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Watch out – actor Michael B. Jordan is enjoying a last-minute surge which might just carry him to victory.
Jordan, who stars as twins Smoke and Stack in the film Sinners, has seen his odds of Oscars victory on Sunday March 15 surge dramatically after he scooped Best Actor at the Actor Awards last Sunday and gave a perfectly pitched, inspiring speech.
Jordan and the film were clearly the big favorites in the room, with actress , who announced the award, screaming with joy when she opened the envelope.
There is also a lot of sympathy for Jordan after he, and co-star Delroy Lindo, endured such an upset at the BAFTAs with such dignity. John Davidson, whose life story inspired the film I Swear, shouted the N-word as the two actors presented the first prize at the British film awards.
There is anger in Hollywood at both and the - particularly the broadcaster which allowed the racist slur to go out despite a two hour delay, and to remain available on their iPlayer platform for 15 hours.
That's helped Michael B. Jordan, but it's not the whole story. There is also a 'Stop Timmy' bandwagon which is quietly gaining pace and might benefit Jordan or Leonardo and Wagner Moura, the other nominees for Best Actor.
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Timothee Chalamet looked unassailable when he won a Golden Globe in January, and thanked his girlfriend Kylie Jenner from the stage (pictured together at the ceremony)
Michael B. Jordan, who stars as twins Smoke and Stack in the film Sinners, scooped Best Actor at the Actor Awards last Sunday
On Thursday, the last day of voting, industry bible The Hollywood Reporter ran a piece titled: 'Oscar season's most burning question: Why not Timothee?'
From the start of the awards season, Timothee Chalamet, 30, was the runaway favorite for his performance in the commercially successful ping pong film Marty Supreme. He looked unassailable when he won a Golden Globe in January, and thanked his girlfriend Kylie Jenner from the stage.
But everything seems to be changing and Marty Supreme's night of disaster at the BAFTAs – where it won nothing despite 11 nominations – is making some pundits believe that Chalamet isn't going to get his Oscar on this, his third nomination.
Losing out at the Actor's Awards amplified that buzz.
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The last actor to win the Oscar after losing both the BAFTA and the Actor Awards (formerly the SAG Awards), was George Clooney for Syriana – 20 years ago.
So why are people turning on Timmy? His big-headed campaigning, which comes with the suggestion that he thinks he deserves the win, is off putting. And his effective marketing campaign for the film, with stunts and social media buzz, may have acted as an actual turn-off for stuffy Academy voters.
As The Hollywood Reporter observes, his 'swagger' is an issue: 'Chalamet represents a less comfortable path for the industry - an anointing of the popular kid, an endorsement of a set of campaign standards that doesn't exactly align with its own. That's a fascinating tension for this particular moment: Chalamet has proven the worth of his brazen, defiant style just as Hollywood is looking for any savior it can find.'
Eight-time Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio made the Best Actor shortlist for the role in One Battle After Another
Wagner Moura is among the Best Actor nominees at the Oscars for his role in The Secret Agent
Chalamet hosted a town hall with Matthew McConaughey for Austin college students last month
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He's played basketball with actor Adam Sandler and Los Angeles high schoolers; he's hosted a town hall with Matthew McConaughey for Austin college students. He's inundated us with real blimps and fake Zoom meetings and floods of orange.
