Friday, February 7, 2025

How Searchlight Pictures Just Made This A Completely Unknown Oscar Race With “A Complete Unknown”

The joy of speculation during awards season is an entertaining time of the year, especially when it’s as early as it is now without all of the festival slates made public. Most films haven’t been seen yet, but there is a good idea on paper of what most likely will translate from the festival season to the Oscars. Of course, there’s always news that comes in and throws a wrench in everything, and that’s exactly what just happened yesterday. Recently, Searchlight Pictures released the first look at James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me By Your Name“), which recently wrapped filming only a few days ago. So recently, many assumed the film would be released in 2025 due to the post-production work needed to complete the film, But now, it’s confirmed the movie will be released in December 2024, right smack in the heart of the awards season. Here’s how this news shakes up the year’s Oscar race, not only for Searchlight but for the entire season as a whole.

Every prediction lineup for Best Actor will now feature Chalamet, and understandably so. This performance checked all the boxes on the surface (sight unseen). Bob Dylan can be considered a somewhat transformational performance because the character is a real-life person. We see it yearly; playing a legendary icon is the kind of catnip Academy voters gravitate to consistently for leading performances. Now, Chalamet is thrust into what could be a three-horse race for Best Actor, squaring up against previously nominated Colman Domingo for “Sing Sing and an overdue Daniel Craig for Luca Guadagino’s upcoming film “Queer.There’s also a slew of contenders in an ever-growing field, such as Ralph Finnes for “Conclave,” Joaquin Phoenix for “Joker: Folie a Deux,” Paul Mescal for “Gladiator II,” John David Washington for “The Piano Lesson” and many more.

While we may question why Searchlight wouldn’t wait for Chalamet to dominate next year’s Best Actor conversation, they seem to be striking while the iron is hot for the young star. With “Dune: Part Two inevitably becoming such a focal point of not just this year’s awards season but of movies in general, it creates great exposure to keep his name on voters’ minds to not only be nominated but possibly win. It won’t be easy, but it’s certainly possible. Mangold has directed multiple Oscar-winning performances before, including Reese Witherspoon’s Best Actress win for “Walk The Line and Angelina Jolie’s Best Supporting Actress win for “Girl, Interrupted,” so this is not uncommon for a film of his. Or, Chalamet could end up following the same path as Austin Butler did for “Elvis,” while Craig is the critics’ darling like Colin Farrell for “The Banshees Of Inisherin,” and Domingo takes the ultimate prize like Brendan Fraser did for “The Whale.” It’s way too early to get an accurate feel for it, but we know this dramatically impacts Searchlight’s campaign priorities.

Before this news, Searchlight only had “A Real Pain and “Nightbitch on their slate for the season, where it felt like “A Real Pain was the default front-runner to be their priority during awards season. Kieran Culkin seems to have a great shot at getting nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The screenplay by Jesse Eisenberg (a previous nominee for Best Actor for his performance in David Fincher’s “The Social Network“) has been praised plenty since the film’s world premiere at Sundance, so it possibly could find its way into a Best Original Screenplay field. If it is campaigned correctly and becomes a fixture in those two categories, a Best Picture nomination wouldn’t be impossible. But with “A Complete Unknown taking center stage, that vision is slowly dissipating. It’s still possible that Culkin could be nominated and be a lone nominee for “A Real Pain, similar to how Brian Tyree Henry was nominated recently for “Causeway. With Culkin’s popularity among awards bodies bolstered by his success with “Succession, it feels like he’ll maintain relevancy in the supporting actor conversation.

Speaking of lone nominations, Amy Adams could be the only aspect of “Nightbitch that makes it past the initial noise to awards recognition. Sure, director Marielle Heller has a solid track record with her previous films, but the premise of “Nightbitch may be too bizarre for Academy voters. That being said, the film will be playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Adams will also be awarded the TIFF Tribute Performer Award. Previous honorees include Colman Domingo in 2023 (he was nominated for an Academy Award that year for “Rustin“), Jessica Chastain in 2021 (who won the Academy Award that year for “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye“), and Anthony Hopkins in 2020 (who won the Academy Award that year for “The Father“).

At least both “A Real Pain and “Nightbitch will have some type of appearance at a major film festival. “A Complete Unknown could skip all the festivals as the movie will more than likely not be finished in time for September. If anything, maybe it could appear at the New York Film Festival due to Bob Dylan’s ties to the city. That being said, Mangold and his team are most likely locking themselves inside the editing room to finish the film by its December release date. But one does beg the question: Does it even need to appear at festivals? Chalamet has proven he’s a box office draw, and plenty of older movie-going audiences are familiar with Dylan’s music. If the marketing is done right and the movie is decent, it could also make money at the box office, which would only help its award chances. Mangold has made films the Academy has mostly enjoyed, including nominees “Walk The Line,” “3:10 To Yuma,” “Logan,” and “Ford v Ferrari.” Either way, “A Complete Unknown is surely Searchlight’s primary focus. If it lives up to the expectations, it could be a mainstay during this Oscar season for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and who knows what else!

Are you surprised “A Complete Unknown is coming out this year? Do you think it can significantly impact this year’s awards race? Could Timothée Chalamet win Best Actor among such stiff competition? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account and be sure to check out our latest Oscar predictions here.

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Giovanni Lago
Giovanni Lago
Devoted believer in all things cinema and television. Awards Season obsessive and aspiring filmmaker.

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