DiCaprio Oscar-bound with ‘Revenant’ – 5 possible upsets that could rock H’wood’s big night

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A model presents a creation during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show at the Autumn/Winter 2016 London Fashion Week in London on Feb 22. (AP)
A model presents a creation during the Burberry Prorsum catwalk show at the Autumn/Winter 2016 London Fashion Week in London on Feb 22. (AP)

LOS ANGELES, Feb 23, (Agencies): In a rollercoaster movie awards season with no clear favorite in the Oscars best picture race, there is one sure bet — Leonardo DiCaprio, one of the world’s biggest celebrities, will finally take home the best actor statuette on Sunday.

DiCaprio’s fifth acting Oscar nomination, for his role as a fur trapper bent on revenge in “The Revenant,” will prove the charm, awards pundits say, and crown the actor’s transformation from teen heartthrob to Hollywood heavyweight.

“There are cases when a particular actor is seen as overdue, and this year it’s definitely Leonardo DiCaprio,” said Dave Karger, chief correspondent of movie website Fandango.

“What is great is that he is going to win for the right performance,” Karger said.

Twenty years after his first Oscar nomination as a blue-eyed teen in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” DiCaprio, 41, has swept every major prize in the long Hollywood awards calendar for his role as taciturn Hugh Glass, who is left for dead in the wilderness after being mauled by a bear.

The actor carries the two-and-a-half hour film, which was shot in sub-zero temperatures over seven months, despite barely speaking after the bear rips out his character’s throat.

“He’s really good in the film. It’s not like a throwaway award because of his career. I would be really stunned if he doesn’t win,” said Variety reporter Tim Gray.

DiCaprio has tried for years to shake off his image as the young man who sent women swooning in the 1990s with “Titanic” and “Romeo + Juliet,” even as he partied on yachts with a string of supermodel girlfriends.

Recognizable

In “The Revenant”, the swaggering star of “The Wolf of Wall Street” and the smooth charmer of “The Great Gatsby” are barely recognizable under a greasy mane, straggly beard and frostbitten face.

Ironically, his very appearance may have boosted his Oscar prospects.

“What’s in Leo’s favor this year is that he uglifies himself on screen. He grows a scruffy beard, he rolls in the mud, he desperately needs a bath,” said Tom O’Neil, founder of awards tracker Goldderby.com.

Despite the widespread critical acclaim, DiCaprio has taken no chances, playing an unusually active part in the hand-shaking, smiling marathon that plays out in restaurants, TV studios and on red carpets during awards season.

“He’s a notoriously reclusive star who is suddenly very available,” said O’Neil.

The Oscars are six days away, if you can believe it. Will best picture go to “The Big Short,” “The Revenant” or “Spotlight”? That’s the question on everyone’s minds. Underneath it all, there are a few categories that seem locked up, but could give way to a shocker. Here are five potential upsets to keep an eye on next weekend. Our final Oscar predictions will land tomorrow, just as voting draws to a close.

* Bryan Cranston for Best Actor

This one would admittedly be a bolt from the blue, but “Trumbo” is right in the Academy wheelhouse, picked up three Screen Actors Guild nominations including an ensemble bid (i.e., actors — who make up the largest Academy branch — love it) and Cranston is a beloved worker. The road certainly seems to be paved for Leonardo DiCaprio after precursor dominance and SAG and BAFTA wins, but there are plenty of places to support “The Revenant” on the ballot and only one place to support “Trumbo.” Don’t underestimate the potential for scoffing at a handsome, successful movie star’s quest for acting Oscar gold: Just ask Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, etc.

* Christian Bale or Mark Ruffalo for Best Supporting Actor

“Creed” star Sylvester Stallone’s awards trajectory has been curious this season. Early voting deadlines kept him out of the SAG lineup, while late-breaking buzz might have stalled him with BAFTA voters. So as far as industry awards go, he hasn’t really been up for the honor many expect him to waltz away with on Oscar night. Though of course he has been dominant in the critics awards circuit. Could he be ripe for an upset, the heralded vet who stumbles at the big dance (Mickey Rourke, Lauren Bacall, etc.)? I suppose it depends on how many enemies he may have made along the way, but Bale is a beloved thesp many consider a genius, while Ruffalo is on his second nomination in as many years and could be primed for some Academy love. One or the other could leap-frog BAFTA winner Mark Rylance and give Stallone a headache.

* “The Martian” for Best Visual Effects

Most are predicting BAFTA winner “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” to win the visual effects prize, largely due to the blockbuster’s industry impact this year and despite the fact that no film that wasn’t nominated for best picture has toppled a best picture nominee in the category since “Tora! Tora! Tora!” did it to “Patton” 45 years ago. If they aren’t picking that, they’re looking to below-the-line heavies “Mad Max: Fury Road” or “The Revenant.” But don’t sleep on “The Martian.” It’s obviously a popular film and following the Ridley Scott “snub,” supporters could dig in their heels.

* “Mustang” for Best Foreign-Language Film

Ever since Laszlo Nemes’ “Son of Saul,” a riveting Holocaust drama out of Hungary, won four Cannes awards including the Grand Jury Prize, it has been the assumed foreign-language frontrunner. But like any number of Holocaust tales, it’s not the easiest sit. Deniz Gamze Erguven’s “Mustang,” while no walk in the park for its depiction of five girls weathering a conservative Turkish society, is more traditional in its filmmaking approach and might even feel more immediate in the face of politics looking to roll the clock back on women’s health.

* “What Happened, Miss Simone?” for Best Documentary Feature

All eyes are on “Amy” here, the most popular of the bunch. But in case you haven’t noticed, Netflix has been breaking the bank spending on behalf of their titles “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” and particularly “What Happened, Miss Simone?” The latter, a study of recording artist Nina Simone, would be a great choice in the wake of criticism about diversity in the nominations. And there have been cracks in the “Amy” dam, namely Matthew Heineman’s Directors Guild victory for “Cartel Land.”

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