The Runner-Ups: Mary Elizabeth Winstead in "Smashed" (2012)

Scene from Smashed

Every Oscar season, there are a handful of actors who get tagged with the "snubbed" moniker. While it is always unfortunate to see our favorites not honored with at very least a nomination, there's another trend that goes largely unnoticed: those who never even got that far. The Runner-Ups is a column meant to honor the greats in cinema who put in phenomenal work without getting the credit that they deserved from The Academy. Join me every other Saturday as I honor those who never received any love. This list will hopefully come to cover both the acting community, and the many crew members who put the production together.

Review: "The Spectacular Now" is One of the Most Endearing Looks at Growing Up

Left to right: Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley

Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that with director James Ponsoldt's second feature The Spectacular Now, I am officially calling him one of the best upcoming directors of this decade. Along with Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines), Ponsoldt is a man who knows how to make characters vulnerable in exciting ways that don't detriment the story or rely on cheesy gimmicks. As familiar as coming of age stories are, the Smashed director's follow-up manages to find new ground through alcoholic teen Sutter (Miles Teller) and Amy's (Shailene Woodley) relationship which doesn't so much explore getting older, but the influences that the people in their lives play on their actions.

Is SXSW Winner "Short Term 12" Capable of a Best Picture Nomination

Left to right: Brie Larson and Ketih Stanfield

I will admit that when compiling my previous entry, I was going largely based off of personal speculation and familiarity with the events of the Sundance Film Festival. In a surprise twist, two films have come out as considerable Oscar contenders for different reasons. There is the great looking documentary Blackfish (trailer here) and director Destin Cretton's Short Term 12. Having premiered as SXSW, the latter film has gone on to receive accolades, including winning the Audience Award in the narrative feature category. It is quickly being considered as one of the year's best. With official Oscar Buzz finally starting to heat up, will this SXSW favorite make it all the way to the Best Picture race?

Predictions: Who Should Get a Best Actress Nomination in 2013?

2012's Best Actress winner Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

We are in an exciting time for Oscar enthusiasts. We are officially one week away from the announcement of this year's nominees. In order to contribute some thoughts, I will be going down the major categories (Acting, Directing, and Best Picture) and predicting who will be the most likely to get nominated, as well as a few tidbits on why I agree with these decisions. Be warned that every story that I am going to write in relation to predictions will not actually feature any bias towards who should win. However, I will be detailing why I think each should be nominated. Also stay tuned for post-coverage in which I will actually be sharing my thoughts on the nominations and solidify who I believe should win in each category.

Can Winstead Use "Smashed" for an Acting Nomination?

Left to right: Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul

One of the toughest categories that I have had to gauge this year involves the female acting fields. While we're starting to see a handful solidify, it has been shakier than the male counterpoint, which almost seemed to be concrete since Joaquin Phoenix impressed us with The Master. With the fields starting to tighten, there is a long shot that Mary Elizabeth Winstead can earn her first nomination for James Ponsoldt's Smashed, a tale of overcoming alcoholism. Is the film capable of competing with the big names, or is the no name production holding it back?