7. Joel and Ethan Coen - Inside Llweyn Davis
If I had written this article pre-Cannes, the Coens would have just missed making the cut. Post-Cannes, the Coens are easily one of the heaviest contenders of the race, that's how well Inside Llewyn Davis went over at Cannes. While it may have not taken the Palme d'Or (the three-hour French lesbian drama, Blue is the Warmest Color, took that prize, but will unlikely be a serious competitor for the Oscar), instead settling for second place with the Grand Prix prize, the real winner of Cannes in terms of 2014's forthcoming Oscar race was inarguably Inside Llewyn Davis. Everybody, and I mean that in its most literal sense, liked the newest film from the Brothers Coen. Some were ecstatic, some were just sufficiently pleased, but all Oscar prognosticators on the Croisette agreed that we have a major awards player on our hands. Despite my fanboy-ish devotion to all things Coen, I was rather skeptical of their newest film's awards prospects before Cannes. The reason being was two-fold: 1. The film sounded too slight to garner the necessary support of the notoriously non-nuanced Academy voting body and, 2. The film's distributor, CBS Films, doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to running Oscar campaigns. On the first part, it is still an issue that mildly concerns me. The film chronicles the attempt of a struggling folk musician to make it into the big leagues of the music industry in Greenwich Village during the heyday of the scene in the early 1960's. The film apparently lacks a strong narrative and even those who professed to loving the film described it as "intimate", not a typical adjective that comes to mind when you think of films nominated at the Oscars for Best Picture. On the second front, my fears have been greatly allayed. While it is true that CBS Films doesn't have a great track record in procuring its films Oscar nominations, they sound like they have a good plan in place for Inside Llweyn Davis. The film is set for an early December release, which is prime real estate for Oscar season, and the film will undoubtedly make the rounds of the festival circuit to make sure it doesn't disappear from the conversation as new shinier films make their debut. Most excitingly though maybe CBS Films' plan to put on a tour for the film's music, which is said to play an essential part in the movie. This sort of out of the box thinking will likely make voters take notice and can only help the chances of the film. Of course, the fact that it's the Coens doesn't hurt either. They would be receiving their fourth Best Director Oscar nomination if it does occur, and the fact they were able to sneak in over directors such as Christopher Nolan for True Grit show they have become established members of the club in the mindset of the Academy. We won't know for sure before the competition shows it stuff, but I wouldn't bet against the Coens.