This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As usual, the Oscar race is coming down to the holiday offerings.
Distributors cram the prestige pictures toward the end of the year for two main reasons: They know the memories of Academy Awards voters are short, and an Oscar nomination is a marketing tool that won't help a movie that's already had its theatrical run months earlier.
So here's a quick handicapping of the Oscar races in the major categories, with an eye toward which end-of-year releases are in the running:
Best Picture
Already opened • The sci-fi epic "The Martian," the biography "Steve Jobs," the Cold War drama "Bridge of Spies."
Movies still to come • The newsroom drama "Spotlight," the biographical "Joy," the frontier tale "The Revenant," the hostage drama "Room," the lesbian romance "Carol," the immigrant saga "Brooklyn" and the offbeat Western "The Hateful Eight."
Actor
Already opened • Johnny Depp as mobster Whitey Bulger in "Black Mass," Matt Damon as a stranded astronaut in "The Martian," Michael Fassbender in the title role in "Steve Jobs" and Tom Hanks as a reluctant Cold Warrior in "Bridge of Spies."
Movies still to come • Eddie Redmayne as a transgender artist in "The Danish Girl," Leonardo DiCaprio as a vengeful frontiersman in "The Revenant," Michael Caine as a retired conductor in "Youth," Will Smith as a doctor confronting the NFL in "Concussion" and Bryan Cranston as a blacklisted screenwriter in "Trumbo."
Actress
Already opened • Emily Blunt as a narcotics cop in "Sicario," Carey Mulligan as a late-blooming radical in "Suffragette" and Charlize Theron as a rebel driver in "Mad Max: Fury Road."
Movies still to come • Brie Larson as a freed mom in "Room," Cate Blanchett as a housewife finding love in "Carol," Jennifer Lawrence as a spunky entrepreneur in "Joy," Saoirse Ronan as a young immigrant in "Brooklyn" and Charlotte Rampling as a long-married woman in "45 Years."
Supporting Actor
Already opened • Mark Rylance as an unflappable Russian agent in "Bridge of Spies," Paul Dano as a young Brian Wilson in "Love & Mercy," Joel Edgerton as a duplicitous FBI agent in "Black Mass" and Benicio Del Toro as a determined hitman in "Sicario."
Movies still to come • Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo as journalists pursuing a story in "Spotlight," Jacob Tremblay as a wide-eyed 5-year-old in "Room" and Tom Hardy as DiCaprio's tormentor in "The Revenant."
Supporting Actress
Already opened • Kate Winslet as a long-suffering Gal Friday in "Steve Jobs," Elizabeth Banks playing Brian Wilson's salvation in "Love & Mercy," Ellen Page, as a mechanic who finds love in "Freeheld" and Helena Bonham Carter as an underground leader in "Suffragette."
Movies still to come • Rooney Mara as a smitten shopgirl in "Carol," Alicia Vikander as a wife dealing with a transgender husband in "The Danish Girl," Jennifer Jason Leigh as a bounty hunter's quarry in "The Hateful Eight" and Jane Fonda as an aging actress in "Youth."
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