Do you think Blade Runner 2049 can pull a Fury Road?

I think it's very possible. It's got the benefit of a late-season release and if it gets the critical push, it could be a massive threat for a technical sweep.

It's hard to see it garnering as many as Mad Max did because that seemed like a "lightning in a bottle" thing, but I'd say setting the bar at something as simple as getting a nomination outside of visual effects and sound would be a success.

Edit: Also, I did not know Deakins was doing 2049. Holy fuck, yes.

It's possible, though Blade Runner 2049 has much bigger shoes to fill than Fury Road. The Mad Max series has always been more of a cult thing, so the expectations for Fury Road were never that high. Blade Runner, on the other hand, is one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. I'm wondering that, even if 2049 is well received, its Oscar pull might be closer to The Force Awakens.

I expect it to pull more of a Judgment Day, dominating techs but being completely shut out of general categories. Hope I'm wrong in my hopes tho.

If it lives up to the hype, then definitely. I think Blade Runner is more well-regarded than Mad Max already, so 2049 just needs to be good and it'll be in contention for sure.

October is the perfect month for Oscar releases so maybe. Although I don't think it'll win as many Oscars. I predict 4 at most if it is a hit with the Academy. 

Not exactly that but I'd love to see 2049 living up to Blade Runner's name. Denis is on fire and the casting is good. Even if it doesn't garner a BP, it will be a strong contender in the techs. Deakins is long overdue and this might be his first Oscar.

On the other hand there is Dunkirk. Climbing that mammoth is not easy for a hard sci-fi like 2049 (assuming it as one) but all I'm hoping for is a cinematography Oscar for my man Roger.

Well Villeneuve is on a run but no I don't think so. I think it will be a  very good sic fi film with good reviews and box office and a couple of technical noms/wins but I dont see it in any major categories.


But then I said the same about MMFR.

Given the pedigree of the first movie I think Blade Runner has a much better chance pre-release than Mad Max did, especially since it would be a chance to "make up" for the first film being ignored. I'm not actually expecting it to be that good, though.

If it's as critically acclaimed as Mad Max: Fury Road was, I think it's a possibility. There's already been so much attention on Deakins' cinematography that even if the film isn't acclaimed, he could very well be nominated, maybe even win. If it is acclaimed though, then I think there's a lot of possibility. While sci-fi is usually not recognized by the Academy, Arrival was one of the most nominated films of last year, so if Denis Villenueve can get a directing nod for a sci-fi film once, maybe he can do it again.

And of course, just speaking in general, while the Academy has always had an iffy history with genre films, the recent Academy success of Fury Road and Arrival could suggest that things are changing.

This is crazy speculative, but it'd be pretty cool if Harrison Ford got a nom, like Sylvester Stallone in Creed. But I guess we'll have to wait and see how his performance is before getting too far into that discussion.

I'm also very doubtful that this will be an Oscar player beyond techs. I just think that the success of Mad Max: Fury Road would be hard to duplicate. It came out in a rather weak year where the other two top Oscar films were either a small film about the Catholic priesthood scandal coverup which kept faltering in its awards' run until the Oscars where it finally maxed out on nominations, and a very late breaking film directed by the previous Best Director winner that wasn't that warmly received and that had some people complaining about being hard to sit through because of the violence. 

Plus, Warner Brothers didn't really have anything else that year except Creed, but the Rocky franchise came with its own baggage, and they probably released it too late/didn't push it hard enough to maximize its Oscar chances beyond Sylvester Stallone. While Dunkirk could possibly bomb or disappoint, right now it just makes more sense that WB would push that more for Oscars. 

Also, as you say Fury Road had the plenty of subtext that made it "important" and appeal to those AMPAS members that value that in a Best Picture nominee/winner, but I agree that I could see Blade Runner:2049 being the opposite of that if it's like the original. It may not also be able to live up to the original either given how acclaimed that film is now. The Mad Max films were acclaimed, but I don't think they were on the level of Blade Runner, and I think it helped that George Miller was behind all of them and Fury Road was obviously a passion project for Miller. 

This reminded me of Blade Runner.

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