Visit us at FramesAndFlicker.com

View Our Oscar Predictions

Follow us: @AcademyAnon

On this episode of ACADEMY ANONYMOUS:

• Icon of Cinema Robert Redford passes away
• Recapping results from the Toronto International Film Festival
• Will TIFF's new dual People's Choice Award categories create more crossover with Best Picture at the Oscars? Or sow more chaos?
• HAMNET a solid frontrunner following People's Choice Award
• Can FRANKENSTEIN, WAKE UP DEAD MAN or NO OTHER CHOICE ride People's Choice selection to possible Best Picture surprises?
• The biggest losers at TIFF? Can RENTAL FAMILY, NUREMBERG, ROOFMAN and other titles survive People's Choice Award omission?
• The Best Picture Six - early surefire nominees you shouldn't bet against
• How many studios can double up their Best Picture nominations this year? Neon, Netflix, A24, Focus Features and Warner Bros. among favorites to nab multiple Best Picture nods.
• A24 presents "Safdie vs. Safdie" - will the two brothers' film divorce yield two Best Picture nominees or snubees?
• Will blockbusters or international films climb new heights in the Best Picture race?
• Is there enough room in Best Director for a Kathryn Bigelow vs. Chloé Zhao showdown? Or will voters leave one out in the cold?
• A nightmare Best Actor category will have the majority of worthy contenders missing the cut, so who has the edge?
• The secret to unlocking the Best Actor nominees - figuring out who has the chance to win!
• Will too many challenging films leave Oscar voters looking for more safe, conventional choices in Best Actress?
• Cynthia Erivo could be a historic winner for Best Actress, but first she must climb a mountain too impossible for even Al Pacino, Michael Corleone and THE GODFATHER! Does it spell trouble ahead?

Visit us at https://framesandflicker.com/

View our OSCAR PREDICTIONS

Follow us: @AcademyAnon

On this episode of ACADEMY ANONYMOUS:

• A Frontrunner is Born with Chloé Zhao's HAMNET premiere at the Telluride Film Festival
• Jessie Buckley becomes the Best Actress favorite, can Paul Mescal join her in Best Actor?
• Can Jeremy Allen White win for SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE?
• A brief look at the importance of TIFF’S People’s Choice Award for Oscar glory and Best Picture dreams
• De-coding recent films listed for the People’s Choice Award and how they reveal which of this year’s film could walk away with the prize!
• A24 hoping ETERNITY with Elisabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Miles Teller can turn into another WE LIVE IN TIME
• GOOD FORTUNE with Keanu Reeves! ROOFMAN with Channing Tatum! Crowd-pleasers hoping to become fall blockbusters, sure. But can they actually become Oscar players? The answer may surprise you.
• Sony Classics delivering films with wide audience appeal, prepare to pitch both THE CHORAL and NUREMBERG to Oscar voters in the fall. Is any their secret weapon this season? Or are they perhaps angling to acquire a red-hot THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE out of the Venice Film Festival?
• RENTAL FAMILY has People’s Choice Award written on every prognosticator’s lips! But how come we’re not buying it? Is Searchlight pitting all their Oscar hopes on a Hail Mary? Check out the red flags we’re seeing before it premieres.
• Don’t look now, but Rian Johnson’s trilogy-capper WAKE UP DEAD MAN may finally deliver Netflix the People’s Choice Award! Why this final installment could win the prize for the entire series!
• THE LOST BUS reads like a slam-dunk Oscar contender on paper. So why is Apple bulldozing its chances with their release plan? Is this BLITZ all over again? Can a People Choice Award save them from imminent Academy Awards oversight?
• Plan B and Amazon not giving Tessa Thompson and HEDDA the red carpet Oscar treatment they deserve. Is there any hope the film can draw enough attention from audiences to get both to reconsider their priorities with F1 and AFTER THE HUNT?
• SACRIFICE from Romain Gavras walks the route of TRIANGLE OF SADNESS - with a lot on its mind and headline-worthy ensemble. So, why did Venice, Telluride and Cannes give it the cold shoulder?
• Sidney Sweeney and an overdue Ben Foster try to ride the sports biopic to Oscar nominations with CHRISTY - but is there any room left on that bus after THE SMASHING MACHINE?
• Black Bear the “distributor” tries its hand at molding an Oscar contender, but does the Sidney Sweeney controversy already have them running behind?
• Ian McKellen and Angelina Jolie chart big-screen comebacks and possibly Oscar buzz by teaming up with esteemed directors Steven Soderbergh and Alice Winocour. Will their new films THE CHRISTOPHERS and COUTURE bring them back into contention?
• Is Saoirse Ronan quietly plotting to take Best Actress by storm with the dark comedy BAD APPLES. You can never sleep on the great ones!
• And of course which early Oscar contenders will win the coveted People’s Choice Awards - HAMENT, SENTIMENTAL VALUE, or even JAY KELLY?

On this episode of ACADEMY ANONYMOUS:

• Can an unlikeable George Clooney still squeeze into a very competitive Best Actor race with mixed JAY KELLY
• Who's the real scene-stealer of Netflix's JAY KELLY - Adam Sandler vs. Billy Crudup
• Can Emma Stone really get into Best Actress AGAIN for newest collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos?
• Is BUGONIA Jesse Plemons' ticket to lead Actor recognition?
• Luca Guadagnino and Julia Roberts may be playing with fire with AFTER THE HUNT - could be difficult to recover after early burn from Venice
• Another genre classic from master Park Chan-wook, but will the South Korean great EVER get some Oscar love?
• Jim Jarmusch's meditation on family FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER a winner - best reviewed American film in Competition!
• Guillermo del Toro's beloved FRANKENSTEIN dividing audiences, but everyone agrees Jacob Elordi steals the show!
• THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE's Amanda Seyfried looks to crash the Best Actress category
• Is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson really this year's "Brendan Fraser"? Stuns viewers with THE SMASHING MACHINE transformation, but will it be enough?
• Is Emily Blunt un-beatable for Best Supporting Actress?
• Never doubt Kathryn Bigelow! Helmer returns with nerve-shattering A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE
• Two female directors for Best Director AGAIN! An early analysis of the Kathryn Bigelow vs. Chloé Zhao narrative
• THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB poised for Venice breakout! Could be a major dark horse for Best Picture!
• Who will win the Golden Lion? We make our calls.

On this episode of ACADEMY ANONYMOUS:

• Unlocking the connection between the Venice Film Festival and the Oscars
• Alexander Payne brings his unique sensibility to the Venice Jury
• Yorgos Lanthimos ditches Searchlight for Focus Features with BUGONIA
• Netflix Triple Threat - JAY KELLY vs A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE vs FRANKENSTEIN
• Can A24 afford a poor showing at Venice after disastrous Cannes? They're betting it all on THE SMASHING MACHINE
• Premieres without studios - a Fox Searchlight-sized hole in Competition, will they buy a film?
• NO OTHER CHOICE is another punch from Neon
• Red flags on Julia Roberts and Luca Guadagnino collaboration AFTER THE HUNT
• Potential standouts in the International Film and Documentary race
• The return of Julian Schanbel and Gus Van Sant
• Willem Dafoe premieres LATE FAME from Kent Jones and Samy Burch
• The early frontrunners for selection at the TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL

On this episode of ACADEMY ANONYMOUS:

• We recap our first ever Cannes experience!
• We've seen big Oscar players: SENTIMENTAL VALUE; IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT; DIE MY LOVE; THE SECRET AGENT; NOUVELLE VAGUE; and more (THE MASTERMIND; THE PLAGUE; CHRONOLOGY OF WATER; SOUND OF FALLING; PILLION; YES!; THE HISTORY OF SOUND....); our thoughts!
• We also went to the Tribeca Film Festival; our quick recap.
• We have something brewing... A NEW WEBSITE!

On this episode of ACADEMY ANONYMOUS:

We take a deep dive into which titles we foresee in tomorrow's major Cannes announcement!!

On this episode of ACADEMY ANONYMOUS:

• KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN reunites Bill Condon and Lionsgate Films, reaffirms Roadside Attractions as a committed Oscar flix distributor
• JLo and Tonatiuh enter the awards conversation with lucrative distribution deal and THEATRICAL release!
• Gywneth Paltrow turns heads in the Chalamet-verse with sex-charged MARTY SUPREME talk. One to watch for this year?
• Warner Bros. rethinks release slate - doubles down on Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Thomas Anderson, railroads Maggie Gyllenhaal's THE BRIDE!
• Our first takes on what you should expect to pop-up on the Croisette at this summer's Cannes Film Festival - films for cinephiles and Oscar addicts staking a claim as among the year's absolute best!

On this episode of ACADEMY ANONYMOUS:

• An uncertain future for Utah and the Sundance Film Festival
• Sundance 2025 again key to unlocking the early favorites for Best Documentary Oscar
• A24 teams with Pastel again on Eva Victor’s “Sorry, Baby” - screenwriting winner, early critics darling and standout debut among US Dramatic Competition
• Race for Best International Feature starts with selection of co-production titles among World Dramatic Competition - Canada, Argentina, North Macedonia, Turkey, India, UK, Poland, France
• Underdog “Omaha” and John Magaro pull on the heartstrings just right, dismiss the title at your own peril!!
• Crowd-pleasing debuts for “The Ballad of Wallis Island” and “The Wedding Banquet” look to signal sleeper hits for Focus Features and Bleecker Street in theaters this spring
• Josh O’ Connor makes first (but NOT last) festival stop this year with “Rebuilding” - in a year where he’s primed to finally break into major Oscar acting race
• Will the Academy Awards ever wake up to the artistic achievement of “Peter Hujar’s Day” director Ira Sachs?
• The BIG 3 titles from Sundance 2025!
• “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” kickstarts a big year for Safdie-esque cinema, BUT can this brand of filmmaking crossover with the Academy Awards in a big way?
• Can “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” succeed where “Hereditary” failed and finally bring Rose Byrne to the Oscars for Best Actress?
• Will “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” get lost among A24’s slate of films?
• Queer-Golden Age Hollywood musical hybrid “Kiss of the Spider Woman” has all the cards it needs for a long, successful Oscar run
• The prestigious legacy of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” - Bill Condon, William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Hector Babenco, Kander & Ebb, Chita Rivera, Terrence McNally
• Colleen Atwood, Oscar-winning Sound Designers and veteran Production Designer and DP in the Oscar hunt for sumptuous visuals on display in “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
• Jennifer Lopez channels old-Hollywood glamour and dances her way to another Oscar bid for Best Supporting Actress in “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
• Tonatiuh poised for breakout year as Molina, Diego Luna's heartfelt turn and reputable career to figure in Best Supporting Actor
• Netflix bets on “Train Dreams,” but after last year’s “Sing Sing” can Bentley and Kwedar score consecutive Best Adapted Screenplay nods with prized source material?
• “Train Dreams” to factor into Best Cinematography, but is it going to miss the big-screen treatment?
• Joel Edgerton wins strong mentions for Best Actor but will he be the victim of the film’s use of voice-over?
• Is Netflix the right fit for “Train Dreams” Best Picture hopes?
• Where have all the distributors gone?! Big-name independents scaring themselves out of sure-fire Oscar contention and potential mass audience appeal