RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Much attention has been lavished on Washington, D.C., this inaugural week. But an event on the West Coast will be in the limelight today. The Oscar nominations will be announced in Beverly Hills later this morning. The nominations kick off a period of excitement and speculation leading up to the Academy Awards, to be held one month from today. Dave Karger is a senior writer for Entertainment Weekly. He writes the magazine's Oscar Watch blog, and he's here to talk about some of the likely nominees. Good morning.
Mr. DAVE KARGER (Senior Writer, Entertainment Weekly): Good morning to you.
MONTAGNE: Well, let's start with the big one, best picture. Only five movies can make that cut. What do you think are the real major contenders?
Mr. KARGER: Well, the sure-thing nominee is "Slumdog Millionaire." A lot of people are calling the best-picture race over even though the nominations haven't even come out yet. So, you'll definitely...
MONTAGNE: You think so? I mean, of course, it got a Golden Globe, but that doesn't always point an arrow directly to an Oscar.
Mr. KARGER: That is true, but if you talk to Oscar voters and Oscar consultants, this is the movie that most people seem to be responding to, and the Academy really does look at films that seem to have something to say about the state of the world in the particular year that they are released. And that's why in the last couple of years you saw movies like "No Country for Old Men" and "The Departed," which were ruminations on violence, win the big prize. "Slumdog Millionaire" is a more international story. It's a story of hope, and I think that that's significant.
MONTAGNE: So, this may be a favorite, but other contenders?
Mr. KARGER: I think "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" will definitely be nominated, and then the other three I think will be in the final five are "Milk," "Frost/Nixon," and probably "The Dark Knight," which is the Batman film.
MONTAGNE: And not - there's two other films that have gotten a lot play - "Grand Torino" and "Doubt."
Mr. KARGER: "Grand Torino" is definitely a film that could be a surprise best-picture nominee, and I often like to call the Academy the Cult of Clint. I think that they worship him and they are always very interested in what he's doing. "Doubt," however, seems to really be fading in the best-picture race, but I think it'll get a bunch of acting nominations.
MONTAGNE: Let's get to acting categories starting with best actress.
Mr. KARGER: This year, you have a real race between Meryl Streep in "Doubt," Kate Winslet in "Revolutionary Road" and Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married." And even someone like Sally Hawkins for this tiny British film called "Happy-Go-Lucky," she's really been racking up the awards as the last couple of weeks have gone on. So, that one is a tough one to call, and I think the fact that Kate Winslet will also be nominated in the supporting-actress category for "The Reader." it just makes it even muddier.
MONTAGNE: And turning now to best actor, what's the competition there? Mickey Rourke, of course.
Mr. KARGER: Yes. and this is a real race as well. Not only do you have Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler," which is a real surprising performance from him, very sensitive turn, you also have Sean Penn playing the gay activist and politician Harvey Milk, in the film "Milk." And then you also have some other people floating around like Frank Langella, so great as Richard Nixon in "Frost/Nixon," and also Clint Eastwood. So, that's actually become a really interesting competition as well.
MONTAGNE: All right. So, overall, how does this group of movies rate?
Mr. KARGER: I actually think, as a whole, the movies this year are not as strong as they were last year, where you had not only "No Country for Old Men," but "Michael Clayton" and "Juno" and "The Savages" and "Into the Wild" and "Eastern Promises," "Lars and the Real Girl." It was such a wealth of great, great films last year. And there are some nice films. I actually am partial to "Revolutionary Road," even though many people find it very, very dark. "Slumdog Millionaire," especially on a repeat viewing, is just phenomenal. But overall, I have to say I don't find the movies as good as they were last year.
MONTAGNE: Dave Karger is senior writer for Entertainment Weekly. Thanks very much.
Mr. KARGER: My pleasure.
MONTAGNE: And we'll keep you posted on the Oscar nominations when they're announced later this morning. And once those nominations come out, you can chat about them live with NPR's Bob Mondello at 10 o'clock eastern time. Just go to npr.org. This is NPR News.