Woody Allen's next titled "Wonder Wheel"

Kate will have a fight on her hands in lead but Jim and Juno look like top 5.

Hmm, trailer was fine. Honestly Woody Allen is hit or miss with me, but he hits more than he misses. 

Kate Winslet rarely disappoints and it's nice to see Juno Temple in a meaty role ! And yes , it looks visually stunning indeed.

Yeah, there's nothing about this that really screams "actor's showcase" the way Blue Jasmine did. The Academy really likes Winslet and I'm sure she's always going to be a contender, and the Woody Allen factor is often a reliable one, but it doesn't seem anywhere close to a done deal the way Blanchett did.

I've liked Timberlake in some other things, but I guess he can't do period because he definitely felt like the weakest link for me. Perhaps it's because of the trailer, but it could be a problem if he comes across as so annoying or awful that the audience doesn't know why two women like Winslet and Temple would be fighting over him.  

I think Justin Timberlake looks horribly miscast otherwise the trailer looks fine. 

First reviews:


Variety:

IndieWire:

The Wrap:

The Guardian:

THR:

Vanity Fair:

The Playlist:

Yes, I know that award voters as well as other voters don't like being told what to do and will go there own way sometimes, but sometimes they don't always go along with their own way either as Zeb31 so helpfully pointed out.

Plus, with Cate Blanchett, iirc Allen controversy didn't start until she she started to win the televised precursors, and even then most of the time it wasn't about her, as it was about Allen. There was some that revolved around her, and I believe Dylan and Mia Farrow tried to recenter it on Blanchett to a degree, but that narrative never took hold. Another thing in Blanchett's favor was that she had already swept most of the critics' awards before the controversy hit, and Blue Jasmine was screened before any controversy had come out. 

Winslet's case is totally different because the Harvey Weinstein scandal is dominating things so much right now and will likely still be something that continues to be a factor in this awards season. (Beyond that, I'm not really sure because the real world being the real world, eventually things will probably go back to how they were with maybe a little change but perhaps no change.) Anyhow as Zeb31 also pointed out, how some critics are viewing Wonder Wheel is being affected by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, so it's not something like Blue Jasmine where most of the focus could be on the film with maybe a little on Allen's past. 

I expect that Winslet's award chances will similarly be affected. Critics already could go elsewhere with Hawkins, McDormand, Ronan, and probably Streep all having raves, but with Winslet getting good to great reviews, I'm not sure if critics will want to award her for Wonder Wheel. First because I expect that just nominating Winslet for a group vote is going to get a lot of controversy and a lot of heated discussion moreso than just ordinary voting, and second, award bodies might just find it easier to sidestep any controversy by not awarding Winslet at all. Again like I said if she were undeniable, I don't think it would be a problem, but it doesn't seem like she is, and this is actually a competitive year for Best Actress. 

I think the televised awards will likely take a cue from the critics awards and try to avoid any Allen controversy too. Maybe the Globes because they more spots, but I think she's definitely out of the running now to win there since she'll be up against Streep and Hawkins who both have better chances of winning the Oscar. 

Plus as Zeb31 also already brought up, Winslet didn't do herself any favors by comparing Allen and Polanski at all. 



Even before the Weinstein scandal, she wouldn't have gotten through awards season unscathed without this being brought up over and over again, but after the Weinstein scandal, this quote and the fact that there's going to be critics that constantly bring up the fact that she worked with both Allen and Polanski is going to work against her. Had she been undeniable, yes, she probably still would have won, but again she's not, so I think most critics and award shows just want to bypass any potential controversy by not nominating Winslet or Wonder Wheel. 

It should be noted that Amazon has canceled the red carpet premiere tomorrow at NYFF likely because of the Weinstein controversy, and for the stories that came out about them due to the Weinstein scandal. Right now they probably regret that they gave Allen a carte blanche deal.