Sempre più papabile il nostro De Niro.
Next week, we’ll know if “Les Miserables” sets an Academy Award record — or if “Zero Dark Thirty” faces backlash from some negative publicity.
The Oscar nominations will be announced, setting into motion a month of screenings, parties, talk show appearances and swag bags.
So who’s likely to be included?
You could survey the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and critics lists to get an idea, but Oscar always goes rogue in one or two categories.
Here’s who’s in the hunt:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tommy Lee Jones (“Lincoln”), Philip Seymour Hoffman (“The Master”) and Robert De Niro (“Silver Linings Playbook”) seem like locks. Then the list could include Alan Arkin (“Argo), Javier Bardem (“Skyfall”), one of the “Django Unchained” guys (most likely Leonardo Di Caprio, although Samuel L. Jackson was surprisingly good) and maybe one of the “Les Miserables” men (Eddie Redmayne was best). The spoilers: Try Dwight Henry, the dad in “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” or Matthew McConaughey for “Magic Mike.”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway (“Les Miserables”), Sally Field (“Lincoln”) and Helen Hunt (“The Sessions”) are probably on the ballot. Then: It’s fairly open. Jacki Weaver (“Silver Linings”), Maggie Smith (“Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) and Nicole Kidman (“The Paperboy”) have gotten mentions. Also possible: Amy Adams (“The Master”), Samantha Barks (“Les Miserables”).
BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis (“Lincoln”), Hugh Jackman (“Les Miserables”), Bradley Cooper (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Denzel Washington (“Flight”) and John Hawkes (“The Sessions”) fill the category nicely. But there’s also Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master”), Tom Holland (“The Impossible”), Richard Gere (“Arbitrage”) and Christoph Waltz (“Django Unchained”). Ben Affleck doesn’t really have a shot here, but he should be in the Best Director race. Long shot: Jean-Louis Trintignant, “Amour.”
BEST ACTRESS: Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”), Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings”), Naomi Watts (“The Impossible”); then: Emmanuelle Riva (“Amour”), Marion Cotillard (“Rust and Bone”), Helen Mirren (“Hitchcock”), Quvenzhane Wallis (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”), Meryl Streep (“Hope Springs”) and, maybe, Rachel Weisz (“The Deep Blue Sea”).
BEST PICTURE: “Lincoln,” “Les Miserables,” “Argo,” “Life of Pi,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” then: “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Django Unchained,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Skyfall,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Sessions.”
Check, too, some of the “other” categories. You’ll find actors likely to compete for writing, music and directing. Even Taylor Swift could be nominated for a song in “Hunger Games.”
