‘Women Talking’ and ‘Bones and All’ Surprise Oscar Season as Timothée Chalamet and Rooney Mara Go Lead

MGM and United Artists Releasing have revealed their acting submissions for all of their titles, particularly “Bones and All,” “Till” and “Women Talking.”

“Women Talking,” written and directed by Sarah Polley, has opted to put Rooney Mara up in the best actress category while the rest of her female co-stars — Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, Michelle McLeod, Kate Hallett, Liv McNeil, August Winter, Kira Guloien and Shayla Brown — will campaign in supporting actress. The most prominent male actor in the film, Ben Whishaw, will be the only one campaigning for best supporting actor.

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Mara enters a very stacked lead actress race that includes Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Viola Davis (“The Woman King”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”). The universal acclaim for the film adaptation of the popular book could help propel her into the fold, especially given her two prior nominations for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2011) and “Carol” (2015).

As for the rest of the cast, it’ll be a daunting task to get the Actor’s Branch to focus on one or two of the standout women in the ensemble. Buckley, fresh off her first nom for “The Lost Daughter” (2021) has seemed like the safest bet, but Foy has received some of the best reviews of her career and is owed one for her omission for “First Man” (2018). Ivey and McCarthy also received standout notices after debuting in Telluride, Toronto and most recently, Middleburg.

The cannibal love story “Bones and All” by Luca Guadganino will put both stars Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell into the lead actor and actress categories, respectively. There was initial chatter about Chalamet going for supporting actor, but five actors have already been listed — most prominently Mark Rylance. The Oscar winner for “Bridge of Spies” has a solid chance to break into the category as the sadistic and scene-stealing Sully. The stylistic horror drama also has an original song written by two-time Oscar-winning composers Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor (“The Social Network” and “Soul”) titled “(You Made It Feel Like) Home.”

“Till,” co-written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu, has submitted its star Danielle Deadwyler in the lead actress race, while the rest of the cast will be vying for supporting. It also includes the original song “Stand Up,” penned by Jazmine Sullivan and Oscar winner Dernst “D-Mile” Emile II, which Variety exclusively revealed prior to its NYFF premiere.

Read: the latest predictions, visit Variety’s Oscars Hub.

The studio’s awards website also lists other titles like George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing” and “Dog” by directing duo Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin, but no categories have been posted yet.

Variety’s Awards Circuit’s Oscar prediction pages are updated every Thursday. Check back for the new rankings.

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