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Last Updated: March 1, 2008
The Frontrunners:
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Rank
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-/--
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Movie
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Precursors
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1
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-
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 Australia
20th Century Fox
Directed by: Baz Luhrman
Pro: There's a reason Baz only makes a film every 8 or so years. Because they're so dang good.
Con: The Academy has had a taste for violence the past couple of years. This one might be too nice.
Release Date: November 14, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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2
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-
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 The Argentine
Focus Features
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Pro: Great cast, great director, great production company plus a 2008 double feature. Sounds good to me.
Con: Focus features had a surprisingly weak showing at the '08 Oscars. Can they turn it around?
Release Date: TBA, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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3
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-
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 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Paramount Pictures
Directed by: David Fincher
Pro: David Fincher is one of the more overdue filmmakers in Hollywood. The Academy likes awarding the overdue.
Con: He is also one of the more easily overlooked filmmakers, which may happen to this film.
Release Date: December 19, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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4
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-
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 Revolutionary Road
Paramount Vantage
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Pro: It reunites the two stars from one of the Academy's most lauded films (Titanic) and has a high profile director.
Con: When directors direct their starlet wives it can sometimes become a disaster.
Release Date: December 19, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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5
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-
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 Appaloosa
New Line Cinema
Directed by: Ed Harris
Pro: The American Western is back and in a big way. This high profile Western could go far.
Con: New Line Cinema realeases have not been very present at the Oscars in the past several years.
Release Date: TBA, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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The Alternates:
Rank
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-/--
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Movie
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Precursors
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6
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 The Reader
The Weinstein Company
Directed by: Stephen Daldry
Pro: This is one that gets the points for it's high profile. Respected cast, director, and production company. Should be good.
Con: High profile isn't everything. The story sounds like it may not be exceptional enough.
Release Date: December 12, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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7
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-
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 Synecdoche, New York
Distributor TBA
Directed by: Charlie Kaufman
Pro: Brilliant screenwriter and a cast chock full of stars. Kaufman always delivers big and now he's in the director's chair.
Con: If Kaufman as is awkward as he was portrayed in Adaptation, it might be strange.
Release Date: TBA, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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8
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 Changeling
Universal Pictures
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Pro: Eastwood is an Academy magnet. Just having his name attached to this project will elevate it to high expectations.
Con: The premise sounds way too strange for the Academy's usual tastes.
Release Date: November 7, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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9
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 Defiance
Paramount Vantage
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Pro: It's the heart string tugging war film of 2008. These types of films usually show up at Oscar season.
Con: Zwick's films are often quite commercial, which has been turning off the Academy recently.
Release Date: TBA, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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10
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 Milk
Focus Features
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Pro: The great Gus Van Sant teams up with Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Emile Hirsch.
Con: The last film about homosexuality (Brokeback Mountain) wasn't as loved by the Academy as it was by others.
Release Date: November, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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Other Possibilities:
Rank
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-/--
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Movie
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Precursors
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11
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Redbelt
Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by: David Mamet
Release Date: May 2, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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12
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-
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Body of Lies
Warner Bros. Pictures
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Release Date: October 10, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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13
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Frost/Nixon
Universal Pictures
Directed by: Ron Howard
Release Date: TBA, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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14
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Doubt
Miramax Films
Directed by: John Patrick Shanley
Release Date: December 5, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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15
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Guerrilla
Distributor TBA
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Release Date: TBA, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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16
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-
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Burn After Reading
Focus Features
Directed by: Joel, Ethan Coen
Release Date: September 26, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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17
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-
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Valkyrie
United Artists
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Release Date: October 3, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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18
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Blindness
Miramax Films
Directed by: Fernando Meirelles
Release Date: August 8, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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19
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-
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The Burning Plain
Magnolia Pictures
Directed by: Guillermo Arriaga
Release Date: TBA, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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20
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-
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Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Weinstein Company
Directed by: Woody Allen
Release Date: TBA, 2008
Trailer | Website | Review: TBA
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None
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