It’s awards season and the Oscars are just around the corner once again. Each January, there is a noticeable hum of excitement in the film industry. It’s common knowledge that winning one of those prestigious golden accolades solidifies the notion that the recipient has indeed “made it” in Hollywood—which can be a difficult feat in the movie industry. 
Thus far, it seems that March 4 holds a lot of competition, with one category up for grabs by two actors from the same movie. 
One of the most esteemed and highly anticipated awards of the evening is of course, the Best Picture category; every director’s dream, besides Best Director, that is.
The nominees for Best Picture include “Call Me By Your Name,” “Darkest Hour,” “Dunkirk,” “Get Out,” “Lady Bird,” “Phantom Thread,” “The Post,” “The Shape of Water,” and finally “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
It’s fairly normal that all of the movies to snag a nomination are not all smothered in attention by the general public. Many viewers may not have even heard of the winning title before. Nevertheless, the lack of spotlight doesn’t invalidate the excellency of the winner.
Beyond the Best Picture award, it’s perhaps the awards of Best Actor and Best Actress in a leading role that receive the most buzz. The Best Actor nominees are: Timothee Chalamet (“Call Me By Your Name”), Daniel Day-Lewis (“Phantom Thread”), Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out”), Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour”) and Denzel Washington (“Roman J. Israel, Esq.”).
Up for Best Actress are: Sally Hawkins (“The Shape of Water”), Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”), Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird”) and Meryl Streep (“The Post”). Adding an Oscar to one’s resume, such as Best Actor or Actress, certainly doesn’t hurt credentials in order to snag future blockbuster roles—and perhaps even future nominations. Meryl Streep, for example, has several under her belt. As an acclaimed actress, she rarely goes a year without a nomination at the very least. 
Even when the ladies and gentlemen of the film industry don’t have the starring role, there’s still have a chance to get a piece of the proverbial pie. The actresses in contention for Best Actress in a Supporting Role include Mary J. Blige (“Mudbound”), Allison Janey (“I, Tonya”), Lesley Manville (“Phantom Thread”), Laurie Metcalf (“Lady Bird”) and Octavia Spencer (“The Shape of Water”). Best Actor in a Supporting Role will go to one of the following: Willem Dafoe (“The Florida Project”), Woody Harrelson (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Richard Jenkins (“The Shape of Water”), Christopher Plummer (“All the Money in the World”) or Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”).
The Best Directors category often coincides with that of Best Picture, seeing that stellar films mostly come from stellar director. This year, every movie with a director nominated for Best Director was also nominated for Best Picture. Christopher Nolan directed “Dunkirk,” Jordan Peele for “Get Out,” Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird,” Paul Thomas Anderson for “Phantom Thread,” and Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water.” 
The other lesser-known Academy Awards are categories such as Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary for both short and long features, Best Original Song, Best Original Soundtrack, and the list goes on. Almost every aspect of the film industry has a slot for the evening, which places the event at the center of attention for a few nights, both preceding and following the actual awards night. Millions of viewers across the world will watch as everyone in attendance dons the most expensive, luxurious evening wear imaginable. It is likely enough that they will stay up late, with or without popcorn, in order to catch who is determined the winner for each of the big categories. With so many exemplary nominees in 2018, it will be as difficult as ever to predict just who will win on the night of March 4.