LITTLE WOMEN

Amy Pascal

In the late 1860s, burgeoning author Jo March looks back on her and her three sisters’ Massachusetts childhoods and the events and relationships that helped shape them as adults.

UNLIKELY

Despite the uproar that director Greta Gerwig missed out on her directing nomination, “Little Women” holds very little chance of winning Best Picture. For one thing, it simply has not won anywhere else. On top of that, it’s been missing in places where it was favored to win, like the Writers Guild awards. The sympathy vote for Gerwig seems not existent and without that, it really stands no chance against the Big Three (“1917,” “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,” and “Parasite”).

Amy Pascal

2017 (90th)

Best Picture

“The Post”

NOMINEE

Written by Greta Gerwig

POSSIBLE

Don’t count “Little Women” and Greta Gerwig completely out, but with “Jojo Rabbit” winning at the Writers Guild, it chances the dynamic here a little bit. However, the Academy is a different body of voters and they may not have loved “Jojo Rabbit” as much as the WGA. If that ends up being the case, however, it’s not even a guarantee at this moment that the winner will be “Little Women” either.

Greta Gerwig

2017 (90th)	Best Directing	“Lady Bird”	NOMINEE
2017 (90th)	Best Original Screenplay	“Lady Bird”	NOMINEE

Saoirse Ronan

An aspiring author, Jo March reflects on life with three sisters as she navigates the complicated teenage years in a society that believes women need to marry well to be successful.

UNLIKELY

The Academy loves her. She’s been nominated three times prior without any wins. If she was an older actress, that might mean something, but since she’s still so young, there really isn’t any urgency there. From my understanding of some of the Academy voters that released their final ballots, not a lot of people were rallying behind “Little Women.” Add to that the fact that Renée Zellweger has tsunami swept all the awards this year and you’d be looking at a pretty huge upset in Saoirse Ronan winning here.

Saoirse Ronan

2007 (80th)	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	“Atonement”	NOMINEE
2015 (88th)	Best Actress in a Leading Role	“Brooklyn”	NOMINEE
2017 (90th)	Best Actress in a Leading Role	“Lady Bird”	NOMINEE

Florence Pugh

Amy March, the youngest of the four March sisters, struggles with love as she juggles between a wealthy man that will provide her stability or the unpredictable man that was always in love with her oldest sister, Jo.

POSSIBLE

Florence Pugh was on fire last year and it put her on a lot of people’s radars. The only thing is, it was mainly for her role in “Midsommar,” which she missed out on getting nominated for here. That being said, at least a few Academy voters were leaning toward Pugh just as an actress and not necessarily in this role. Laura Dern is the odds-on favorite with Scarlett Johansson right behind her, but if I had to pick a category for an upset, this would be one of them.

Florence Pugh

NONE

Jacqueline Durran

FRONT-RUNNER

Jacqueline Durran is iconic, as are the costumes she presents in “Little Women.” The experts put her at the front of the pack just ahead of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Both are technically period pieces (as are the entire category) but “Little Women” goes back a little further. Both must encapsulate a specific period, however, and more love might be there for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” in all honesty.

Jacqueline Durran

2005 (78th)	Best Costume Design	“Pride & Prejudice”	NOMINEE
2007 (80th)	Best Costume Design	“Atonement”	NOMINEE
2012 (85th)	Best Costume Design	“Anna Karenina”	WON
2014 (87th)	Best Costume Design	“Mr. Turner”	NOMINEE
2017 (90th)	Best Costume Design	“Beauty and the Beast”	NOMINEE
2017 (90th)	Best Costume Design	“Darkest Hour”	NOMINEE

Alexandre Desplat

UNLIKELY

This year will likely be Thomas Newman versus Hildur Guðnadóttir and right now everyone’s leaning Hildur.

Alexandre Desplat

2006 (79th)	Best Original Score	“The Queen”	NOMINEE
2008 (81st)	Best Original Score	“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”	NOMINEE
2009 (82nd)	Best Original Score	“Fantastic Mr. Fox”	NOMINEE
2010 (83rd)	Best Original Score	“The King’s Speech”	NOMINEE
2012 (85th)	Best Original Score	“Argo”	NOMINEE
2013 (86th)	Best Original Score	“Philomena”	NOMINEE
2014 (87th)	Best Original Score	“The Grand Budapest Hotel”	WON
2014 (87th)	Best Original Score	“The Imitation Game”	NOMINEE
2017 (90th)	Best Original Score	“The Shape Of Water”	WON
2018 (91st)	Best Original Score	“Isle of Dogs”	NOMINEE

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Viewed on January 31, 2020
Viewed at AMC Universal Citywalk