Oscar Race: Where Are We?
THR and Entertainment Weekly weigh in on the state of the Academy Awards race after the big September festivals (Venice, Telluride, Toronto). “La La Land” is the frontrunner for best picture, Emma Stone and Natalie Portman for Best Actress, Casey Affleck for Best Actor. What’s encouraging, after last year’s oscarssowhite debacle, is how many potential non-white nominees there are in major categories. Among them, I must mention Viola (“Fences”) Davis (pictured), who would have stiff competition in Best Actress but may drop down to supporting actress where she would be a more likely winner. It’s symbolically icky for a black woman to drop from lead to supporting, but the desire to win an Oscar may override political concerns.
