Oscar watch: At the mid-point (TW, VAR, H&F;)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Summer's barely begun but as the days get a shorter from now on, it's time for Hollywood to turn its attention to the Oscar race. Yes, already. While box office has been boisterous for the most part, hardly any strong contenders have yet to emerge. Variety and The Wrap today take a look at what's to come.

With an embarrassment of riches as far as big-name, critically acclaimed directors are concerned, the Oscar race will soon get off the starting block.

Coming up are films from the likes of James Cameron ("Avatar"), Peter Jackson ("The Lovely Bones"), Martin Scorsese ("Shutter Island"), Clint Eastwood ("Invictus"), Jim Sheridan ("Brothers"), Steven Soderbergh ("The Informant"), Jason Reitman ("Up in the Air"), Spike Jonze ("Where the Wild Things Are"), Robert Zemeckis ("A Christmas Carol"), Ang Lee ("Taking Woodstock") and the Coen brothers ("A Serious Man").

Scorsese's on quite a roll, notes TW: His last three features, "Gangs of New York," "The Aviator" and "The Departed" were all nominated for Best Picture while the Coens are in what TW refers to as "Can't-Miss Land."

Soderbergh's "The Informant" - the director's return to the mainstream after "Che," "The Good German" and "The Girlfriend Experience" - stars Matt Damon. The director has fared well in the past with adult themes (see "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich").

"Nine," from the team behind Oscar winner "Chicago," has Oscar bait written all over it. Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz star in Rob Marshall's musical from producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Sheridan's "Brothers" boasts Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire and is based on Susanne Bier's award-winning Danish film. With war-themed pics suffering miserably at the box office and largely in the awards melee, the film may have to draw on Sheridan's strong track-record with the Academy (see: "In America," "In the Name of the Father," "My Left Foot").

In other war-themed pics, the Hollywood and Fine blog chimes in with its bid for Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" which has huge Internet support.

Eastwood's Nelson Mandela tale starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon would have to be a huge misstep for the director in order to avoid awards laurels.

With "The Lovely Bones," Jackson is working from a haunting, beloved bestseller with a strong cast in Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci and Mark Wahlberg. As TW notes, "If he can pull off a dramatic tour de force with 'Bones' like he did with the movie that put him on the map, 'Heavenly Creatures'and the 'LOTR' trilogy, this one could be a true contender."

No one has seen anything of Cameron's "Avatar" but given he hasn't directed a feature since "Titanic" took home 11 Oscars, "No movie will get more of a free ride in the mass media and blogosphere based on the backstory alone," opines TW.

Indies that feature in the mix include Overture's already-released "Sunshine Cleaning" and Sundance pick-ups "Precious" (Lionsgate) "500 Days of Summer" (Searchlight) "Adam" (Searchlight) and "An Education" (Sony Pictures Classics).

Then there are the Cannes titles that SPC nabbed: Michael Haneke's "White Ribbon," Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" and Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces." Further, Bob Berney's new outfit will release Cannes favorite "Bright Star" from Jane Campion.

One of the only strong contenders to already have made its mark at the multiplex is Disney/Pixar's "Up." But stellar reviews haven't translated into an animated film getting a Best Picture Oscar nomination since "Beauty and the Beast."

Variety also points to the unknown factor, noting that last year at this time "Slumdog Millionaire" was hardly a blip on the radar.

And yet, it's pretty pointless to try to predict the December-February mood of voters while we're still back in June, says Variety. After a run of dark and violent films ("The Departed," "No Country for Old Men"), Oscar voters last February went with the feel-good movie of the year, "Slumdog."

Finally, could a couple of wildcards be reserved for Judd Apatow's 'serious' film "Funny People" or Quentin Tarantino's divisive "Inglourious Basterds"?

Related Links

TheWrap Predicts the Oscars -- and No, We Haven't Seen the Movies (TW)
Oscar continues talent search (VAR)
‘The Hurt Locker’: Explosive tension (H&F;)
Directors Back in the Chair (TW)