2. Inherent Vice
Possible Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Best Supporting Actress (Jena Malone), Best Supporting Actor (Benicio Del Toro), Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin), Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling While I'm a bit more hesitant than many pundits on Unbroken and Interstellar, I am more optimistic than most "experts" on Inherent Vice. It is true that the Academy has had an on-again-off-again relationship with director Paul Thomas Anderson, but unlike Anderson's last film, The Master, Inherent Vice apparently has a much more comedic tone to it. Based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon, the sees Joaquin Phoenix pairing up with Anderson again, this time starring as a pothead P.I. living in 1970 Los Angeles. The film has a star-studded ensemble with names like Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Josh Brolin, and Benecio Del Toro playing major parts in a narrative that borrows heavily from film noir. The main point of contention with jumpy prognosticators who are reluctant to throw their weight behind Inherent Vice's chances seems to be that the film may be too funny and not strike an earnest enough tone to elicit votes from the Academy. Clearly though, these pundits haven't been paying close enough attention to recent trends. Over the last couple years the exact some hesitations were levied against Django Unchained and The Wolf of Wall Street. In the end though, it was likely the comic overtones of these films that allowed such a wide swath of the Academy to embrace what might otherwise have been fairly prickly movies. Bring back the more comedic Paul Thomas Anderson and I think the Academy may just welcome him with open arms.