The Oscars are about four months away, yet already there's a lot of talk about which films will be viable contenders. Now, USA Today scribe Scott Bowles is the first major critic to voice his early picks for which movies, actors and directors he thinks will be the front runners for the big awards shows. With several of these yet to be screened for anyone as yet, the list may go through some dramatic change by year's end:
<em>Scott Bowles' Early Predictions</em>:
BEST PICTURE:
"Closer", "Sideways", "Fahrenheit 9/11", "Alexander",
"A Very Long Engagement", "The Life Aquatic"
BEST ACTOR:
Javier Bardem ("The Sea Inside"), Bill Murray ("The Life Aquatic"), Jim Carrey ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Aviator"), Jamie Foxx ("Ray"), Liam Neeson ("Kinsey")
BEST ACTRESS:
Annette Bening ("Being Julia"), Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake"), Audrey Tautou ("A Very Long Engagement"), Julia Roberts ("Closer"), Kate Winslet ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), Cate Blanchett ("The Life Aquatic")
BEST DIRECTOR:
Mike Nichols ("Closer"), Alejandro Amenabar ("The Sea Inside"), Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland"), Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("A Very Long Engagement"), Alexander Payne ("Sideways"), Martin Scorsese ("The Aviator")
Personally I think "Kinsey" and "Finding Neverland" are both under-represented here, I've seen them and think they're both wonderful films (my reviews are forthcoming). Am glad to see the two movies I've been most looking forward to this fall season ("Alexander" & "Closer") got mentions. Without a clear front runner this year though, it's hard to tell as yet what the outcome will be.
