s clear path to Oscar seems to be with “Marriage Story” and lead actor. The film appears to be receiving Netflix’s big awards push and campaign and will have premieres at all the major film festivals this season. It seems to be Baumbach’s time in the awards season-sun, with Oscar chances for nominations or wins likely in many major categories, and Driver could very well be along for the ride. “The Report,” on the other hand, seems like a respectable contender in other categories, but Driver appears to be giving a good performance from the glimpses in the trailer and can keep him present in the minds of voters. Additionally, he was in “The Dead Don’t Die” earlier this year, which received a mixed reception critically but did premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. He also just happens to be the current main villain of the biggest film franchise of all time as Kylo Ren in the modern iteration of “Star Wars.” The Skywalker saga will conclude this December with “The Rise of Skywalker” and Adam Driver is sure to be a big part of the conclusion given his performance and character arc throughout the new trilogy. In addition to being in several films this year on both an awards contender and blockbuster scale, Adam Driver has also had an impressive decade working with some of the greatest directors. He made his film debut in 2011 working with Clint Eastwood in “J. Edgar” in a supporting role. He went on to work with Steven Spielberg in “Lincoln,” the Coen brothers with “Inside Llewyn Davis,” Martin Scorsese in “Silence,” Steven Soderbergh in “Logan Lucky,” Spike Lee in “BlacKkKlansman,” AND Terry Gilliam in “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” He’s also worked with Jim Jarmusch twice on “Paterson” (which won him Best Actor from the L.A. Film Critics Association) and “The Dead Don’t Die,” as well as Jeff Nichols on “Midnight Special.” He also received several Emmy nominations for his work on the television series “Girls”, and this past year received his first Tony nomination for the play “Burn This.” "Marriage Story" also marks his fourth collaboration with writer-director Noah Baumbach. It is clear based on the sheer number of talented people that Driver has worked with that he must be a well-liked guy in the industry, in good graces with many major filmmakers. Last year, he received his first Oscar nomination for “BlacKkKlansman” for Best Supporting Actor, with a solid steady amount of nominations throughout the season. He was welcomed to the club with the clear idea of an eventual win in the future. There has been a clear divide within the Academy (and to an extent film twitter) in recent years, as we saw last year with “Green Book” winning Best Picture after the wins of films like “The Shape of Water” and “Moonlight.” However, Adam Driver feels like an actor who can appeal to both those sides of the Academy. He can appeal to the older crowd with his work with established directors and actors (his military background serving in the U.S. Marine Corps probably does not hurt his likability with those particular voters). But, he also appeals to the younger demographic of the Academy (and by extension film twitter) for his unique work in independent films, “Girls,” and the “Star Wars” franchise. In the days leading up to the big film festivals of Venice, Telluride, and Toronto, it feels bold to giving such sight-unseen Oscar predictions. However, when looking at everything on paper, at everything with major awards buzz, at the history of following the Oscars and what voters are looking for and pay attention to, there is a clear prediction that makes sense. It may be no guts, no glory this early on, but I think Adam Driver will be winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for “Marriage Story.” Do you agree that this is the year of "The Driver?" Are you excited for "Marriage Story?" Who do you think is winning Best Actor? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter account. You can follow Casey and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @CaseyLeeClark
Comments
|
BEST PICTURE Nomadland (18) - AWFJ, BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, CIC, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, KCFCC, NDFS, NSFC, NTFCA, OFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, TIFF, VENICE Promising Young Woman (5) - COFCA, KCFCC, MCFCA, SCA, SDFCS First Cow (2) - FFCC, NYFCC Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (3) - BFCC, CIC, PFCC Da 5 Bloods (2) - CIC, NBR Minari (2) - NCFCA, OFCC The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (2) - DFCS, HFCS Another Round - EFA Small Axe - LAFCA BEST DIRECTOR Chloé Zhao (25) - AWFJ, BOFCA, BFCC, BSFC, CFCA, COFCA, DFCS, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, KCFCC, LAFCA, MSFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NTFCA, NYFCC, OFCC, OFCS, PFCC, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Spike Lee (3) - CIC, HFCS, NBR Regina King - BFCC Darius Marder - SCA Andrew Patterson - GOTHAM Thomas Vinterberg - EFA BEST ACTRESS Frances McDormand (13) - AWFJ, BOFCA, CFCA, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, OFCC, OFCS, SFBAFCC Carey Mulligan (10) - COFCA, DFCS, HFCS, KCFCC, LAFCA, MCFCA, NBR, NTFCA, SCA, SDFCS, StLFCA Viola Davis (3) - BFCC, CIC, PFCC Sidney Flanigan (2) - BSFC, NYFCC Paula Beer - EFA Nicole Beharie - GOTHAM BEST ACTOR Riz Ahmed (10) - COFCA, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, HFCS, KCFCC, NBR, NDFS, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS Chadwick Boseman (9) - AWFJ, BFCC, CFCA, CIC, DFCS, LAFCA, MSFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Delroy Lindo (8) - BOFCA, HFCS, IFJA, NCFCA, NSFC, NYFCC, OFCS, PFCC Anthony Hopkins (2) - BSFC, FFCC Mads Mikkelsen - EFA Steven Yeun - NTFCA BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Youn Yuh-jung (16) - AWFJ, BFCC, BSFC, COFCA, GWNYFCA, KCFCC, LAFCA, MCFCA, NBR, NCFCA, NTFCA, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Maria Bakalaova (11) - BOFCA, CFCA, CIC, FFCC, HFCS, IFJA, MCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NYFCC, OFCS Ellen Burstyn - DFCS Olivia Cooke - HFCS Amanda Seyfried - PFCC BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Paul Raci (14) - BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, COFCA, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, NBR, NSFC, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Leslie Odom Jr. (6) - AWFJ, BFCC, HFCS, IFJA, KCFCC, OFCS Sacha Baron Cohen (5) - DFCS, MCFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, NTFCA Chadwick Boseman (3) - CIC, NYFCC, PFCC Glynn Turman - LAFCA BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Nomadland (10) - AWFJ, CFCA, COFCA, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, KCFCC, NCFCA, OFCC, OFCS I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (4) - BOFCA, BSFC, FFCC, StLFCA First Cow (3) - DFCS, PFCC, SFBAFCC The Father (2) - SCA, SDFCS Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2) - BFCC, CIC News Of The World - NBR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Promising Young Woman (10) - AWFJ, CIC, COFCA, HFCS, KCFCC, LAFCA, NDFS, OFCC, OFCS, StLFCA Minari (6) - BFCC, FFCC, NBR, NCFCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always (5) - CFCA, GWNYFCA, IFJA, NSFC, NYFCC The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (4) - CIC, DFCS, HFCS, MCFCA Another Round - EFA The Forty-Year-Old-Version - GOTHAM Fourteen - GOTHAM BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Nomadland (17) - AWFJ, BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, CIC, COFCA, GWNYFCA, HFCS, MCFCA, NBR, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, OFCS, PFCC, SDFCS, StLFCA Mank (3) - FFCC, OFCC, SCA Tenet (3) - BFCC, HFCS, NTFCA Small Axe (2) - LAFCA, NYFCC First Cow - SFBAFCC Hidden Away - EFA The Vast Of Night - KCFCC BEST COSTUME DESIGN Emma. (2) - CFCA, SDFCS Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2) - CIC, HFCS Hidden Away - EFA BEST FILM EDITING Nomadland (7) - AWFJ, BOFCA, GWNYFCA, NDFS, OFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (4) - CIC, COFCA, HFCS, MCFCA I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (2) - BSFC, CFCA The Invisible Man (2) - MCFCA, SDFCS The Father - LAFCA Once More Unto The Breach - EFA BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING The Endless Trench - EFA Mank - HFCS Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - CIC BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Soul (14) - BOFCA, CFCA, CIC, COFCA, DFCS, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, LAFCA, NCFCA, OFCC, OFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Tenet (3) - IFJA, MCFCA, SCA Mank (2) - HFCS, NDFS Berlin Alexanderplatz - EFA Minari - BSFC BEST ORIGINAL SONG One Night In Miami (5) - CIC, DFCS, HFCS, HFCS, MCFCA Over The Moon - NDFS BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Mank (9) - CFCA, CIC, FFCC, HFCS, LAFCA, MCFCA, NDFS, SDFCS, StLFCA First Cow - SFBAFCC The Personal History Of David Copperfield - EFA BEST SOUND Little Girl - EFA Sound Of Metal - HFCS BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Tenet (6) - DFCS, HFCS, HFCS, NCFCA, SDFCS, StLFCA The Invisible Man (2) - CFCA, CIC The Platform - EFA Possessor - FFCC BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Soul (18) - AWFJ, BFCC, CCA, CIC, DFCS, FFCC, HFCS, IFJA, MSFCA, NBR, NCFCA, NDFS, NTFCA, OFCC, OFCS, PFCC, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Wolfwalkers (8) - BOFCA, CFCA, COFCA, GWNYFCA, KCFCC, LAFCA, NYFCC, SDFCS Josep - EFA The Wolf House - BSFC BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM Another Round (9) - AWFJ, CFCA, EFA, IFJA, KCFCC, MCFCA, NCFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Minari (5) - COFCA, DFCS, GWNYFCA, NTFCA, OFCS Bacurau (2) - BOFCA, NYFCC La Llorona (2) - BSFC, NBR The Life Ahead (2) - HFCS, SDFCS And Then We Danced - NDFS A Sun - HFCS Beanpole - LAFCA Collective - NSFC His House - CIC Identifying Features - GOTHAM Jumbo - PFCC Los Fuertes - FFCC Martin Eden - OFCC Night Of The Kings - BFCC BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Time (8) - BFCC, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, LAFCA, NBR, NYFCC, PFCC, SDFCS Dick Johnson Is Dead (6) - CCA, CFCA, COFCA, IFJA, NCFCA, OFCS Collective (4) - BSFC, EFA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA All In: The Fight For Democracy (3) - AWFJ, NDFS, NTFCA Boys State (3) - CIC, DFCS, OFCC The Painter And The Thief (2) - AWFJ, BOFCA Beastie Boys Story - HFCS Crip Camp - IDA The Dissident - KCFCC My Octopus Teacher - HFCS The Social Dilemma - MCFCA A Thousand Cuts - GOTHAM You Don't Nomi - FFCC AuthorsNicole Ackman Archives
January 2021
Categories
All
|