The Imitation Game
The 2014 Oscars season has just ended - it really was a very exciting awards circuit this year - and we are already looking ahead to the films and stars that could be in contention for 2015.
There are a whole host of exciting film projects on the horizon, and we have already spied a handful of films that have awards contenders written all over them. We take a look at some of the films to watch out for between now and the Oscars 2015.
- The Imitation Game
One of the movies that we are particularly looking forward to is The Imitation Game, which will see Benedict Cumberbatch back in a leading film role; it could turn out to be his greatest film moment to date.
Harvey Weinstein has a great Oscar nomination and Oscar win record, and the infamous producer is behind this new biopic about Alan Turing. Cumberbatch will take on the role of Turing in the film. Turing helped break the Enigma code during the Second World War, but was hounded because of his sexuality.
We all know how much the Academy loves a biopic film, and this really could be a major player by the end of the year. Headhunters filmmaker Morten Tyldum is in the director’s chair, while Keira Knightley and Mark Strong are part of the supporting cast.
Could we all be willing Benedict Cumberbatch on to a Best Actor Oscar win by the beginning of next year?
- Kill The Messenger
Jeremy Renner is no stranger to being an Oscar contender having picked up a Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nod for The Hurt Locker and The Town in recent years. And Renner could well be in the mix again with his upcoming performance in Kill The Messenger.
There is already some excitement around Kill The Messenger, as Renner is set to take on the role of reporter Gary Webb. The movie is based on the true story of Webb, who was the victim of a vicious smear campaign after he uncovered the CIA’s role in importing cocaine.
Michael Cuesta is back in the director’s chair for his first film since Roadie back in 2011. The movie is based on the book by Nick Schou and has been adapted for the big screen by Peter Landesman.
Renner could well find himself in the Best Actor Oscar mix for the second time in his career.
- Unbroken - released 26th December
There is already a lot of talk about Unbroken as Angelina Jolie returns to the director’s chair for the first time since she made her live action debut with In The Land of Blood and Honey.
Unbroken is set to follow the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was captured by the Japanese during the Second World War. The screenplay has been penned by Joel and Ethan Coen.
FemaleFirst has been talking a lot of about British actor Jack O’Connell in recent months, and he is set to take on the role of Zamperini in the film. While he will find success with Starred Up and 300: Rise of an Empire, Unbroken could prove to be the film that may really put him on the map.
It would be exciting to see Unbroken in the Oscar race: we could see a Best Picture nod, Best Actor for O’Connell and a Best Director nomination for Jolie. I would personally love to see the latter.
- Interstellar - released 7th November
I don’t know about you, but I have always believed that The Dark Knight should have been nominated for Best Picture, with Nolan also picking up a Best Director nod for his fantastic work. Alas, it was not to be. However, with Interstellar we could see Nolan finally get the Oscar recognition that he so richly deserves.
Interstellar is one of the most anticipated sci-fi films of the year, as Nolan returns to the director’s chair for the first time since The Dark Knight Rises.
A group of explorers make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel. We have seen Gravity triumph on the awards circuit this year and there is no reason why Interstellar cannot do the same.
Nolan has brought together a terrific cast as Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck and Michael Caine all set to star. Is a Best Picture and Best Director nomination a major possibility?
- Foxcatcher
Foxcatcher was a movie that we expected to be in the Oscar mix this year, but all that changed after the release date was moved.
The movie marks the return of Bennett Miller to the director’s chair: the filmmaker who steered Moneyball to Oscar nomination success. This is his first live action feature film since that baseball drama.
Miller is no stranger to the biopic film, with Moneyball and Capote already under his belt. Foxcatcher tells the true story of
Olympic Wrestling Champion Mark Schultz and how paranoid schizophrenic John duPont killed his brother, Olympic Champion Dave Schultz.
Steve Carell’s performance as John de Pont is already whipping up a storm, and he could well be a Best Actor Oscar contender. This is a performance and movie role that we have never seen Carell tackle, and I can’t wait to see him in action.
Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo are also on board as Mark and David Schultz - supporting nominations could well come their way. Miller could also picked up the second Best Director Oscar nomination of his career: he was nominated for his work on Capote.
- Inherent Vice
Director Paul Thomas Anderson is no stranger to delivering Oscar quality movies, with the likes of There Will be Blood and The Master in recent years. Now he is set to return with his new film Inherent Vice.
Inherent Vice is a big screen adaptation of the novel by Thomas Pynchon, and follows a drug fuelled detective as he invest ages the murder of a former girlfriend in 1970’s Los Angeles.
Joaquin Phoenix will lead an all-star cast as he takes on the role of detective Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello. This movie reunites him with Anderson, after the pair worked together on The Master.
Jena Malone, Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro and Owen Wilson make up a star-studded cast list: all of whom could find themselves bagging supporting Oscar nominations.
Phoenix and Anderson however, could find themselves in the running for the Best Actor and Best Director gongs.
- Wild
Reese Witherspoon could find herself with two potential Oscar contenders by the beginning of next year, as she is also set to star in Wild.
Wild tells the true story of Cheryl Strayed, who set off on a 1,100 mile solo trek to get away from all of the troubles in her life. Witherspoon will take on the central role of Strayed in the film: which is based on Strayed’s memoir.
Jean-Marc Vallee may not a familiar name to everyone, but he has just steered Dallas Buyers Club to a Best Picture Oscar nomination and Matthew McConaughey to a Best Actor win.
He is back in the director’s chair for the film, and I am excited to see him tackle another and yet very different biopic project.
Other movies to watch out for are A Most Violent Year starring Oscar Isaacs, Gone Girl with Ben Affleck, Theory of Everything starring Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking and The Giver with Jeff Bridges.
Between now and March 2015, there are many exciting films to drop, and I cannot wait to see who will be in the Oscar mix by the beginning of next year.