Early 2027 Oscar Predictions and Test Screening Reactions to 'Digger,' 'Heart of the Beast,' and 'The Dog Stars'

Happy Monday, folks!

CinemaCon is about to kick off with the Sony Pictures presentation — I drove to Las Vegas again this year, and dropped my road playlist on Twitter — but before the four-day event gets underway, I wanted to weigh in on next year’s Oscar race, having spent last week polling some of the most powerful people in Hollywood. They helped me sort the true contenders from the pretenders.

However, before I get to those predictions, I offer some test screening reactions regarding the Tom Cruise movie Digger, Brad Pitt’s survival film Heart of the Beast, and Ridley Scott’s period drama The Dog Stars, to give a little context to this year's race.

I also pass along some early buzz on Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot, Matt Johnson’s Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony, and J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi/fantasy film The Great Beyond, which I’m told has a muted presence thus far in Las Vegas. Perhaps it’s all part of the director’s plan and his penchant for “mystery box” marketing…

Now, before we get to the good stuff, I wanted to weigh in on these Louis Partridge-James Bond rumors, which were given more fuel by the legitimacy(?) offered by Variety. Personally, I don’t believe there’s anything to this rumor — not because I’ve asked anyone, but because I just can’t see it myself.

Best known for the Enola Holmes movies, Partridge looks like a pretty boy, not a return to the rough-and-tumble Bond that screenwriter Steven Knight has hinted at. I know Partridge played Sid Vicious for Danny Boyle, so he does have a bit of an edge to him, but I just don’t get the right vibe from him, even if the 22-year-old actor does turn out to fit the age that Knight and director Denis Villeneuve are going for. I’m skeptical.

I’m all for a younger Bond, but people still want to see a man, not a boy.

This week, I saw not one but two actors who I think would make better Bonds, as it were. 31-year-old Tom Blyth, who impressed me in last year’s gay drama Plainclothes, feels genuinely dangerous in Cal McMau’s prison thriller Wasteman.

Meanwhile, I can’t say much about Richard Gadd’s new HBO Max series Half Man, which remains under embargo, but it seems worth keeping an eye on 27-year-old Scottish actor Stuart Campbell. I’ll just say that, generally speaking, he has a certain presence, and I’ll leave it at that for now.

For more on Half Man, check out the trailer at the bottom of this newsletter.

I was also impressed this weekend by Kieron Moore’s fearless turn in Blue Film, which I’ll have more to say about that film closer to its release next month.

I also watched Netflix’s shark thriller Thrash, which I consider a guilty pleasure. Sure, it strands Phoebe Dynevor for most of its brief running time, but I liked Whitney Peak (soon to be seen in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which dropped a new trailer today) as well as the scenes featuring Stacy Clausen and his two siblings. I’m now looking forward to seeing more from Clausen in this summer’s queer horror movie Leviticus.

Finally, I watched Jonah Hill’s Outcome this weekend, but the less said about that one, the better. Just an unfunny mess from top to bottom.

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