Oscars 2014: Early Best Picture Front-runners

This story first appeared in the March 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

August: Osage County

Fall, The Weinstein Co.

Dysfunctional family dramedy (a la Silver Linings Playbook); Meryl Streep starring; Argo producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov; Harvey Weinstein releasing. Nearly all the Oscar elements.

Captain Phillips

Oct. 11, Columbia Pictures

Tom Hanks stars as a seaman kidnapped by Somali pirates for director Paul Greengrass (United 93) and Social Network producers Scott Rudin and Michael De Luca.

Foxcatcher

TBD, Columbia Pictures

Bennett Miller (Moneyball) takes on John du Pont (Steve Carell), chemical heir and schizophrenic. Do Columbia and backer Megan Ellison have a Zero Dark Thirty?

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Fruitvale

TBD, The Weinstein Co.

The Sundance hit about a real-life police shooting is hoping to replicate Beasts of the Southern Wild‘s indie path to the Oscars.

Inside Llewyn Davis

TBD, CBS Films

The Coen brothers‘ folk-music drama set in 1960 Greenwich Village could make a splash at Cannes. Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake star.

Monuments Men

Dec. 20, Columbia/Fox

Clooney directs and acts with a big cast based on Robert M. Edsel‘s book about art experts who retrieve works stolen by Nazis.

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Nebraska

TBD, Paramount

Alexander Payne‘s follow-up to best picture nominee The Descendants is a stylish road-trip drama starring Bruce Dern and Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte. Yes, MacGruber’s Will Forte.

Saving Mr. Banks

Dec. 20, Disney

Hanks plays Walt Disney as John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) re-creates the making of Mary Poppins. The Academy loves both Hanks and movies set in Hollywood.

Wolf of Wall Street

TBD, Paramount

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a corporate-greed tale from director Martin Scorsese. Enough said.