Variety‘s Clayton Davis has spitballed ten would-be Best Picture titles, and it’s my duty to highlight those films that deserve instant disqualification in this regard.
Forget ’ems: Bugonia (Focus Features, d: Yorgos Lanthimos, too weirdo-oddball); Frankenstein (Netflix, d: Giuillermo del Toro…can’t); F1 (Apple, d: Joseph Kosinski, Jerry Bruckheimer…too popcorn for Best Picture category}; Sinners (Warner Bros., d: Ryan Coogler…too schlocky, too exploitation-ish, too many TikTkok ayeholes singing its praises); Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures…can’t do this again…go away!); The Smashing Machine (A24, d: Benny Safdie…Benny films are too self-absorbed, too hyper-crazy, not Academy friendly). (6)
Maybes, Probables: Hamnet (Focus Features, d: Chloe Zhao); Late Fame (d: Kent Jones); Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (Searchlight, d: Scott Cooper); Sentimental Value (Neon; d: Joachim Trier) (4)