OVER THE PAST few weeks, prestigious film festivals like Toronto International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and New York Film Festival have begun to release their programmes in drips and drabs, providing indicators as to what films may be vying for Oscar glory next year.
And with David Fincher, Paul Thomas Anderson and Christopher Nolan releasing films, it looks to be a good year.
With that in mind and because it’s never too early, we take a look at some future Oscar contenders that you should be keeping an eye on.
1. Gone Girl
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
Release date: October 3rd, 2014
The trailer for Gone Girl has it all – darkness, moodiness, intrigue, AFFLECK. Based on Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name, it’s sure to make a killing at the box office and with Fincher’s credibility attached, it may well be in the Oscar hunt.
2. Mr Turner
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Timothy Spall
Release date: October 31, 2014
An understated period biopic about an artist? What would be more Oscar-friendly? Universally beloved by critics and featuring a Cannes-winning performance from Timothy Spall, who you probably know as “Oh, that guy!”, expect Mr Turner to make a splash.
3. Interstellar
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck
Release date: November 6th, 2014
This one’s got something to do with wormholes and travelling through space. But with a cast comprised of Oscar winners and Christopher Nolan at the helm, it’s likely to generate a whole load of buzz and headscratching à la Inception.
4. The Imitation Game
Director: Morten Tyldum
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong
Release date: November 14th, 2014
An historical drama about the life of mathematician and WW2 codebreaker Alan Turing, who was later prosecuted for being a homosexual. Cumberbitches the world over will surely flock to it.
5. A Most Violent Year
Director: JC Chandor
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain
Release date: December 26th 2014
A thriller set in New York in 1981, which stands as one of the most violent years in the city’s history. Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain play an immigrant couple, who find themselves getting caught up in the criminal underworld. Expect hella grittiness.
6. Birdman
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts
Release date: January 2nd, 2015
The Michael Keaton resurgence we’ve all been waiting for is upon us. Opening this year’s Venice Film Festival, Birdman is a surreal dark comedy about a washed-up actor who once played a superhero attempting to revive his career by staging a Broadway play. Looks totally mad in the best way possible.
7. The Theory of Everything
Director: James Marsh
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, David Thewlis, Emily Watson
Release date: January 2nd, 2015
From the Oscar-winning director of Man on Wire, The Theory of Everything follows the relationship between physicist Stephen Hawking and his first wife Jane from his Motor Neuron Disease diagnosis through to this success as a physicist. Has Oscar buzz written all over it. Just look at Redmayne in character.
8. Into The Woods
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp
Release date: January 9th, 2015
Like Chicago and Les Miserables before it, Into The Woods is this year’s big Oscar-friendly musical. With a cast of heavy-hitters and Stephen Sondheim’s blessing, it should be a treat for anybody who’s ever sang show tunes into a deodorant can.
9. Foxcatcher
Director: Bennett Miller
Cast: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave
Release date: January 9th 2015
Foxcatcher tells the incredible story of millionaire and athletic sponsor John DuPont, played to creepy perfection by Steve Carell, who murdered Olympic champion wrestler Dave Schultz in 1996. Bookies have already installed it as an early favourite to win Best Picture.
10. Wild
Director: Jean-Marc Vallé
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Gaby Hoffman, Laura Dern
Release date: January 23, 2015
Based on the bestselling memoir of the same name, Wild is about a young woman named Cheryl Strayed who embarks on a 1,100 mile hike on the Pacific Coast Trail. Expect crying, self-discovery, epiphanies and more.
11. Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro
Release date: January 30th, 2015
Adapting a Thomas Pynchon novel is an ambitious undertaking, but if anyone can do it, it’s Paul Thomas Anderson. Following a private detective (Joaquin Phoenix) investigating the disappearance of a former girlfriend, the characters are named things like Bigfoot, Sauncho and Coy. So it’s guaranteed to be interesting at the very least.
12. Rosewater
Director: Jon Stewart
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal
Release date: TBC
In 2009, an Iranian journalist named Maziar Bahari was detained and tortured in Iran for 100 days following an interview he gave regarding the country’s election on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Rosewater tells the story of Bahari’s detention and marks Jon Stewart’s directorial debut. No trailer or imagery as of yet, but one to look out for.
13. Big Eyes
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Christoph Waltz, Amy Adams, Krysten Ritter
Release date: TBC
We know that Tim Burton has been a little hit-and-miss of late. (Dark Shadows was hardly Oscar fare, after all.) But Big Eyes seems like it could be a return to form.
It tells the fascinating story of Walter Keane, a 1960s artist known for his kitschy artwork, and his wife Margaret Keane, who later accused him of stealing her drawings. With Waltz and Adams in the leads, you can’t really go wrong.
14. Men, Women & Children
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Adam Sandler, Emma Thomspon, Rosemarie DeWitt, Dean Norris, Jennifer Garner
Release date: TBC
With the likes of Thank You For Smoking, Juno,Young Adult and Up In The Air to his name, it’s always worth paying attention to Jason Reitman. This ensemble dramedy follows a group of teenagers and their parents, and examines how the internet has affected their personal lives, relationships and self-image. Sandler plays a porn-addicted Dad, because of course.
