Brendan Fraser is celebrating the most emotional comeback in years – but his Oscar triumph is in jeopardy

Brendan Fraser is celebrating the most emotional comeback in years

The most important film prize in Hollywood will be awarded on Monday night. One man seemed almost certain to win the 2023 Oscar: Brendan Fraser.

For months, the Die Mummy star has been celebrated for his performance in the chamber play The Whale, also because he carries the film. The touching finale of his comeback was to be the Oscar for Best Actor. But that is now being contested. Here you can find out why Fraser’s win at the Academy Awards is in danger and which Oscar races are still exciting.

Brendan Fraser has a major competitor at the Oscars

In fact, Fraser’s performance in The Whale has everything the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences loves: a physical transformation, serious themes conveyed in a catchy way, and a cinematic behind-the-scenes story. In this case, it’s the story of a former blockbuster star who, years later, returns to the spotlight and proves his underappreciated talents. For months, therefore, there has been a feeling that Hollywood would treat Fraser to an Oscar to crown his comeback. But it won’t be that easy next Sunday.

The Oscar favorite is Austin Butler

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Austin Butler in Elvis

Because the improbable is becoming more and more realistic: Austin Butler from Elvis currently has the best chance at the Oscar for Best Actor. In the expert round of Goldderby, he is the majority favorite for a variety of reasons:

  • Austin Butler plays an American icon, Elvis, in a financially successful film that many Academy members may have seen.
  • Biopics and true stories strike a chord at the Academy, as evidenced by Will Smith’s King Richard win last year.
  • Fraser’s film The Whale is not particularly popular with the Academy. While Elvis received eight nominations, Darren Aronofsky’s drama only garnered a mere three nominations, none of them for Best Picture.
  • Butler previously won the BAFTA for Best Actor. The British Film Awards recently precisely “predicted” the Best Actor Oscars: The BAFTAs hinted at Anthony Hopkins’ surprise win in 2020, as well as the wins of Will Smith, Joaquin Phoenix, Rami Malek and others before them.
  • But Fraser fans shouldn’t give up hope. The fact that he won the award from the American actors’ association SAG speaks for him. Also, unlike Butler, he’s an industry veteran. Traditionally, the Academy shows a clear bias towards older men when it comes to performer awards. Butler, on the other hand, would be the first Best Actor winner born in the 1990s.

    3 more Oscar races that are open

    The favorite of the awards is the science fiction film Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has very good chances in categories such as Best Film, Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh) and Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan).

    Nevertheless, there are a few races that should still be exciting. This includes:

  • The best supporting actress: Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere) has a good chance, but Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Angela Bassett (Black Panther 2) could snatch the Oscar away from her.
  • Best documentation: It could get really tight in this category. The favorites are the volcano researcher documentary Fiery Love and the dissident portrait Navalny. Fiery Love is slightly ahead because the documentary won the Editors Guild award, which often coincides with the Academy Awards. However, the story of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is compelling in its relevance to the day.
  • Best Camera: The German Netflix film Nothing new in the West could come off the stage as the winner in some technical categories, including the camera award. However, the field is open here. Elvis has namely won the price of the Association of Cameramen (ASC) and with Mandy Walker could be the first woman ever to receive the camera Oscar.
  • So there you have it: Despite a big favorite in the form of EEAAO, a few key Oscar categories are open ahead of the awards ceremony – and could make or break your Oscar prediction game.

    Where can you stream the Oscars 2023 in Germany?

  • The Oscars will be awarded on the night of March 12th to 13th.
  • Danger: This year the awards ceremony starts on Monday night, 1 O ‘clock German time on.
  • ProSieben will begin reporting on the award at 11:30 p.m.
  • At the same time, the show can be streamed in the ProSieben media library.
  • This year, comedian Jimmy Kimmel will host the awards ceremony for the third time. The host also hosted the legendary blunder when La La Land was announced as the winner of Best Picture instead of Moonlight.

    Moviepilot will again accompany the Oscars this year with a live blog.

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