2014 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Lead Actress
February 13, 2015
With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at the two leading actor categories, starting with Best Lead Actress. One actress is so far ahead of the rest of the field that there isn't even a consensus on who the second place actress should be.
(Note: All previous awards listed are only for acting and not other categories. However, they are for supporting and lead acting. Previous awards and nominations are not for TV roles, on the other hand. )
Best Lead Actress
Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore for Still Alice
Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon for Wild
Conclusion: Julianne Moore will win for Still Alice. She's won every major award so far and has a lot of Oscar nominations but so far no win. Out of all four acting categories, I think Julianne Moore is the biggest lock.
Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night
Tomatometer Score: 96% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: None
Movie's Previous Major Wins: None
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: One Oscar, Three Golden Globes, Two BAFTAs, Four SAGs, and One Independent Spirit Award
Actress's Previous Major Wins: One Oscar, One Golden Globe, and One BAFTA
Notes: This was the biggest surprise nomination in this category. Two Days, One Night is a great movie, but it is also a foreign-language film and those rarely earn nominations outside the Foreign-Language Film category. Also, Marion Cotillard won an Oscar recently, so it is unlikely she will win again so soon.
Tomatometer Score: 80% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: Two SAG, BAFTA, and Golden Globe
Movie's Previous Major Wins: None
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: None
Actress's Previous Major Wins: None
Notes: The Theory of Everything earned a lot of Oscar nominations and it will almost assuredly win at least one; however, it won't be this category.
Tomatometer Score: 89% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: SAG, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Award
Movie's Previous Major Wins: SAG, BAFTA, and Golden Globe (One Pending)
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: Four Oscars, Eight Golden Globes, Three BAFTA, Nine, SAGs, and Three Independent Spirit Awards
Actress's Previous Major Wins: One Golden Globe and One Independent Spirit Award
Notes: Julianne Moore is going to win. She's won all of the previous major awards and she has a ton of Oscar nods without a win. That spells victory.
Tomatometer Score: 88% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: SAG, BAFTA, and Golden Globe
Movie's Previous Major Wins: None
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: One SAG
Actress's Previous Major Wins: None
Notes: No major wins, no previous history with Awards Season voters and the film is "Oscar-bait". Almost no chance of winning.
Tomatometer Score: 90% Positive
Movie's Previous Major Nominations: SAG, BAFTA, and Golden Globe
Movie's Previous Major Wins: None
Actress's Previous Major Nominations: One Oscar, Three Golden Globes, One BAFTA, One SAG, and Three Independent Spirit Awards
Actress's Previous Major Wins: One Golden Globes, One BAFTA, One SAG, and One Independent Spirit Award
Notes: Wild didn't quite live up to Awards Season expectations and Reese Witherspoon recently won an Oscar. The odds of her winning again with a film that isn't absolutely amazing is really low.
Filed under: Awards Season, Gone Girl, The Theory of Everything, Wild, Still Alice, Marion Cotillard, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Reese Witherspoon, Felicity Jones