Critical darling “Boyhood” was released in the middle of a crowded Summer 2014, but the groundbreaking drama kept the attention of moviegoers and critics all the way to and through Awards Season, earning four Critics Choice Movie Awards, three Golden Globes and an Oscar for Patricia Arquette.
So far this Summer there have been only two candidates for possible major Awards Season honors: A longshot for Best Picture consideration, mostly in the minds of its diehard fan base, is the wild action/adventure “Mad Max: Fury Road”. The other is Disney/Pixar’s animated “Inside Out”. Not only are Best Animated Feature and Original Score nominations in the forecast, but Best Picture buzz has emerged as well.
However, there are several more potential candidates that will be released from now until Labor Day: Woody Allen’s latest dramedy, “Irrational Man”, with Joaquin Phoenix and Hollywood’s “it-girl” Emma Stone, opens in limited release on July 17. One week later, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a struggling boxer in the drama “Southpaw”. Ghyllenhaal was nominated for the Critics Choice, SAG and Golden Globe Best Actor awards last year for his incredible performance in “Nightcrawler”, but with “Southpaw”, he could get his revenge over being snubbed by the Academy.
And then there are the ladies: Meryl Streep will be going for Oscar nomination #20 as rock singer Ricki Rendazzo in “Silence of the Lambs” director Jonathan Demme’s “Ricki and the Flash” (Aug. 7). Original screenplay consideration is also a possibility for “Juno”‘s Diablo Cody. And as the title character in “Grandma”, Lily Tomlin is already receiving major buzz. She stars in this comedy, which comes out in limited release Aug. 21.