2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions: BEST ACTRESS (April)
With just the films of Sundance under our belt, the bench for seen Best Actress contenders is slim but still noteworthy like Awkwafina in The Farewell, Emma Thompson in Late Night, Alfre Woodard in Clemency, Jessie Buckley in Wild Rose and Naomi Watts in Luce.
We have two bonafide contenders in films already out from Oscar winners Julianne Moore in Gloria Bell and Lupita Nyong’o in Us. Can either weather the next nine months to stay afloat?
2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions: BEST PICTURE (April)
Of the unseen we have even more previous Oscar winners making a play this year including Meryl Streep in The Laundromat (unless she’s supporting, but I’ll have her there too), Charlize Theron in the Untitled Roger Ailes film, Anne Hathaway in The Last Thing He Wanted and two-time winner Frances McDormand in Nomadland. These are potentially top tier choices. We can add 6-time nominee Amy Adams in The Woman in the Window as potential contender as well.
For my money though, the only actress I feel solid, even maybe locked with, is Cynthia Erivo in Harriet. This is one of those moments where the mere announcement of the project and role can be enough to carry an entire year. Think of Hathaway when she was cast in Les Misérables or Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln. Sometimes you just know. She will be the one to beat all year long.
2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions: BEST DIRECTOR (April)
Kristen Stewart has been close to Oscar recognition once before with her massive critical hit of the 2015/2016 season Clouds of Sils Maria, for which she received supporting actress wins from the Boston Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics Circle, National Society of Film Critics and the César (the French Oscar) – becoming the only American woman ever to win. This year she’ll have Against All Enemies playing legendary actress Jean Seberg, who gets caught up in the civil rights movement in 1960s Los Angeles.
Here are my unranked 2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions in Best Actress for April.
| Awkwafina – The Farewell (A24) |
| Cynthia Erivo – Harriet (Focus Features) |
| Saoirse Ronan – Little Women (Sony/Columbia) |
| Meryl Streep – The Laundromat (Netflix) |
| Charlize Theron – Untitled Roger Ailes aka Fair and Balanced (Lionsgate) |
| NEXT UP |
| Amy Adams – The Woman in the Window (20th Century Fox) |
| Anne Hathaway – The Last Thing He Wanted (Netflix) |
| Frances McDormand – Nomadland (Fox Searchlight) |
| Lupita Nyong’o – Us (Universal) |
| Kristen Stewart – Against All Enemies (Amazon) |
| OTHER CONTENDERS |
| Jessie Buckley – Wild Rose (Neon) |
| Scarlett Johansson – Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight) |
| Scarlett Johansson – Untitled Noah Baumbach (Netflix) |
| Felicity Jones – The Aeronauts (Amazon) |
| Thomasin Harcourt Mackenzie – Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight) |
| Isabelle Huppert – Frankie (TBD) |
| Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Downhill (Fox Searchlight) |
| Julianne Moore – Gloria Bell/The Glorias: Life on the Road (TBD) |
| Rosamund Pike – Radioactive (Amazon) |
| Mary Kay Place – Diane (IFC Films) |
| Natalie Portman – Lucy in the Sky (Fox Searchlight) |
| Emma Thompson – Late Night (Amazon) |
| Jodie Turner-Smith – Queen & Slim (Universal) |
| Naomi Watts – Luce (Neon) |
| Kate Winslet – Ammonite (TBD) |
| Alfre Woodard – Clemency (Neon) |
| Renee Zellweger – Judy (Roadside Attractions) |
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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