Before the trophy “buzz” around the Globes and Oscars
Published: Thursday, Dec 5th 2024, 13:10
Updated At: Thursday, Dec 5th 2024, 12:10
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Awards fever is on the rise in Hollywood. First the Golden Globe contenders are named, then the Oscar candidates.
Can the Swiss entry "Reinas" hold its own in the race for the foreign Oscar? After his quadruple Oscar success with "Nothing New in the West", will German director Edward Berger win again in Hollywood? How does the movie musical "Wicked" fare against "Gladiator 2"? Where will "The Seeds of the Sacred Fig Tree" by Iranian Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled to Germany, end up in the international competition?
The trophy buzz, the speculation about the favorites of the film award season, is in full swing. The industry is eagerly awaiting the Golden Globe nominations. On Monday (9.12.), the contenders in 27 film and TV categories will be announced. The 82nd awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on January 5.
Then come the Academy Awards: the Oscar nominations are scheduled for January 17, the 97th trophy show for March 2. There are also industry awards, for example from the US Screenplay Association, producers and critics' groups.
Swiss contribution
Swiss-Peruvian filmmaker Klaudia Reynicke is at the start for Switzerland with her coming-of-drama "Reinas". The film is an autobiographically inspired story about a mother who wants to move from Lima to the USA with her two daughters. The reason for this is the economic crisis, massive political unrest and a lack of prospects for a better life in Peru in the 1990s. Meanwhile, the father tries to make the most of the time he has left with his daughters.
"Reinas" is Reynecke's third feature film - and it is the first Swiss feature film to screen in the international main competition at the renowned Sundance Film Festival. It was awarded Best Director in the Generation section at the Berlinale and won the Audience Award at the Locarno Film Festival.
German beacon of hope
German director Edward Berger's Vatican thriller "Conklave", which was filmed in Rome, is highly regarded in the USA. The film adaptation of a novel about the sudden death of a pope and the intrigues surrounding the election of a successor has a star-studded cast including Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini.
British actor Fiennes, who has yet to win an Oscar or Golden Globe, shines in the role of a cardinal plagued by doubts. The music was composed by German Oscar winner Volker Bertelmann ("Nothing New in the West"). In 2003, Berger's literary adaptation "Nothing New in the West" won four Oscars, including Best International Film.
Hamburg native Leonie Benesch ("Das Lehrerzimmer") also has a chance, thanks to her role in "September 5" about the 1972 Olympic bombing in Munich, when Palestinian assassins take Israeli athletes hostage. In the film directed by Tim Fehlbaum from Basel, the 33-year-old plays an interpreter for a US television team reporting live on the events.
The stirring drama "The Seeds of the Sacred Fig Tree" is considered a top contender in the competition for non-English-language films in the current awards season. Director Rasoulof tells the story of the effects of the political protests in Iran on a family. The film was mainly produced in Germany and is in the running for the foreign Oscar in 2025.
Promising stars
France is competing in this category with the crazy musical comedy "Emilia Pérez" by director Jacques Audiard, which uses musical numbers, action and emotion to explore themes such as gender reassignment and identity against the backdrop of Mexican drug wars. The singing actresses Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez have good chances of winning awards.
This also applies to Angelina Jolie, who plays the legendary opera singer Maria Callas in the biopic "Maria". US pop star Ariana Grande and British singer Cynthia Erivo are also among the acting favorites as witches in the film musical "Wicked".
Among the male cast, a critics' favorite also stands out for his voice. In the biopic "A Complete Unknown", Timothée Chalamet ("Dune") plays the young Bob Dylan with tousled hair and a nasal voice. James Bond star Daniel Craig also has a good chance of winning an award for his unusual role in "Queer". The drama is about the love between two men. Romanian-American actor Sebastian Stan is also attracting attention for his portrayal of the young Donald Trump in the film biopic "The Apprentice".
Many strong female performances make the selection in this category difficult. Nicole Kidman, who has already won the award for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, is a shoo-in for the nominations. In the erotic drama "Babygirl", she plays a businesswoman who acts out long-repressed sexual desires when she starts an affair with a much younger intern (Harris Dickinson).
In "The Room Next Door", Tilda Swinton plays a terminally ill woman who wants to end her own life. Demi Moore fearlessly plays a woman who does not want to age in the body horror film "The Substance". In "The Last Showgirl", Pamela Anderson ("Baywatch") plays a dancer at the end of her career in a completely unpretentious manner. Irish actress Saoirse Ronan plays an alcoholic woman in the book adaptation "The Outrun" by German director Nora Fingscheidt.
Highly traded films
The Golden Globes award prizes for drama and comedy, while there is only one "Best Film" at the Oscars. The predictions range from expensive blockbusters such as "Gladiator 2" by director Ridley Scott to small independent films such as "Anora", which was already highly acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival. In this fast-paced tragicomedy, US director Sean Baker tells the story of a self-confident sex worker.
The Globes are sometimes seen as an Oscar barometer at the start of the trophy season, but this calculation doesn't always work out. With over 10,000 Academy members compared to just over 300 global voters, significantly more jurors vote for the Oscar contenders. Now that the nominations have been announced, it is likely to remain exciting to see who will end up with the most trophies in Hollywood's long awards season.
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