This year, the supporting races are wide open. So far there have been no Christoph Waltz’, Mo’Nique’s, or Javier Bardem’s to have thoroughly overwhelmed the festival circuit as to be pronounced the winner. These will probably be my most “go out on a limb” picks so let’s take a look.
Best Supporting Actor
Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech)
Mark Ruffalo (The Kid’s Are All Right)
Justin Timberlake (The Social Network)
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Analysis: Though I might just be blinded by my like of the film, I do believe The Social Network could land two (possibly 3) Oscar noms in this category. Andrew G. was heart breakingly good and Justin Timberlake threatened to walk away with the movie when he was on screen. I’m more confident that Andrew, being the new Spiderman and having previously delivered good work, will be nominated before Justin (showy role but minimal screen time compared to Andrew). Geoffrey Rush is an awards magnet and has a juicy role of speech therapist to a king. I loved Mark Ruffalo’s naturalistic acting in TKAAR and I think it’s about time he and Christian Bale got nominated. This category is ripe for the taking however. Ed Harris in a Weir film sounds like a match made in Oscar heaven and Armie Hammer could win more traction due to the difficult nature of his work (he played the Winklevoss twins).
Dark Horses: Ed Harris (The Way Back), Armie Hammer (The Social Network), Bill Murray (Get Low), Josh Brolin (True Grit)
Best Supporting Actress
Kimberly Elise (For Colored Girls)
Helena Bonham-Carter (The King’s Speech)
Dianne Wiest (The Rabbit Hole)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Lesley Manville (Another Year)
Analysis: I’m calling it now, Kimberly Elise will be Oscar nominated IF she has the role I think she has (the Beau Willy piece) in For Colored Girls. it’s too heart wrenching not to get a nom if done well. I think Helena and Dianne are locked in for nominations as they are respectable thespians will good/coat tail roles. The wild cards are Leo and Manville. I think all of the category confusion will see Manville land here rather than Best Actress where competition is a little bit tougher. Melissa Leo could ride in on ‘The Fighter”s coattails but how good is her role? There are PLENTY of actresses who are lined up to knock anyone of those ladies out of the top 5.
Dark Horses: Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershy (Black Swan), Janet Jackson and Loretta Devine (For Colored Girls), Jackie Weaver (Animal Kingdom), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Saoirse Ronan (The Way Back)