As every single ceremonial event in our post-2020 lives, 2021 major award-giving ceremonies are also trying and come to terms with the consequences of the global health threat we’ve all been under for what seems like forever. So “forever” that we’re kind of getting used to it, aren’t we? Sad but true, Zoom parties don’t sound so miserable anymore, we’ll settle for Instagram live concerts and, I think, by now we’re all oddly familiar with the wallpaper patterns, bookshelf arrangements, sofa covers, and loungewear closets of most celebrities’ houses – given all the prizes they’ve had to accept via webcam over the past year, I’m pretty sure I could easily tell Kate Hudson’s living room by just looking at one lamp, and archive Jason Sudeikis’ collection of tie-dye hoodies.
Here’s where we’re at: the 2021 Golden Globe Awards opened the dances on February 28th – almost two months later than normal – with a first-time bi-coastal ceremony hosted by Tina Fey live from The Rainbow Room in New York City, and Amy Poehler from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. All nominees joined via video conference from their homes; the audience? Almost none, but a few seats occupied by certificated Covid-free, masked social workers. March 7th was the day of the Critics’ Choice Awards, once again a virtual ceremony with no audience and video award acceptance speeches. In the same way, the winners of the 2021 Writers Guild Awards (WGA) will be announced in a virtual ceremony on March 21. April 4th and 11th are the set dates for the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), presented respectively at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and at the Royal Albert Hall in London: the audience, not allowed; the ceremony, inevitably virtual. To close the tour, the Academy Awards will, as usual, recognize achievement in the film industry, and award winners with its historical golden-plated statuette. The 2021 ceremony, however, will be different from any Academy Awards ceremony in history. First and foremost, these Oscars will take place later than ever, on April 25th – previously scheduled for February 28th, the show was forced to move because of the unmanageable spreading of the pandemic. No details have been revealed yet about the percentage of virtuality that will characterize the ceremony: we don’t know whether the most important red carpet of the year will be unrolled, whether any kind of audience members will be allowed, or whether there will or won’t be a host; the only thing we can rely on is a joint statement from the producers of the show:
“We’re thrilled and terrified in equal measure. Because of the extraordinary situation we’re all in, there’s an opportunity to focus on the movies and the people who make them in a new way, and we hope to create a show that really feels like the movies we all love,” said Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Steven Soderbergh.
Speaking of movies, despite the rough year cinema and television have gone through, with the many productions suspended, release dates delayed, digital platform distributions in the place of theater screenings, a significant number of high-quality films, shows, and extremely talented artists are fighting for victories this 2021. From a brief review of the films and TV series with the most nominations and wins between the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, WGA, SAG, and BAFTA awards, we could build up a podium occupied by a group of recurrent names and titles, among which director Chloe Zhao with her drama “Nomadland” starring Frances McDormand, David Fincher’s “Mank” with multiple-nominated Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried, multiple-nominated and winners director Aaron Sorkin and actor Sacha Baron Cohen with their movie “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman starring in the critically acclaimed “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the female-focused dramedy “Promising Young Woman” with its director and writer Emerald Fennell and lead actress Carey Mulligan, the Korean-American production “Minari” directed by Lee Isaac Chung and starring multiple-nominated Steven Yeun and young Critics’ Choice Award winner Alan Kim, up to Regina King’s directorial debut “One Night in Miami.”
While the television victors have almost definitely been appointed for this year – with “The Crown” and its cast leaders Emma Corrin, Josh O’ Connor, and Gillian Anderson, “Ted Lasso” and its creator and lead actor Jason Sudeikis, Dan and Eugene Levy’s “Schitt’s Creek,” and crime series “Ozark” dominating the scene – the cards on the table have still to be put for cinema.
Now, mark your calendars: the 93rd Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15th.
However, while waiting for someone to tell us whether we’ll have to inventory celebrities’ mansions yet again, or watch an Academy Awards ceremony that miraculously tastes like normal, let’s round up the most anticipated nominees in the main categories of awards. Check out our list of the “top-rated” and “possible twists” and make your own predictions: who will take (or be sent) the golden statuette home this time?
Contenders for: BEST PICTURE
Top-rated
“Nomadland” by Chloe Zhao
“Mank” by David Fincher
“Da 5 Bloods” by Spike Lee
“Promising Young Woman” by Emerald Fennell
“The Father” by Florian Zeller
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” by George C. Wolfe
“Minari” by Lee Isaac Chung
“News Of The World” by Paul Greengrass
“One Night in Miami” by Regina King
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” by Aaron Sorkin
Possible Twist
“Judas and the Black Messiah” by Shaka King
“The Mauritanian” by Kevin Macdonald
“Soul” by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers
“Palm Springs” by Max Barbakow
“Sound of Metal” by Darius Marder
“The United States vs. Billie Holiday” by Lee Daniels
Contenders for: BEST DIRECTOR
Top-rated
Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
David Fincher, “Mank”
Regina King, “One Night in Miami”
Aaron Sorkin, “Trial of the Chicago 7”
Chloe Zhao, “Nomadland”
Possible Twist
Paul Greengrass, “News Of The World”
Shaka King, “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Spike Lee, “Da 5 Bloods”
Darius Marder, “Sound of Metal”
Christopher Nolan, “Tenet”
George C. Wolfe, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Florian Zeller, “The Father”
Contenders for: BEST ACTOR
Top-rated
Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal”
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Father”
Delroy Lindo, “Da 5 Bloods”
Gary Oldman, “Mank”
Steven Yeun, “Minari”
Possible Twist
Mads Mikkelsen, “Another Round”
Tahir Rahim, “The Mauritanian”
John David Washington, “Malcolm and Marie”
Kingsley Ben-Adir, “One Night in Miami”
Tom Hanks, “News Of The World”
Contenders for: BEST ACTRESS
Top-rated
Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Andra Day, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces of a Woman”
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”
Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”
Zendaya, “Malcolm and Marie”
Possible Twist
Amy Adams, “Hillbilly Elegy”
Yeri Han, “Minari”
Sophia Loren, “The Life Ahead”
Michelle Pfeiffer, “French Exit”
Rosamund Pike, “I Care a Lot”
Kate Winslet, “Ammonite”
Contenders for: BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Top-rated
Chadwick Boseman, “Da 5 Bloods”
Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Jared Leto, “The Little Things”
Bill Murray, “On The Rocks”
Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal”
Leslie Odom, Jr., “One Night in Miami”
Possible Twist
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Bo Burnham, “Promising Young Woman”
Colman Domingo, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Aldis Hodge, “One Night in Miami”
Mark Rylance, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
David Strathairn, “Nomadland”
Glynn Turman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Contenders for: BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Top-rated
Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Ellen Burstyn, “Pieces of a Woman”
Glenn Close, “Hillbilly Elegy”
Olivia Colman, “The Father”
Amanda Seyfried, “Mank”
Yuh-Jung Youn, “Minari”
Possible Twist
Olivia Cooke, “Sound of Metal”
Dominique Fishback, “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Jodie Foster, “The Mauritanian”
Saoirse Ronan, “Ammonite”
Helena Zengel, “News Of The World”
Contenders for: BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Top-rated
“Soul” by Pete Docter, Dana Murray
“Onward” by Dan Scanlon, Kori Rae
“Over the Moon” by Glen Keane, Peilin Chou, Gennie Rim
“A Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon” by Richard Phelan, Will Becher
“The Croods: A New Age” by Joel Crawford
“Wolfwalkers” by Stéphan Roelants, Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young, Nora Twomey
Possible Twist
“Bombay Rose” by Gitanjali Rao
“Scoob!” by Tony Cervone, Pam Coats, Allison Abbate
“Trolls: World Tour” by Walt Dohrn, Gina Shay
“The Willoughbys” by Kris Pearn, Brenda Gilbert, Luke Carroll
Contenders for: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Top-rated
Sean Bobbitt, “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Erik Messerschmidt, “Mank”
Joshua James Richards, “Nomadland”
Tobias A. Schliessler, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Newton Thomas Sigel, “Da 5 Bloods”
Hoyte van Hoytema, “Tenet”
Dariusz Wolski, “News of the World”
Possible Twist
Daniel Bouquet, “Sound of Metal”
Paolo Carnera, “The White Tiger”
Shelly Johnson, “Greyhound”
Benjamin Kracun, “Promising Young Woman”
Lachlan Milne, “Minari”
Phedon Papamichael, “Trial of the Chicago 7”
Tami Reiker, “One Night in Miami”
Martin Ruhe, “The Midnight Sky”
Mandy Walker, “Mulan”
Contenders for: BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Top-rated
Mark Bridges, “News of the World”
Alexandra Byrne, “Emma”
Bina Daigeler, “Mulan”
Charlese Antoinette Jones, “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Ann Roth, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Trish Summerville, “Mank”
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, “One Night in Miami”
Possible Twist
Erin Benach, “Birds of Prey”
Donna Berwick, “Da 5 Bloods”
Lou Eyrich, “The Prom”
Suzie Harman, Robert Worley, “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
Paolo Nieddu, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
Virginia Johnson, “Hillbilly Elegy”
Susan Lyall, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Michael O’Connor, “Ammonite”
Contenders for: BEST FILM EDITING
Top-rated
Alan Baumgarten, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Kirk Baxter, “Mank”
William Goldenberg, “News of the World”
Jennifer Lame, “Tenet”
Yorgos Lamprinos, “The Father”
Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, “Sound of Metal”
Frederic Thoraval, “Promising Young Woman”
Chloe Zhao, “Nomadland”
Possible Twist
Tariq Anwar, “One Night in Miami”
Andy Canny, “The Invisible Man”
Jay Cassidy, Evan Schiff, “Birds of Prey”
Matt Friedman, Andrew Dickler, “Palm Springs”
Adam Gough, “Da 5 Bloods”
Andrew Mondshein, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Richard Pearson, “Wonder Woman 1984”
Kristan Sprague, “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Harry Yoon, “Minari”
Contenders for: BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Top-rated
Chile: “The Mole Agent” by Maite Alberdi
Czech Republic: “Charlatan” by Agnieszka Holland
Denmark: “Another Round” by Thomas Vinterberg
France: “Two of Us” by Filippo Meneghetti
Mexico: “I’m No Longer Here” by Fernando Frías
Romania: “Collective” by Alexander Nanau
Russia: “Dear Comrades!” by Andrey Konchalovskiy
Possible Twist
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Quo Vadis, Aida?” by Jasmila Zbanic
Guatemala: “La Llorona” by Jayro Bustamante
Norway: “Hope” by Maria Sodahl
Taiwan: “A Sun” by Mong-Hong Chung
Contenders for: BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Top-rated
Alexandre Desplat, “The Midnight Sky”
James Newton Howard, “News of the World”
Ludwig Goransson, “Tenet”
Daniel Pemberton, “The Trial of the Chicago 7″
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste, “Soul”
Possible Twist
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “Mank”
Terence Blanchard, “Da 5 Bloods”
Thomas Newman, “The Little Things”
Harry Gregson-Williams, “Mulan”
Emile Mosseri, “Minari”
Contenders for: BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Top -rated
“Fight For You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Written by H.E.R., Dernst ‘D’Mile’ Emile II, Tiara Thomas
“lo Si (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead”
Written by Diane Warren
“See What You’ve Done” from “Belly of the Beast”
Written by Mary J. Blige, Darhyl Camper, Jr., Denisia Andrews, Brittany Coney
“Speak Now” from “One Night in Miami”
Written by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth
“Turntables” from “All In: The Fight for Democracy”
Written by Janelle Monáe, Nathaniel Irvin III, George “George 2.0.” A. Peters II
Possible Twist
“Free” from “The One and Only Ivan”
Written by Diane Warren
“Hear My Voice” from “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Written by Daniel Pemberton, Celeste
“Loyal Brave True” from “Mulan”
Written by Jamie Hartman, Harry Gregson-Williams, Rosi Golan, Billy Crabtree
“Never Break” from “Giving Voice”
Written by John Legend, Nasri Atweh, Benjamin Hudson McIldowie, Greg Wells
“Wuhan Flu” from “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Erran Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines
Contenders for: BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Top-rated
“The Father” adapted from Florian Zeller’s play of the same name
“News Of The World” adapted from Paulette Jiles’ novel of the same name
“Nomadland” based on Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction book of the same nam
“One Night in Miami” based on Kemp Powers’ play of the same name
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” based on the play of the same name by August Wilson
Possible Twist
“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” based on “Borat Sagdiyev” by Sacha Baron Cohen
“First Cow” adapted from Jonathan Raymond’s novel of the same name
“French Exit” adapted from Patrick deWitt’s novel of the same name
“The Life Ahead” adapted from Romain Gary’s novel “The Life Before Us”
“The Personal History of David Copperfield” adapted from Charles Dickens’s novel of the same name
“The White Tiger” adapted from Aravind Adiga’s novel of the same name.
Contenders for: BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Top-rated
“Mank” by Jack Fincher
“Minari” by Lee Isaac Chung
“Promising Young Woman” by “Emerald Fennell
“Soul” by Pete Docter, Mike Jones, Kemp Powers, Tina Fey
“Sound of Metal” by Darius and Abraham Marder
“Trial of the Chicago 7” by Aaron Sorkin
Possible Twist
“Da 5 Bloods” by Spike Lee, Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott
“The Forty-Year-Old Version” by Radha Blank
“Judas and the Black Messiah” by Shaka King and Will Berson
“On the Rocks” by Sofia Coppola
“Tenet” by Christopher Nolan
#UNMENTIONEDCATEGORIES
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Best Production Design
Best Sound
Best Visual Effects
Best Documentary Feature
Best Documentary Short Subject
Best Live Action Short Film
Best Animated Short Film
