Sam Mendes’ ‘Empire of Light’, a love story and ode to movie theaters, is dividing critics after playing at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals earlier this month. However, Searchlight Pictures remains confident in its awards prospects.
“Empire” is among the films that are divisive this season, including “Bardo” by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and “The Son” by Florian Zeller. However, one of the film’s agreed strengths is the quality of the cast’s performances – including Oscar winner Olivia Colman, star Micheal Ward and veteran actor Toby Jones.
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As categories are upended by the news of Michelle Williams campaigning for lead actress, instead of supporting, Ward’s campaign is cementing its strategy early by soliciting supporting cast consideration for this awards season, Variety confirmed. Playing Stephen, a young ticket taker who begins a romance with Hilary (Colman), a middle-aged woman coming out of a bout of mental health, Ward holds his ground against the three-time Oscar nominee and winner for ‘The Favourite’. (2018).
Ward will now join a long list of actors vying for one of five coveted acting slots this year, alongside co-stars from the same film. Some of those include Searchlight’s other Oscar hopeful, “The Banshees of Inisherin,” with contenders Barry Keoghan and Brendan Gleeson.
Outside of Telluride, it looked like longtime performer Jones, who plays movie-loving projectionist Norman, would be “Empire’s” leading contender to draw attention to the awards as Best Supporting Actor. Her co-star Colin Firth, Oscar winner for “The King’s Speech” (2010), doesn’t get much screen time.
Ward’s obstacles are significant as we navigate these very early days of the awards circuit, with big names such as Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”), Woody Harrelson (“Triangle of Sadness”) and Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) among the top notable contenders.
Ward may be unknown to many, but the Jamaican-born has sparked public interest over the past two years with smaller roles as Lykon in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Old Guard.” His most prominent role is as Franklyn in the magnificent “Lovers Rock,” one of five films in Steve McQueen’s Amazon Prime Video anthology series “Small Axe.”
Ultimately, Ward’s chances hinge on how “Empire of Light” will do with the rewards voters. Variety Oscar predictions currently predict the film will receive five nominations, for Best Picture (Pippa Harris and Mendes), Actress (Colman), Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Costume Design (Alexandra Byrne) and Original Score. (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), with Jones on the bubble as a supporting actor. If Ward hopes to make a play, he’ll need the film’s score and critical buzz to grow along the way.
To see ranked predictions for each individual category, visit Variety Oscar Center.
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