Oscars: King Richard's Will Smith is the Best Actor Frontrunner

With “The Tragedy of Macbeth” having finally screened last night at NYFF, Denzel Washington officially entered the 2022 Oscar race.

I’ve already tackled the Best Picture and Best Actress categories, but the Actor category is one that’ll be utterly fascinating to follow in the coming months. As it stands, we have three STRONG contenders and a fourth and fifth slot open for the taking.

First things first: this does look like Will Smith’s Oscar to lose. He received the best reviews of his career at Telluride for “King Richard,” the narrative is irresistible, he is well-respected and he’s vaccinat … oh wait. That’s just a rumour for now, and I’m sure the PR team behind his campaign will figure it out, but Smith has been at it now, post-Fresh Prince, for almost 25 years and he’s due.

Frontrunners

Will Smith (King Richard)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)
Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)
Joaquin Phoenix (C’mon Cmon)
Peter Dinklage (Cyrano)

Possibilities
Jude Hill (Belfast)
Simon Rex (Red Rocket)
Matt Damon (Stillwater)
Oscar Isaac (The Card Counter)
Jake Gyllenhaal (The Guilty)
Andrew Garfield (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Long Shots

Timothee Chalamet (Dune)
Adam Driver (Annette)
Michael Keaton (Worth)
Filippo Scotti (The Hand of God)
Nicolas Cage (Pig)
Clifton Collins, Jr. (Jockey)

Still Not Screened

Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos)
Bradley Cooper (Nightmare Alley)
Daniel Craig (No Time to Die)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Don’t Look Up)
Adam Driver (House of Gucci)
Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick… Boom!)
Tom Hanks (Finch)
Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza)

Back to Denzel Washington, the raves he’s getting for ‘Macbeth’ are very hard to ignore. The 66-year-old actor has been Oscar-nominated 8 times, having won 2 statuettes. He hasn’t slowed down either, some of the best work of his career has occurred in these last 10 or so years. Even if voters find ‘Macbeth’ to be impenetrable , and there will be many, it’ll still be too hard to resist voting Denzel.

Greta Gerwig's ‘Narnia: The Magician's Nephew’ Gets First Look, and She Says It's a “Rock Opera"

Gerwig says her Netflix-bound "Narnia" is not a retread of the past movies; instead, she "wanted a rock opera," starting from scratch with C.S. Lewis's origin story, the one in which Narnia is actually born.

Universal to Drop Alex Gibney's Elon Musk Documentary, but Bleecker Street Is Sticking With It

Here’s THR with the “exclusive.” Universal Pictures, which holds rights to Alex Gibney's documentary “Musk” everywhere outside North America, appears to be reconsidering whether to release it.

Six Movies Since 2022, and Guy Ritchie Isn’t Slowing Down: ‘Wife & Dog’ Gets Trailer

Coming off “In the Grey,” which was itself significantly delayed, Ritchie has another film on his hands: “Wife & Dog.” A trailer has now been released for the film, which is due out early next year.

Paramount to Exit California Amid Warner Bros. Antitrust Fight

For months, people close to CEO David Ellison had hinted that he would leave if state AGs didn't drop their antitrust suit against the $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

Matthew Lillard Says He's “Ashamed" and “Embarrassed” He Returned for ‘Scream 7' After Melissa Barrera's Firing

Lillard says he was part of that silence and now regrets doing “Scream 7,” not because it turned out to be terrible, but because of how Barrera was treated.

August 19, 2019

3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

Ron Howard’s ‘Alone at Dawn’ Starring Adam Driver and Anne Hathaway Sets Christmas 2027 Release

This is the adaptation of the nonfiction book by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz. It wrapped production in February and has been in post-production ever since. The film test-screened a few months ago.

Jeremy Saulnier’s Next Film Retitled to ‘Slayground,’ Current Runtime is 2.5 Hours, Plot Details

Jeremy Saulnier’s mysterious A24 project, formerly “October,” still has no release date. You’d think, given that it has been in post-production for almost a year now.

RUMOR: Sadie Soverall Exits Brady Corbet's ‘The Origin of the World' Mid-Shoot, Lily McInerny Steps In Lead Role

Sadie Soverall was just let go after briefly filming on Corbet's new film — no official reason given. She had the lead role. Corbet has replaced her, last minute, with Lily McInerny.

Jemima Kirke and Alexi Wasser to Star in Woody Allen's Next Film

A few months ago, Deadline reported that Woody Allen's next film, set in Madrid and carrying a $14M budget, will be "largely English-language" and feature a "high-profile cast."

Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ Tops the Best Films of the 1930s, According to 100+ Critics

We’ve gone through the decades. The ‘40s ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘2000s, and ‘2010s. — all revisited, argued over. Now, here are the results for the best films of the 1930s.

Critics Poll: ‘Citizen Kane' Named Best Film of the 1940s

The results are in, and according to critics, this decade filled with cinematic riches did not have a better film than Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” Nobody should be surprised by this result. “Citizen Kane” changed cinema forever.

Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants

It was a closer race than anticipated, but Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” has topped our best of the ’50s poll, besting Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s “Singin’ in the Rain” by just two votes.

Trending

Critics Polls