Oscars: Deadline, Gold Derby, IndieWire & Variety Take The Gloves Off In Ultimate Predictions Smackdown

Well, it is the battle of the bands, or should I say brands, as PMC’s Deadline, Gold Derby, IndiWire and Variety square off with divergent opinions on where the Oscar race is headed now that nominations are in and voting starts in about a week.

Gold Derby’s Tom O’Neil leads a conversation about all of it with IndieWire’s Anne Thompson, Variety’s Tim Gray and me as we dissect the top eight races in Part 1 of our two-part wide-ranging discussion about the 89th annual Academy Awards and attempt to answer the big question of the moment: Just how many Oscars can La La Land  realistically take home on February 26, a date that astoundingly is only just three weeks away? We argue, spin it, present alternatives, discuss Oscar history and its impact on what may happen, diss a little, and try to settle the matter in our own way.

An interesting point is brought up about the now-heated-up Best Actor race ever since Denzel Washington pulled off an upset at SAG against front-runner Casey Affleck. Suddenly there is added suspense to the Oscars and we try to assess what it all means for the bottom line which, of course, is your office pool.

Check out our conversation above.