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

What Is It? Damien Chazelle's follow-up to Whiplash. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are the central duo who fall in love against the backdrop of a classically-hued L.A. taking in an all-singing all-dancing celebration-cum-dissection of the town, but I had you sold at "Damien Chazelle's follow-up to Whiplash", didn't I?

Why Could It Be A Contender? Well, importantly the reviews out of the Venice Film Festival have been amazing. Not just "oh yeah, it's good", but "f*cking hell this is an absolute landmark", the exact sort of praise that puts a film to the top of the Oscar pack. It's not hard to see why - Whiplash showed a deft melding of cinematic techniques and musical understanding, and this is that on a much more staggering scale. But that's all insignificant when you consider it's about the home of cinema; three of the past five winners were about the movie business.

What Might Stop It? A cynic would cite that there hasn't been the best track record for musicals recently, with Chicago the only Best Picture winner in the past forty years. And while that's certainly something to consider, it's more a case of not enough great musicals coming along (Les Mis, really?). What may hurt is something heavily superficial; the one-shot trick immediately invites Birdman comparisons and we know the Academy's not too hot on repeat honouring.

What do you think will be nominated for Best Picture? Have your say down in the comments.