When a movie is expected to dominate the Oscars in January, it can go one of two ways: It can keep the bright light shone upon it and have a very big night (Oppenheimer, Everything Everywhere All At Once) or can be weighed down under all of the expectations and sink to the bottom (The Power Of The Dog, 1917). Heavy is the head that is expected to wear the crown, and this year, that head is firmly on the shoulders of Paul Thomas Anderson, the 55-year old bespectacled weirdo whose film, One Battle After Another, is expected to have a very big March. The film, telling the story of Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) trying to get him and his daughter to safety, has all of the PTA benchmarks: a star-studded cast, a razor-tight script, a Jonny Greenwood score, and a lot of hype. One Battle will be Anderson’s fourth film making a run at Oscars’ biggest prize and he will almost be certainly be nominated for Best Director for the fourth time.
But something about this film and this nomination feels bigger. Because One Battle may have to win Best Picture in order to be considered a success. And, if you are a fan of movies, you need the film to succeed.
Continue reading “FBC 2026 Oscars Coverage, part II: Paul Thomas Anderson’s battles for Oscar dominance”
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