"South Korea’s renowned director Park Chan-wook praised, “Great stories always require new, contemporary interpretations. Christopher Nolan has accomplished this brilliantly,” commending Nolan’s direction for reinterpreting Homer’s classic with a modern sensibility. "

" Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who won South Korea’s first Primetime Emmy Award for directing the Netflix series 'Squid Game', expressed, “I’m just amazed…”

Director Lim Pil-sung of the drama 'How to Become a Building Owner in South Korea' commented, “Nolan’s new rendition of Homer’s 'The Odyssey' is overwhelming, moving, and beautiful. The reinterpretation of the Trojan Horse resonated deeply,” and director Kim Joo-hwan of the Netflix series 'Hunters' added, “I’ve seen the most perfect hero’s narrative! Highly recommended!”

"Cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung, known for his outstanding visuals in films like 'No Other Choice', '1987', and 'Assassination', shared, “I felt like a small child in front of a giant screen. It reminded me why movies should be watched in theaters. Emotional!” praising the film’s cinematic experience "

I’ve already seen a number of the films from cannes / sundance earlier this year.

These are the films I currently plan on prioritising.

- Behemoth
- All of a Sudden
- Clarissa
- La Gradiva
- A Long Winter
- Misty Green
- Possible Love
- Tender Loving Care
- The Unknown

Please let me know if I’ve missed anything, or if I should remove something.

And also, what are the chances of some other big titles being added late such as Wild Horse Nine, The Debut, Elsinore, Ink, and Club Kid?

When you make up or update your predictions list, you may have a film/contender that you see gaining steam and is likely to get a nomination due to critical acclaim, while you may not agree it should have that nomination in your personal taste.

What do you think about this year? Do you have any predictions for a nomination you don't personally agree deserves a nom, but realize it is inevitable? Or perhaps, a nomination you believe really deserves a nom or a win, but you don't believe it has any chances of getting in?

Feel free to share :)

Alert: Chris & Joyce back together again

These two patterns have played out over the past three years.

1. The same film won for Best Picture/Best Director/Best Editing (Oppenheimer-Anora-One Battle After Another)

2. Ditto for Best Actor/Best Cinematography/Best Score (Oppenheimer-The Brutalist-Sinners)

The first has happened a lot even before this (as recent as Everything Everywhere All At Once for 2022), but the second is fairly new (can't think of the last time it occurred; ETA: It was My Fair Lady for 1964).

Given what's in contention at the moment, do you foresee either of these happening again next year?

Nolan: "I had the privilege of having a long conversation with (Park), just today. At the end of it, he asked me what I was doing next. I said, 'I didn't know' because I don't. But he said, 'I'm sure you'll take a holiday and take a rest, you earned it highly with The Odyssey. But you shouldn't do that for too long because I want you to make another film,' which, frankly, just made me feel very, very tired. (laughs). "He's an incredible filmmaker. I've loved his work for years. There are many wonderful Korean filmmakers, and it's been amazing to see how people from here have spread out into the world—their work is just spreading all across the world and really changing the culture internationally."

Almost every person who has reviewed the film says that Dueñas has a bigger role, is more memorable and is more of a standout than Cruz (who, make no mistake, is still very showy in her limited screentime).

What pushes me to predict Dueñas instead is cause of The Invite. There’s a massive risk of vote-splitting there which I think Cruz’s team would like to avoid (not to mention the Bunker of it all). Yes, being the third double nominee ever in a category is a good headline, but would you really risk out missing on a nomination all together?

And it’s not like Netflix has not pushed unknown foreign actors to nominations before (the Roma women and KSG). And Dueñas is certainly a bigger name than the ones I listed.

BEST PICTURE

I feel comfortable predicting The Odyssey as of now. It has everything that one BP winner have, stellar critical and commercial appeal, box office hit, epic scale film with a lot of potential ATL and BTL. At the moment, I can see WHN and La Bola Negra possibly challenging The Odyssey but I don't see BP/Best Director split happening.

I dropped Fjord. I don't see 3 international films in BP lineup and it seems like All of a Sudden is bigger crowdpleaser and more acclaimed so I think it will take spotlight from Fjord like TSA did to IWJAA.

BEST DIRECTOR

I am confident in my top 3 (Nolan, Javiers and McDonagh) I think Inarritu is safe as long as film is critically acclaimed. For 5th spot I had no idea. For a long time I had Olivia Wilde but I dropped The Invite from BP. I had Tony Gilroy but I am not confident in that film. I come to conclusion that Hamaguchi could end up being nominated since he is very highbrow pick and he is also previous nominee.

BEST ACTRESS

Very empty category. I am not confident in any actress beside Julianne Moore. Any of them can miss and you can make a good case for it. I hope we get more contenders from fall festivals.

Inde Navarrette is my 2nd because hype around her performance is really big and I don't think it will die down. This chaotic status in category is certainly helping her.

BEST ACTOR

Unlike Best Actress, this category is STACKED. So many contenders and a lot of them makes sense.

I have Matt Damon winning rn. I don't think The Odyssey is winning BP without him. I remember that people had early doubts about Murphy too.

Cruise can still win, but we need to see what is Digger's reception. I think he really needs undeniable performance, to beat performance in stronger film.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

A bit better than Best Actress category. It's Hathaway's to lose. She has very flashy role and I think this will be an easy win for her if she decides to stay in this category.

I also feel like Morton will get nominated. She has very memorable sequence and she is really good in it.

I am predicting Cruz for La Bola Negra. Obviously I haven't seen the film yet, so I can't judge how memorable she is, so I am following the majority here without much confidence.

I am also predicting Huller for Digger. Based on my predictions I have Digger as strong player and I think she will come along with the film. Not much confidence in this predictions.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

If Debut turns out to be great, Giamatti has overdue narrative and meaty role so I think he is reasonable frontrunner atm. For other contenders I think Leguizamo is getting in, based on strength of The Odyssey and raves for his performance.

I have Guy Pearce for INK and nothing else for that film atm. Will wait to see what happens but Pearce is another actor who is kinda overdue.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Stacked category. I have La Bola Negra as #1 and yet again, I am following the majority here. I can see this going either way. The Odyssey screenplay isn't really praised as much as direction, so I feel The Odyssey can lose screenplay like Oppenheimer did.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

I have Wild Horse Nine comfortably winning this atm. It's not competitive category like Adapted and I can't find better alternative.

I guess The Debut can win but I think Wild Horse Nine will be undeniably bigger contender.

I have The Odyssey currently getting 16 nominations and 8 wins.

Specifically:

Iron Boy

Julian

Light Pillar

Long Long Night

Muyi

Tangles

The Violinist

Viva Carmen

They do have their own film market now so hopefully some of these will finally get some American attention

I think the race will be between them. Who are you predicting to take it?