Oscars 2017: 15 Movies Most Likely To Get Nominated For Best Picture

What Is It? The violent continuation of 12 Years A Slave. A harrowing dramatisation of Nat Turner's slave rebellion with a title that directly targets the racist 1915 game-changer, The Birth Of A Nation was an early favourite for the competition, with many predicting writer-director-producer-actor Nate Parker could get four gongs in a night just for himself.

Why Could It Be A Contender? The film was a smash as Sundance, winning both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize, making it the subject of a fierce bidding battle Fox Searchlight eventually won, with clear eyes on the golden baldie. The timing couldn't be better either - a movie about slaves rising up against their masters is exactly what the industry wants to trumpet following the second annual #OscarSoWhite scandal. But then...

What Might Stop It? In 1999, Parker was accused of the rape of a fellow college student. He was acquitted, but that's still a major mar on his name that's led to a calming of the film's Oscar bid. However, this may not be as damaging as it seems now; putting aside the story (a bit heavy for WhatCulture), Parker brought the story up so early in the film's campaign so the industry would be past it - or at least accustomed to the allegations - when Oscar season got in full swing, rather than it becoming a major sticking point as any minor controversy always does (remember when Kim Novak accused The Artist of rape over the reuse of music?). Still, that requires people to get over it, which, given the allegations, is unlikely.