January 26, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Oscars
98th Academy Awards, 98th Oscars, Academy Awards, Awards categories, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Oscars, The Naked Gun, Wicked: For Good
CREDIT: Buzzfeed/Screenshot
Every Awards Season, I like to step forward and offer my own take on the dilemma of whether certain acting performances in the conversation should be Lead or Supporting. There are still a few contenders I’ve yet to see, but I haven’t heard any cries of Category Fraud related to those, so here are my assessments:
-Unlike last year’s first part, both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are Leads in Wicked: For Good (Ariana even more so than Cynthia).
-Though I can see the argument for Lead, Chase Infiniti is Supporting in One Battle After Another.
-Though he carries himself like a Lead, Paul Mescal ultimately settles into a Supporting space in Hamnet.
BONUS!: Is This a Comedy?
The following movies have been categorized as comedies by awards bodies that split films into genres, thereby raising the Skepticism Hackles of some awards watchers. So here’s my verdict on whether or not they are in fact comedies:
–One Battle After Another: Kind of, but not really
–Marty Supreme: Yes!
-Should we stop splitting movies into “Drama” and “Comedy” but also nominate The Naked Gun for everything, regardless of genre?: Yes!
This assessment originally appeared in the Official Jeffrey Malone Newsletter. Subscribe here!
March 1, 2025
jmunney
Awards Shows, Cinema, Oscars, Television
97th Academy Awards, 97th Oscars, Academy Awards, Conclave, Oscar Predictions, Oscars
The votes haven been tabulated (CREDIT: Focus Features/Screenshot)
Okay, now I’m going to guess who and what I think will win at the 97th Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, and you’re in luck, because I’m also going to reveal who I would select if I had a ballot.
Best Picture
Prediction: Conclave
Preference: Conclave
Best Director
Prediction: Sean Baker
Preference: Coralie Fargeat
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February 28, 2025
jmunney
Best in Film 2024, Best of 2024, Cinema, Oscars
97th Academy Awards, 97th Oscars, Academy Awards, Jeff Malone Academy Awards, jmunney Academy Awards, Oscars, The People's Joker
You know, a lot of Jokers have won Oscars (CREDIT: Altered Innocence/Screenshot)
The Oscar winners are determined by the thousands of members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. But what if … they were chosen by just one person? If I were singlehandedly in charge of running the Oscars, here’s how they would go down.
Nominees are listed alphabetically, winners in bold.
Best Picture
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa
I Saw the TV Glow
The People’s Joker
More
January 13, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Oscars
97th Academy Awards, 97th Oscars, A Real Pain, Academy Awards, Awards categories, Challengers, Emilia Perez, Heretic, Oscars, The Substance, Wicked
Respect. (CREDIT: Golden Globes/Screenshot)
You may have noticed that trophies are being handed out more than usual lately. You may have also noticed that the organizations that deliver those awards may be making questionable categorization decisions.
Around this time of year, I like to assess the situation and offer my own take on certain dilemmas, in particular whether a certain movie performance was a Lead or Supporting role. To be fair to the Oscars and other awards ceremonies, these decisions are subjective and not always clear. Reasonable people can disagree on these matters. But I’m not one to have my enthusiasm dampened my ambiguity!
Ergo, here is a selection of performances from 2024 getting awards attention and whether I think they should be considered Lead or Supporting.
(There are still a few movies in the awards conversation that I haven’t seen yet, so I may update my thoughts if I feel compelled to.)
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March 9, 2024
jmunney
Awards Shows, Cinema, Oscars, Television
96th Academy Awards, 96th Oscars, Academy Awards, Oppenheimer, Oscar Predictions, Oscars
I am become Oscar, destroyer of Academies (CREDIT: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
Here’s a right quick rundown of the Oscar race’s likeliest winners on Sunday, March 10, 2024, and whom I would vote for if I had a ballot.
Best Picture
Prediction: Oppenheimer
Preference: Oppenheimer
Best Director
Prediction: Christopher Nolan
Preference: Christopher Nolan
More
March 9, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Oscars
96th Academy Awards, 96th Oscars, Academy Awards, Awards categories, BlackBerry, Glenn Howerton, Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone, Oscars
Take the Lead? (CREDIT: IFC Films/Screenshot; Apple TV/Screenshot)
Whenever the Oscars come around, I like to enter the discussion about whether certain acting performances should be categorized as Lead or Supporting. There’s not too many I felt compelled to talk about this year, just a couple:
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March 8, 2024
jmunney
Best in Film 2023, Best of 2023, Cinema, Oscars
96th Academy Awards, Academy Awards, Jeff Malone Academy Awards, jmunney Academy Awards, M3GAN, Oscars
Are the Oscars on TikTok? (CREDIT: Universal Pictures)
If I were in charge of unilaterally selecting the Oscars, here is who would be selected. Nominees are listed alphabetically, winners in bold.
Best Picture
All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
Are You There God? It’s Me, Magaret.
The Holdovers
M3GAN
More
March 11, 2023
jmunney
Awards Shows, Cinema, Oscars, Television
95th Academy Awards, 95th Oscars, Academy Awards, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Oscar Predictions, Oscars
In another universe, I would have loved to win Oscars with you. (CREDIT: Allyson Riggs/A24)
Here’s a right quick rundown of the Oscar race’s likeliest winners on Sunday, March 12, 2023, and whom I would vote for if I had a ballot.
Best Picture
Prediction: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Preference: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Director
Prediction: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Preference: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
More
March 10, 2023
jmunney
Best in Film 2022, Best of 2022, Cinema, Oscars
95th Academy Awards, Academy Awards, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Jeff Malone Academy Awards, jmunney Academy Awards, Oscars
Every Award Everywhere All at Once (CREDIT: Allyson Riggs/A24)
If I were in charge of unilaterally selecting the Oscars, here is who would be selected. Nominees are listed alphabetically, winners in bold.
Best Picture
Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Pearl
Petite Maman
Turning Red
More
February 27, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Oscars
95th Academy Awards, 95th Oscars, Academy Awards, Awards categories, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Oscars, She Said, The Banshees of Inisherin, The Fabelmans, Women Talking
A Lead Actor and a Supporting Actor? Or 2 Lead Actors (CREDIT: Jonathan Hession/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.)
Every awards season, there’s a bit of discussion revolving around certain movie performances that straddle the line between Lead and Supporting roles. Sometimes, actors are blatantly submitted in the wrong category, perhaps to avoid competition with a co-star, or because of perceived lack of competition with other movies. And other times, it’s not always easy to say for certain which category is the right one. So I’m here to offer my assessment! It’s a little late this year, seeing as the Oscar nominations have already been announced, but I still felt like chiming in.
(Feel free to chime in with your own takes on this topic if you have any.)
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