2017 Oscar Predictions: BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (August)

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Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea) and Naomie Harris (Moonlight) hold strong at #1 and #2, respectively but it’s Kristen Stewart who makes a big move, landing at her highest point in the season so far at #3. After a banner year in 2015 with Clouds of Sils Maria, earning more critics prizes (plus a César) than any supporting actress, Stewart is poised to make a real Oscar debut with Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.

Aja Naomi King (The Birth of a Nation) makes a move too, entering the top 5 for the first time. She plays the wife to Nate Parker’s Nat Turner in the film and has the highest profile female role. Also rising is Nicole Kidman in Lion. A big first look at pics from the film, a world premiere at Toronto and a very juicy true story role for the Oscar-winning actress has us thinking she can earn her 4th nod next year.

LISTEN: Oscar Podcast #40: Toronto and Venice Festival Lineups, Updated Oscar Predictions

Greta Gerwig debuts at #6 this month with 20th Century Women. A recent test screening giving great word on Gerwig’s role and performance has people buzzing enough to give her a spot on their lists. Not to be outdone, her co-star in that film, Elle Fanning, also shows up here this month. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer lands at #7 for Hidden Figures and this month also sees the return of Julianne Moore in Maggie’s Plan to the chart. Rachel Weisz stock plummets by the day with her role in The Mercy dropping off and her role in The Light Between Oceans down to a single vote. Laura Dern in Wilson drops off the list due to a possible lack of support or faith by Fox Searchlight for the film.

I think we’ll see lots of changes month to month until we get to December. So many things could fail as others rise. Emmy nominee Olivia Colman (The Night Manager) could be a surprise nominee for A24’s Spring hit The Lobster, Jennifer Aniston, who came close to an Oscar nomination for Cake, could show up for The Yellow Birds. This category has an enormous amount of flexibility.

Here are the August predictions for Best Supporting Actress from The Gold Rush Gang:

OTHER CONTENDERS
Shohreh Aghdashloo – The Promise
Jennifer Aniston – The Yellow Birds
Olivia Colman – The Lobster
Laura Dern – The Founder
Laura Dern – Wilson
Aunjanue Ellis – The Birth of a Nation
Jennifer Jason Leigh – LBJ
Laura Linney – Sully
Rooney Mara – Lion
Helen Mirren – Collateral Beauty
Helen Mirren – Eye in the Sky
Janelle Monáe – Hidden Figures
Janelle Monáe – Moonlight
Katey Sagal – Bleed For This
Zoe Saldana – Live by Night
Rachel Weisz – The Mercy
Kate Winslet – Collateral Beauty

Follow the updated Gold Rush Gang predictions in other Oscar categories here:

BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEST FILM EDITING
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
BEST SOUND EDITING
BEST SOUND MIXING

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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