2021 Oscar Predictions: FILM EDITING (November)

I see a Midnight Sky rising…

George Clooney’s space drama is popping up everywhere on my charts this month and with editing by Oscar winner Stephen Mirrione (Traffic) it might be tough for the branch to say no, especially if it’s flashy in any way.

Probably the biggest change this month though is Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom entering the top 5. As I’ve said before, if you’re predicting the film to take both lead acting wins, as many people are, you’ve got to look at who did it before and what their path was. That path included nominations in editing and/or directing so Ma Rainey joins Nomadland, Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and News of the World.

Pieces of a Woman enters the list for the first time and Judas and the Black Messiah could be a contender as well.

Here are my ranked 2021 Oscar predictions in Film Editing for November.

Green – moves up; Red – moves down; Blue – new entry this month

1. Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
Chloé Zhao

2. Mank (Netflix)
Kirk Baxter

3. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Alan Baumgarten

4. News of the World (Universal Pictures)
William Goldenberg

5. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Andrew Mondshein

6. The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)
Yorgos Lamprinos

7. The Midnight Sky (Netflix)
Stephen Mirrione

8. Tenet (Warner Bros)
Jennifer Lame

9. Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros)
Kristan Sprague

10. Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Adam Gough

Other Contenders (alphabetical)

Minari (A24)
Harry Yoon

Nine Days (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jeff Betancourt and Michael Taylor

One Night in Miami… (Amazon Studios)
Tariq Anwar

Palm Springs (Hulu/Neon)
Andrew Dickler and Matt Friedman

Pieces of a Woman (Netflix)
Dávid Jancsó

The Prom (Netflix)
Peggy Tachdjian and Danielle Wang

Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
Frédéric Thoraval

Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Paramount Pictures)
Jay Rabinowitz

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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), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) 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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