One Category at a Time: Best Sound Editing

Earlier today I outlined my thoughts on the race for Best Sound Mixing, and now I'm doing the same for its sister category Best Sound Editing. I did consider covering both predictions in a single post, but it occurred to me that this may be one of those rare years in which we see a split between the two sound categories.

What could make it an even rarer occurrence is that the split might be between two films nominated in both contests, which as only ever happened once (between Slumdog Millionaire and The Dark Knight). The reason such wealth-sharing is so uncommon is that the Academy often struggles to differentiate these two aural disciplines, unless they receive some sort of "obvious" and oversimplified direction, like 'musicals = sound mixing' and 'action = sound editing'.

September Festivals and Releases Offer Oscar Season Warm-Up

For journos and festival globetrotters, Oscar season officially kicks off in early September with the unveiling of several potential contenders at Venice, Telluride and Toronto (big takeaway is that Damien Chazelle's La La Land -- my most anticipated film of 2016 -- seriously has the goods). But for Oscar hobbyists like you and me, September is merely a warm-up period; A chance to read up on all the festival players and ease out of blockbuster mode, as more adult fare that may not have what it takes to go all the way look to cash in on summer fatigue.