On September 18th, several hopefuls emerge. Bright Star is the "Most Likely to Succeed". This tragic love story, told by the brilliant Jane Campion (The Piano), details the romance of poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and his headstrong fashionable girlfriend Fanny Brawn (Abbie Cornish) . The Academy really likes Charlize Theron (hell, they even nominated her for North Country) and her latest drama The Burning Plain is finally opening. You can also cross your fingers for Matt Damon in The Informant! While the voters don't often go for comedic performances, can they really resist this popular and reliably committed actor when he's having this much fun onscreen. He gained a ton of weight like a new DeNiro or a reverse Bale. And he did it for Oscar winning director Steven Soderbergh which adds automatic cred. Another big contender that weekend? Best Actress hopeful Megan Fox from Jennifer's Bo— kidding!
Even if those performances and films don't pan out Oscar-wise, more info on the presumed big guns –like the musical Nine which has been test screening – will be arriving with increasing fervor and the holiday months will be crowded with prestigious contenders as per usual. September also brings up the Toronto International Film Festival (10th – 19th) which is likely to cause minor quakes on Oscar's own richter scale.
How soon do you start anticipating the Oscar field each year? Are you already planning your party? Is September 3rd too early, too late, or jusssssst right?
