AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
In Hollywood, the red carpet is out. The Oscars are tonight. Critics have been locking in, poring over the list of nominees and making predictions. NPR critic Aisha Harris is here with hers. Hi, Aisha.
AISHA HARRIS, BYLINE: Hey, Ayesha. Thanks for having me.
RASCOE: So first, best picture - two front-runners. A lot of people are pulling for "Sinners."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SINNERS")
MICHAEL B JORDAN: (As Smoke) I don't believe in magic...
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
JORDAN: (As Smoke) ...Ghosts, demons.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
JORDAN: (As Smoke) Just power.
RASCOE: And a lot of other people are pulling for "One Battle After Another."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER")
LEONARDO DICAPRIO: (As Bob Ferguson) Steve Lockjaw just attacked my home, and I cannot remember, for the life of my only child, the answer to your question.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Maybe you should've studied the rebellion text a little harder.
RASCOE: Is this really a toss-up, or does one of these movies have this locked in?
HARRIS: I really do feel like this could be a toss-up. I do think since the campaign began, award season began, these two have been sort of at the forefront of the entire race. But I do think "One Battle After Another" kind of has the edge, I think, in part because Hollywood loves to honor veteran filmmakers who have yet to win the big prizes. And Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed "One Battle After Another," he has been in this game for decades now. He's a director's director. So I think all of that goodwill is going to go a long way to, you know, "One Battle" probably taking the top prize and Paul Thomas Anderson also maybe getting best director as well.
RASCOE: So we know it's rank-choice voting for best picture. Do you have a dark horse candidate?
HARRIS: The only one I would say that could, you know, come up from behind unexpectedly is maybe "Hamnet" - Chloe Zhao's "Hamnet." You know, she's already won previously best picture for "Nomadland." I also think it's a very heavy movie. It's a movie that has - when I saw it at the theaters, people were bawling and sniffling because they were so just overcome with emotion from that movie. And I can see that being one that voters keep in the back of their minds, and perhaps even if it's not necessarily No. 1 at the top of their ballots, there's a chance that it could slip in anyway if enough people put it at No. 2 or 3, for sure.
RASCOE: So let's talk about the acting prizes. There's been a bit of controversy about Timothee Chalamet's thoughts on ballet and opera. Do you think he's still in contention?
HARRIS: Yeah. I mean, look, Timmy has been running a campaign that is not too dissimilar from his character in "Marty Supreme," which he is nominated for. He's very, very open about his desire to win. Some people have been rubbed the wrong way by this, but I do think he's still going to get it. Now, there's been a lot of buzz about his comments about ballet and opera. Here's a clip, actually, from that Variety and CNN town hall that was at the end of February with Matthew McConaughey.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TIMOTHEE CHALAMET: I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or, you know, things where it's like, hey, keep this thing alive, even though it's like, no one cares about this anymore.
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
CHALAMET: All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.
(LAUGHTER)
CHALAMET: I just lost 14 cents in viewership. But...
(LAUGHTER)
CHALAMET: D**n. I just took shots for no reason.
(LAUGHTER)
MCCONAUGHEY: That's not a shot. I hear what you're saying.
CHALAMET: Yeah, yeah.
MCCONAUGHEY: Yeah.
HARRIS: Yeah. I mean, look, that doesn't sound great. But also the statement didn't really grab any steam until after voting for the awards already ended, so I don't know how much that will play into it, if at all. I'm pulling for Michael B. Jordan, who's nominated for playing a set of twins in "Sinners." I think it's a fantastic role. It's his best performance to date. But overall, this is a really stacked category. There - the other nominees include Leonardo DiCaprio in "One Battle After Another." You've got Ethan Hawke in "Blue Moon," and Wagner Moura in "The Secret Agent." So really, any of them possibly could win, but I'm still putting my money on Timmy.
RASCOE: How about best actress? Remind us of the nominees on this one.
HARRIS: Yeah. You have Jessie Buckley in "Hamnet," Rose Byrne in "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You," Kate Hudson for "Song Sung Blue," Renate Reinsve for "Sentimental Value," and Emma Stone for "Bugonia."
RASCOE: And of those, who is your pick?
HARRIS: So I'm going to say that Jessie Buckley is probably going to win for "Hamnet." She seems to be the front-runner right now, and that's also a movie that I think has appealed to a lot of people in terms of parenthood and tugging at the heartstrings. It's a very emotional and big performance. But I really, really want Renate Reinsve to win for "Sentimental Value." I just think that movie, overall, is far better, and she is so, so good in it, and I would love to see that happen.
RASCOE: That's Aisha Harris. She hosts NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. You can subscribe to their newsletter at npr.org/newsletters. And you can keep track of the Oscar winners tonight at npr.org. Thank you so much for joining us.
HARRIS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF TWICE SONG, "HARE HARE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
