The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The blockbuster summer has come to an end and as we roll through September it is time to look ahead at the movies that could be walking away with the major gongs in the New Year.
Yes it is already that time of year again as we begin to start and predict which movies and performances will win what.
And this year promises to be more difficult than ever as we have a some seriously fantastic movies on the horizon both side of Christmas.
So we take a look at some of the great movies that will be battling it out for the Best Picture gong.
- Anna Karenina
No movie has been talked about more as an early Best Picture nod than Joe Wright's latest movie Anna Karenina - the adaptation of the Leo Tolstoy novel.
The movie is lavish adaptation that sees Wright mix film and theatre elements to produce a truly unique take on the story.
This is the third time that Wright and Keira Knightley have teamed up after success with Pride and Prejudice and Atonement.
This is an emotional and powerful story that sees the director get the most of out his very talented cast - expect more than just a Best Picture nod for this movie.
- Argo
Ben Affleck has proved that he is a real talent behind the camera with Gone Baby Gone and The Town already under his belt - in fact many would argue that perhaps he should have had a Best Picture nomination already.
But he is back with his new movie Argo - based on a true story the movie follows a tricky covert operation to get six Americans our of Iran.
Affleck stars in the movie as well as directs it and he has assembled a stellar cast that includes Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Taylor Schilling.
This movie has already been met well on the festival circuit and could well and truly put Affleck in the spotlight as a director.
- Lincoln
To say that the Academy loves a bio-pic would be a bit of an understatement as we have seen movies and performances in this genre win the big gongs year after year.
And so you can expect Lincoln to be well and truly in the mix for the major gongs when the awards season comes around as Steven Spielberg teams up with Daniel Day Lewis.
Lewis has already got two Best Actor Oscars under his belt and he takes on the role of President Lincoln in a movie that focuses on his fight to end slavery in the United States.
Excitement is already growing around this movie with early trailers so expect it to become a major front-runner the closer we get to the handing out of the major gongs.
- Cloud Atlas
One of the early must see movies of 2013 is Cloud Atlas as the David Mitchell novel is adapted for the big screen.
Tom Tykwer and Andy and Lana Wachowski are in the director's chair for the movie and they have brought together what is set to be one of the best ensemble casts of 2013 as Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Hugo Weaving are just some of the names on the cast list.
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
This movie is set to jump back and forth between the past and future and this could be one of the movies that could potentially miss out as it won't quite fit the Academy mould.
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Lord of the Rings trilogy notched up nomination after nomination for the three years that the movies featured at the Oscars - not to mention win after win for The Return Of The King.
And now Peter Jackson is set to return with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that could be the only 'blockbuster' to feature in the ten Best Picture nominations.
But the Academy will not award if Jackson doesn't deliver something different than The Lord of the Rings - simply taking us back to Middle Earth will not be enough to win Best Picture.
- The Great Gatsby
Baz Luhrmann has perhaps not had the best luck when it comes to the Oscars with the likes of Moulin Rouge and Australia not bringing home the gongs that perhaps were expected.
But he has another bite of the cherry this year with his adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
The movie is set to be a lavish period piece and the cast is enough to make your mouth water as Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire are all set to star.
- Les Miserables
Now I have to admit that musical aren't really my thing but there is none greater than Les Miserables and next year will see it come to the big screen.
Tom Hooper will be in the director's chair for the first time since he enjoyed mammoth Oscar success with The King's Speech and now he is back with a very different project.
This promises to be an emotional and powerful tale of the French Revolution and the people caught up in it.
Hugh Jackman will play Jean Valjean while Russell Crowe is set to play Javert - Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne and Helena Bonham Carter are all also set to star.
- The Master
Finally The Master is another movie that could be bagging nominations throughout the awards season as Philip Seymour Hoffman teams up with filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.
The movie is already gaining some momentum as it has been smashing art house record in the U.S. - could this be an early sign of Oscar success?
While the movie is an original story it is loosely based on the Scientology found L Ron Hubbard and follows a Navy veteran after he returns home.
Other potential nominees include Life of Pi, The Dark Knight Rises, Hyde Park on Hudson and Brave to name but a few.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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