Entertainment Eds Prepare Their Best ‘We Didn’t Win’ Copy As Boom Year For Aussie Oscar Noms Looms

It’s hard to believe that 2008 is roaring past at such speeds that it’s almost time for the Australian entertainment press to start crowing about how the Academy (etc) really, really like us and then, inevitably, sulk and whinge when Australian actors, directors, writers and artisans don’t end up coming up with the paperweights, but indeed it’s true; Oscar buzz is now an acceptable topic of water-cooler discussion. However, it looks as though the upcoming award season could be a rich one, with – talk about placing your bets early! – two as-yet unfinished (sort of) Australian productions looking likely to bring in the nominations, if you believe the experts.

Hollywood insiders say it is not just A-list Australians in the running for Oscars. Some lesser known Aussies are in the hunt.

“The early Oscar spotlight is on Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, but don’t discount the Aussie combination of John Hillcoat and young Kodi Smit-McPhee being nominated for The Road,” Perth-born Rob Marsala, a talent manager at Hollywood agency One Management, said yesterday.

Queensland director Hillcoat, best known for the 2005 Australian-style western, The Proposition, and 11-year-old Melbourne native, Smit-McPhee, star of Romulus, My Father, have combined for their first Hollywood film. The film is based on American author Cormac McCarthy’s most acclaimed novel, The Road.

Oh yes, that “lesser-known” young indie director Baz Luhrmann! Hasn’t he done well for himself?

In seriousness, however, it could be a good year for Hillcoat – critics and viewers alike loved The Proposition and, as the article points out, Academy voters are known fans of Cormac McCarthy’s work. Although, given that No Country For Old Men scooped its fair share of statuettes this past awards season, they might be loath to bestow the little men on The Road.

What are your personal picks, Oscar buzz or not, for the local efforts of the year?