I'll admit to feeling kinda proud (and/or lucky) of nailing three of last year's five Best Supporting Actress nominees from a year out, especially going out on a limb for a young actress no one had ever heard of before named Hailee Steinfeld. Let's see if I can repeat the feat.
One contender who's already had her name bandied about as a nominee at next year's Oscars is the legendary
Vanessa Redgrave for her turn as Volumnia in Ralph Feinnes modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's little-seen
Coriolanus. Redgrave has six career nominations going all the way back to 1967 and one win for
Julia in 1977, but has not been nominated since
Howards End (1992). As a respected veteran and master of her craft, a juicy supporting role might be just what she needs to reenter Oscar's graces.
George Clooney's political drama
The Ides of March features a stacked ensemble with potential for multiple acting nominations. The most notable female presence is
Marisa Tomei, who, after receiving years of flack following her surprise Oscar win for
My Cousin Vinny, has done a great job of keeping her career fresh and interesting by taking on challenging and varied roles that have subsequently earned her another two nominations. Might she stand out in a strongly male-dominated cast?
How about representation from a strongly female-dominated cast?
The Help features an eclectic and promising one, not to mention potential as lite Best Picture appeal. I'm taking my chances on
Viola Davis, who broke out onto the big screen with a nomination two years ago for
Doubt. She plays a black servant in 1960s Mississippi who makes an unlikely friendship with young white college grad.
An ingenue who you might argue is due for a nomination is
Scarlet Johansson. She costars alongside Matt Damon in
We Bought a Zoo, Cameron Crowe's first narrative feature in six years, as the wife of a man who uproots his family so that they can revive an old zoo. Crowe has always written good supporting parts for actresses, so here's hoping Johansson will do well by him.
One actress who's poised to explode in a big way this year is
Jessica Chastain, starring in no less than six films, including the aforementioned
Coriolanus and
The Help. But the one most people are excited about is Terrence Malick's
The Tree of Life. Will she be nominated for this, or for something else? Maybe for
Take Shelter or
The Fields? Or maybe not at all? Her name should be pretty ubiquitous this year, and that's always an advantage to staying in the awards discussion.
Predicted five:
Viola Davis,
The Help
Vanessa Redgrave,
Coriolanus or
The Whistleblower
Jessica Chastain,
The Tree of Life or
Take Shelter or
The Help
Marisa Tomei,
The Ides of March
Scarlet Johansson,
We Bought a Zoo
