Awards Talk: August Coverage

The Prezzies covered 10 sure-to-be award contenders (scratch that, 9 plus the splendid camp of Oliver Stone's W.) and rattled off 10 more to watch two months ago, which can be read here. With the release dates drawing closer as we reach the end of the summer of blockbusters, here are two more films covered in-depth, and the prognosis of the summer fare on awards season. Obviously, the films from the previous installment will get more coverage as they are released, reviewed, and the countdown to the major award ceremonies draw near.

The Road
(tentative release date: November 11th limited; November 26 wide)

Based on Cormac McCarthy's (No Country For Old Men, All The Pretty Horses) 2006 book of the same name, The Road is a bleak, post-apocalyptic parable that consists of a science fiction background, with a very much human dramatic element. The story of a father and son (Viggo Mortensen and American newcomer from Australia, Kodi Smit-McPhee) who escape the violence of society for the coast, and the trouble and people they meet along the way. The film also co-stars Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce, and directed by John Hillcoat (The Proposition).

The Road is very similar in makeup to other recent and forthcoming doom and gloom fiction with real world sensibilities such as Children Of Men and Blindness. While Men had been received tremendously with critics and fans alike, it didn't win much but a few minor cinematography awards. Blindness, with prestigious director and heralded cast fared rather poorly at Cannes. So with Blindness still yet to be released, a second film in several months that deal with death and destruction on a wide environmental sci-fi scale (The Happening is another kind of fiction entirely) might not win over voters.

Also going against the film is the bland title, despite its faithfulness to the book. The Road can easily be confused with the major Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet award-seeking film Revolutionary Road later this year, not to mention other recent titles such as Reservation Road and Glory Road. There's even the famous Italian classic, La Strada, currently #233 on IMDB's Top 250 list, which in English context is also simply called The Road.

Seven Pounds
(tentative release: December 12, wide)

Not to be confused with 21 Grams, Seven Pounds is Will Smith's latest and greatest vehicle to snag the long coveted Oscar the former Fresh Prince has been seeking since Ali. Smith plays an IRS agent who kills seven people in an accident, and after facing suicidal tendencies begin to help out seven other people with their lives. From there he falls in love with a woman with a heart condition (Rosario Dawson) and begins to move on with his own life.

Many see Seven Pounds as a natural continuation for Will Smith's depth as an actor after his nominating role in the 2006 holiday movie The Pursuit Of Happyness. While Seven Pounds doesn't have the box office aspirations of the usual Smith fare of recent times like Hancock and I Am Legend, it shouldn't have a problem being one of the most widely seen award-contending movies thanks to Smith's built-in audience.

Despite it's subject matter, much like the Pursuit Of Happyness, Smith can't inexplicably star in something dangerously serious to ward off his fanbase. He's strong for an acting nomination, but it's hard to see much more of a well-rounded nomination count thanks to co-starring cast (Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Barry Pepper) not strong in voters' minds, and a story that seems destined to have an automatic happy ending, however small.

Current Prognosis:

As it stands now, the two most important films over the summer ended up being The Dark Knight and Wall-E. That's not to take away from the other films that succeed both at the box office or with the fans and critics, or the smaller independent films that might find a way to hang on to a piece of the awards. But these two films have come away with a lasting impression that will mostly likely hold on to a couple of nominations.

The Dark Knight is almost universally guaranteed to give Heath Ledger a posthumous Best Supporting Actor nomination in every ceremony that gives out the distinction. Depending on the strength of the category as the year ends, Aaron Eckhart may pick up a few nominations as well. The overall chances of a Best Picture or Best Director nomination looks slim because of Hollywood politics, but time will tell.

Wall-E also has a dark horse chance to steal a Best Picture nomination, although it's pretty much a shoo-in already to win Best Animated Feature. I'm not sure if an animated film can be eligible for Cinematography, but if it can, Wall-E should be included in that as well. Screenplay (despite the lack of actual dialogue) could be a real possibility as well.