The FAC Looks at Film Editing and Cinematography / Oscar Biz Buzz: Fences, Miss Sloane and Moonlight

Welcome to Thursday...


THE FAC LOOKS AT TWO NEW CATEGORIES: FILM EDITING AND CINEMATOGRAPHY

One of the most common refrains in Oscar season is that a Best Picture contender needs a film editing nomination to be a real player for the big prize.  Last year's winner: Spotlight, fulfilled that criteria.  A film doesn't have to win it, but it does seem to be helpful to get the Film Editing nomination.  So we're going to take our first look today at the films that the The FAC Oscar pundits think have the inside track for a nomination there as well as for Cinematography...which for the first time in three years will NOT be won by Emmanuel Lubezki (2013-Gravity, 2014-Birdman, 2015-The Revenant).

I have used the publicly available Oscar predictions from the following pundits:

Erik Anderson/Awards Watch
Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit
Greg Ellwood/The Playlist-Awards Campaign
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter
Joey Magidson/Hollywood News
Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Kristopher Tapley/Variety-InContention
Anne Thompson/Indiewire

TFF #43 films are in Bold.

Here's the first FAC for those two categories:

FILM EDITING

1) La La Land
2) Silence
3) Arrival
4) Moonlight
5) Live by Night

6) Fences
7) Jackie
8) Lion
9) Sully
10) Hacksaw Ridge

Comment:  If true when the nominations are actually announced, TFF #43 films would be three of the five nominated films in this category.


CINEMATOGRAPHY

1) La La Land
2) Silence
3) Arrival
4) Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
5) Jackie

6) Live by Night
7) Rules Don't Apply
8) Hail Caesar
9) The Jungle Book
10) Cafe Society

Comment: La La Land would add another nomination here as would Arrival.



OSCAR BIZ BUZZ

THE VIOLA DAVIS MOVE

I reported here Monday that Viola Davis will be campaigning for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Fences rather than Best Actress.  That creates a completely different dynamic for both categories. The decision almost certainly opens a spot in the Best Actress categories and also crowds out someone in the Supporting category as well as making it a much more competitive race.

Indiewire's Anne Thompson takes a look at the ramifications.

MISS SLOANE TO POP AT AFI

We've been waiting to see the complete American Film Institute's full lineup as well as if John Madden's Miss Sloane starring Jessica Chastain would play there for some time now.  We got our answer Tuesday as The AFI folks have set the film for its World Premiere on Nov. 11.

Details of the AFI announcement are here from Variety.


AWARDS CHATTER PODCAST

Scott Feinberg talks to Oscar Best Supporting Actor contender Mahershala Ali about his role in Barry Jenkins Moonlight as well as other topics in the most recent edition of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter.

You can find the article and the link to the podcast here.


That's a wrap for Thursday.

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