I think it’s about time to get started with the rest of the Oscar categories as I’ve been slowly updating most of them in the background for about a month now. We’ll start today with Best Supporting Actor, a category that’s looking extremely top heavy at the moment even though I do have 27 contenders listed. Of those 27, however, I feel the five nominees will come out of my current top eight. Of course, something is bound to change, someone is certain to surprise, and perhaps that someone isn’t even on my list just yet, but that’s how the game is played.
To begin I’m going with Mark Ruffalo at #1 for his performance in Bennett Miller‘s Foxcatcher, a film that’s boasting what is said to be three solid performances including Steve Carell and Channing Tatum, but as far as I can tell it will be Tatum as the odd man out, though I held off placing him anywhere until now as it seems he’ll be part of the Best Actor contenders.
On the #2 line I’m placing J.K. Simmons whose performance in Whiplash has been praised everywhere it has played so far along with the movie itself. Simmons has never been nominated for an Oscar and with the field we have so far it might well very be his year.
Edward Norton is #3 for Birdman, which will have its premiere in Venice and close the New York Film Festival. Clearly Fox Searchlight has a lot of confidence in the movie as I would also expect it to show up at Telluride, as this seems to already be an Oscar darling and no one has even seen it yet.
David Dobkin‘s The Judge is set to open the Toronto Film Festival and while Robert Duvall didn’t get a nomination for Get Low a couple of years back, perhaps this film will earn him that seventh nomination as I currently have him in fourth.
Finally, last in is Mr. Supporting Actor himself, Christoph Waltz for Tim Burton‘s Big Eyes. Just last night we got our first look at Waltz in the film alongside co-star Amy Adams and it’s expected The Weinstein Co. will be pushing the film hard this awards season as we lead up to its December 25 release, though no planned festival appearances just yet.
Additional contenders among the complete list of 27, which you can view right here, include Albert Brooks (A Most Violent Year), Tom Wilkinson (Selma) and little Logan Lerman (Fury).
Like I said, there are still plenty more contenders and many that can come out of nowhere, but I think this list is just as good as any starting point as we’re going to get. You can browse the complete list right here and all of my current Oscar Predictions right here.
