George Clooney eyeing Oscar return with ‘The Boys in the Boat’

George Clooney has earned Oscar nominations in a whopping six different categories putting him on a par with Alfonso Cuarón and Walt Disney and one behind recordholder Kenneth Branagh.

Clooney’s first Oscar bids came in 2006, when he received a hatrick of nominations. He won Best Supporting Actor for “Syriana,” while he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay with Grant Heslov and Best Director for “Good Night, and Good Luck.” They lost the writing race to Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco for “Crash” while Ang Lee won Best Director for “Brokeback Mountain.” He didn’t have to wait long for his next invitations to the Oscars. He was nominated for Best Actor in 2008 for “Michael Clayton” and in 2010 for “Up in the Air” losing to Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”) and Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”) respectively.

More from GoldDerby

• Is Andrew Scott ('All of Us Strangers') an indie dark horse in this year's Oscar race for Best Actor?

• VMA reactions: Did Taylor Swift really deserve to win NINE times? [POLL]

• Martin Scorsese ('Killers of the Flower Moon') predicted to break Oscar tie with Steven Spielberg

He then picked up two more nominations in 2012 — for Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Ides of March” (shared with Heslov and Beau Willimon) and Best Actor for “The Descendants.” Ironically, he lost the screenplay bid to “The Descendants” (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash). It was Jean Dujardin who won Best Actor that year — for “The Artist.” Clooney’s most recent nomination came in 2013 when he won Best Picture for “Argo” alongside Heslov and Ben Affleck.

Clooney has had a few projects since then that flirted with the Oscars but never caught on, including “The Monuments Men,” “The Midnight Sky,” and “The Tender Bar.” This year he has a very strong contender with “The Boys in the Boat.” This Amazon release tells the true story of the 1930s University of Washington’s rowing team that won gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The film is based on the book by Daniel James Brown, with “The Revenant” scribe Mark L. Smith penning the adaptation. Joel Edgerton and Callum Turner star.

While this MGM release isn’t out till Christmas, its had some very positive test screenings. Could it bring Clooney his first Oscar nomination since 2013 and second Best Director bid overall?

At the moment, he sits just outside of our predicted nominees for Best Director: Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”), Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”), Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”), and Celine Song (“Past Lives”). “The Boys in the Boat” is also outside of our predicted Best Picture lineup: “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Barbie,” “Past Lives,” “The Color Purple,” “Maestro,” “The Holdovers,” “Poor Things,” “The Zone of Interest,” and “Anatomy of a Fall.” And “The Boys in the Boat” is also outside of our predicted nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay: “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie,” “Poor Things,” and “The Zone of Interest.”

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

• 2024 Oscars: Best Film Editing Predictions

• Which 9 superstars could be nominated at the 2024 Oscars for Best Picture?

• 2024 Oscars: Best International Feature Predictions

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.