For the Golden Reel Awards, there appears to be two major front-runners at the moment: Open Hearts and Broadway. Each film was received warmly by critics and has a certain awards pedigree with their writers and directors. What makes both films perhaps more intriguing is that they are ensemble pieces, which means they will likely have a shot in multiple acting categories. And that indeed seems to be a theme of the season as I will discuss other large-cast projects later in this article. The next rung of films seems to include The Only Good Indians and Audible, both which have acting contenders of their own.
The first half of the season has already seen a good deal of comic book properties but that looks it will be a major storyline in the coming rounds. Zack Snyder’s Elektra, which is right around the corner, has been grabbing headlines with its casting and has the track record of Dwight Gallo’s previous Marvel properties working for it. Speaking of Snyder, Who Watches the Watchmen has a little more question marks. The original graphic novel is well-known but where Jimmy Ellis chooses to take the story from here will be interesting to see. The Fantastic Four was met with a good, if muted, response back in Season 16 but it always seemed like it was setting up for bigger things and we are getting that now with Fantastic Four: Doom. And finally, the second Batman film of the season will close us out with Batman: In the Shadows, the fourth film in the franchise from APJ and a return to the cape and cowl for Jake Gyllenhaal after a nine-season hiatus. I’m sure that the studio is looking to these properties to help bolster the profit margins for the season.
One storyline that also stood out from this season has been writers putting new twists on old material. Nowhere is that more clear than in Round 7. The aforementioned Who Watches the Watchmen sounds like an original take that will continue a self-contained story. Jacob Jones will bring the Sesame Street universe to LRF with Super Grover, which will be interesting to see how those characters translate to the big screen. And finally, OZ will be the debut of writer Jack Brown and take on one of the most well-known films of all time in The Wizard of Oz.
The back half of the season also looks to be packed with historical epics from big name directors. First up is the Ben Collins adaptation of The Betrothed, which bolsters a large ensemble. While that seems like a risk on paper, having beloved filmmaker Martin Scorsese behind the camera should help the film’s chances at success. It’s somewhat appropriate that Season 22 will see multiple part 2’s. The first is a back-to-back, with Ridley Scott’s Odysseus - Part Two being a rare example of sequels being released in consecutive seasons. The first film was a success last season with a positive critical reception and a profit that earned it this sequel. It has been a few seasons since Christopher Nolan’s Caesar after the director went to do a James Bond film in between but now Part II is right around the corner. The first film left high expectations by winning the quartet of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Story.
Films of this type and magnitude rarely get sequels, which begs a few compelling questions for this awards season. Can these films match or even surpass the quality of their predecessors? And if so, would the voting body be willing to reward them again given the previous recognition? Those questions and more will be answered in the coming rounds but one thing seems abundantly clear and that is that Season 22 will be remembered as quite star-studded between the A-list movie stars, brand name directors, and beloved intellectual properties. I'll check in with you all again at the end of the season. So long!
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