The Oscar Run is a weekly feature discussing how the Oscar race is shaping up. This week, The Oscar Run examines the impact Saving Mr. Banks and Her may have on the Oscars, 12 Years A Slaves robust box office and how some of the underdogs of the Oscar season may play out.

Let’s not kid ourselves; with its true story, awesome cast (Jason Schwartzman rules), Christmas date and utilization of John Lee Hancock (the director of Best Picture nominee The Blind Side), Saving Mr. Banks has always been regarded as potential Best Picture material. But after screening for the first time this past weekend at the London Film Festival, early word is the film lives up to its potential and then some. The Hollywood Reporter (one of the biggest publications in show business) declares that it has “outstanding performances by the lead and supporting cast,” something I always expected due to the film’s numerous famous faces (In addition to Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell and B.J. Novak are also in the film).

I expect Banks to have a major presence at the Oscars from here on out, but let’s also keep an eye on one of my most anticipated releases for the rest of the year; Her. Similarly, the film also had it’s world premiere this past weekend and emerged from the festival with rave reviews. One interesting recurring thought seems to be that Scarlett Johansson could get an Oscar nomination, solely based on her vocal performance in the film as Samantha. I’ve long thought voice acting in animated features should be recognized, and I was a major supporter of Andy Serkis getting some Oscar love back in 2011 for Rise of The Planet of The Apes, so I’m all for Johansson getting some recognition here. What’s even more fascinating is this nomination may come to pass; the Best Supporting Actress field is so weak this year she might might just get into the field.

12 Years A Slave, one of the best reviewed films of the years, opened this past weekend to great results, making nearly $1 million in a single weekend from playing at only 18 theatres. Thanks to this wonderful opening, the film will be playing at more locations shortly, and it’ll be interesting to see if mainstream audiences can handle the dark material presented in the film. If they don’t, the films stranglehold on the entire Oscar race may begin to fall apart.

Finally, I decided to take a gander at some of the underdogs in the Oscar Race this week, just to give them some much needed attention. Enough Said, Before Midnight, The Book Thief, Out Of the Furnace, Mud and Blue Jasmine seem to be the underdogs so far, with all of them knowing that Best Picture nominations are long shots, but their acting performances in their respective films might be enough to gain some recognition. For me, I’d love to see Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and James Gandolfini from Enough Said get some recognition, while Ethan Hawke deserves something for his excellent work in Before Midnight.

And now, this weeks nomination predictions:

Best Picture:

* Gravity

* Lee Daniels’ The Butler

* Captain Phillips

* The Wolf of Wall Street

* Inside Llewyn Davis

* American Hustle

* The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

* 12 Years A Slave

* The Monuments Men

Best Actor:

* Forest Whitaker (Lee Daniels’ The Butler)

* Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

* Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)

* Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

* Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)

Best Actress:

* Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

* Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

* Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)

* Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

* Judi Dench (Philomena)

Best Supporting Actor:

* Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

* Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks)

* Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

* Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave)

* Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Best Supporting Actress

* Amy Adams (American Hustle)

* Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

* Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave)

* Oprah Winfrey (Lee Daniels’ The Butler)

* Scarlett Johansson (Her)

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