Connor Cable: Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Mercer entertainment review and I’m here with my original guest Daniel Tolbert. And we are here talking about a very specific awesome thing that’s coming up, the Academy Awards. Absolutely. It is the end of awards season and is one of our favorite days. And it’s so big that we’re splitting it up into two episodes where we do want half of our predictions today. So we’re gonna get right down to it since there’s so much to cover right. Today we’re going to talk about who we think will win the Best Actor, Actress Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress today. And next week we’ll talk about a bunch of different ones. But today we’re just gonna go ahead and kick it right off. So best supporting actor we have Mahershala Ali for “green book”, Adam Driver for “black Klansman”, Sam Elliot For A Star Is Born, Richard E. Grant for “can you ever forgive me” and Sam Rockwell in “vice.” Who do you think should win and who do you want to win.

Daniel Tolbert: I honestly think this is the only category that I think the person I want to win and the person I think will win are the same because I think Mahershala Ali’s role in Green Book was just, it was probably the best out of the five. I can’t see really anybody else except for maybe Adam Driver and Sam Rockwell getting the nod from the academy. In terms of like predictions I think Mahershala Alit almost got it locked down and I really can’t speak to Richard Grant’s performance but that movie never came around to where it was.

Connor Cable: But I think I have to agree with you that Mahershala’s got this one locked up. I would like to see Sam Elliott win this one. He’s been around forever and absolutely deserves one. I just I don’t know. I don’t think a star is born was strong enough. His role in that movie rehearsals probably got it locked up. But if I had to pick a second choice probably Sam Rockwell. We’ll see about that one. Moving on to best supporting actress. We have Amy Adams in “vice”, Marina de Tevira “Roma”, Regina King in “If Beale Street could talk”, Emma Stone in “the favorite”, And Rachel Weisz in “the favorite”, so same thing?

Daniel Tolbert: So for me this one’s a little harder. I think the academy might give it to Marina from Roma just because that movie has done so many good things. I really enjoyed the story itself but if it comes to the performance personally I thought that Rachel Weisz gave the best performance out of any of the five especially if she’s paired against her co-star Emma Stone. It’s really difficult to pick between them too. I just actually enjoyed her character a little bit more in the way that she played her was really consistent and really well done all the way through the entire movie.

Connor Cable: I think that the two in the favorite, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz both did so well that they might cancel each other out. I think neither of them will get enough votes to put him over the top. I don’t think Amy Adams has enough either. I think you’re right it will either be Marina de Tevira of “Roma” or Regina King in “If Beale street could talk” because that role was absolutely fantastic and I know people would love to see another African-American actress win especially with “If Beale Street Could Talk” being such a powerful movie. I think it’ll be Regina King and I think that’s also who should win. Moving on we will talk about best actor. Now this one’s pretty stacked. It’s got its various there up front. It’s a rough one. Christian Bale in “vice” playing Dick Cheney of all people, Bradley Cooper in “A Star Is Born”, Willem Dafoe in “At Eternity’s Gate”, Rami Malick in “Bohemian Rhapsody” playing Freddie Mercury, and then Viggo Mortensen in “Green Book” and oh boy there’s like three well they’re all heavyweights but there’s like three surefire winners in this group.

Daniel Tolbert: This is going to oh boy so the only one that I had to knock off my list is Willem Dafoe “At Eternity’s Gate” I just really I didn’t see it. It’s kind of slipped out. And one of those that slipped underneath a lot of people’s radar a lot of big theaters didn’t pick it up. We only have to one in making the star that’s really close enough for me to go see anything. But if I had to take a pick I would pick Christian Bale as my pick to win. It might be just because the cosmetics and makeup that they do that his role does really well and I definitely think if he doesn’t win the lead actor I definitely think the cosmetics and the makeup will win for their category. I think they’re nominated there as well. But as for my prediction I think that really Malek takes this one home just because of a lot of the buzz that he got around you know playing Freddie Mercury his look his style the way that he played him was almost consistent when he actually sang himself. Yeah exactly. And I think it’s one of those that he does so much for that movie instead. I thought the movie was above average for itself but his portrayal of Freddie Mercury like essentially just lifted that movie out of the ground and gave it the spot.

Connor Cable: You are completely correct. Rami Malek killed it as Freddie Mercury and I think the heavyweights the most heavyweights are Christian Bale, Rami Malek, and I got to put Bradley Cooper. I got to knock off the flow and Mortensen as well because well because acting was really really good and “Green Book” Mahershala also helped carry that film. So the three leaders are Cooper, Bale and Malik. And I think I want to and think will win, will be Rami. Because like you said he did so good as Freddie Mercury. He studied, he’s even Egyptian Just like just like Freddie Mercury is, it was a match made in heaven. And as much as I would love to see Bradley Cooper get it is for a” star is born” just because of how good a star is born is, It’s just not gonna. It’s like in second in every single category. And I think this is just again the next category that will get second place. I like Rami Malek for best actor and then Best Actress last for now. The nominees are Yalitza Aparicio in “Roma”, Glenn Close in “the wife”, Olivia Colman and “the favorite”, Lady Gaga and “A Star Is Born”, And Melissa McCarthy in “can you ever forgive me”. Which again this one feels very heavy very stacked.

Daniel Tolbert: This is this is the toughest one I think out of the four actor category actor and actress categories for me. I liked Lady Gaga’s role. I didn’t think she did a lot in terms of like transforming the role itself because that movie was the fourth remake and the role itself kind of was already there and put in its place. Melissa McCarthy, I didn’t see can you ever forgive me so I can’t really speak to.

Connor Cable: It was a strong performance. Yeah I would say that much.

Daniel Tolbert: Yeah. Which I mean kind of coming out of the comedy role. I don’t know exactly how much drama to comedy ratio there is in that movie but if I had to pick one I’d have to split between Olivia and Coleman and lead to upper ratio for me just as a personal choice. But I think if I had to predict who wins I think Glenn Close actually gets her nod this year the wife was just it’s really solid and I think it speaks to a lot of the points that an actress should have to go through in order to give her a good bout for taking this award. I think that Glenn Close is probably going to win it.

Connor Cable: If history shows us, Glenn Close definitely deserves it by now. And honestly that just might push her over the edge. I hope that it’s either Olivia Colman or Lady Gaga. I really think that the best part of “a star is born” was Lady Gaga. She may not have transcended the role being the fourth time around for the movie but she was by far the best part of that film. Her singing, she did a great job acting and I wish it could be her. But it’s either going to be close or Coleman because I think the transformative part of her role in that the music itself not necessarily the acting.

Daniel Tolbert: I think if they had found somebody who is a better actor but not as good of a singer the movie would have fell through a little bit. That movie was made by the music.

Connor Cable: Yes. And I can’t speak to the closest role in the wife but you talk very highly about it. Coleman did such a good job as the Queen in “the favorite” and that it just might be enough. But the problem is the Academy loves somebody who has been in it for such a long time and deserves it. It’s probably going to be Glenn Close but I hope it’s Olivia Colman and that’ll do it for this week’s episode. We discussed the four acting categories join us next week where we discuss the rest of the big ones like Screenplay, Director, and the greatest of them all, Best Picture.

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