The Oscar Narrative: First 2020 Nomination Predictions - Best Supporting Actress

First 2020 Predictions
Annette Bening "The Report"
Nicole Kidman "The Goldfinch"
Margot Robbie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"
Maggie Smith "Downton Abbey"
Meryl Streep "Little Women"

Other Contenders - Carrie Fisher "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker", Laura Carmichael "Downton Abbey", Elizabeth McGovern "Downton Abbey", Joanne Froggatt "Downton Abbey", Sophie McShera "Downton Abbey", Imelda Staunton "Downton Abbey", Penelope Wilton "Downton Abbey", Lesley Nicol "Downton Abbey", Phyllis Logan "Downton Abbey", Jennifer Hudson "Cats", Taylor Swift "Cats", Rebel Wilson "Cats", Judi Dench "Cats", Florence Pugh "Little Women", Emma Watson "Little Women", Laura Dern "Little Women", Eliza Scanlen "Little Women", Laura Dern "The Untitled Noah Baumbach Project", Dakota Fanning "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", Margaret Qualley "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", Julianne Moore "The Woman in the Window", Janelle Monae "Harriet", Jennifer Nettles "Harriet", Catherine Deneuve "The Truth", Vicky Krieps "Bergman Island", Rosie Perez "The Last Thing He Wanted", Anne Hathaway "Untitled Todd Haynes Project Project", Julianne Moore "The Woman in the Window", Bryce Dallas Howard "Rocketman", Caitriona Balfe "Ford v. Ferrari", Susan Kelechi Watson "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood", Wendy Makkena "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood", Connie Britton "Fair and Balanced", Margot Robbie "Fair and Balanced", Allison Janney "Fair and Balanced", Kate McKinnon "Fair and Balanced", Kristen Wiig "Where'd You Go Bernadette?", Elisabeth Moss "Us", Ellen Burstyn "Lucy in the Sky", Zazie Beetz "Lucy in the Sky", Anna Paquin "The Irishman", Lily Collins "Tolkien", Maya Rudolph "Wine Country", Rachel Dratch "Wine Country", Paula Pell "Wine Country", Tina Fey "Wine Country", Ana Gasteyer "Wine Country", Lisa Kudrow "Booksmart", Allison Janney "Ma", Juliette Lewis "Ma", Tiffany Haddish "The Kitchen", Mary Elizabeth Winstead "Gemini Man", Gugu Mbatha-Raw "Motherless Brooklyn", Leslie Mann "Motherless Brooklyn", Michelle Yeoh "Last Christmas", Ana de Armas "Knives Out", Jamie Lee Curtis "Knives Out", Toni Collette "Knives Out"

Commentary - This list is so long, it feels overwhelming. This is probably because there are so many films with multiple potential contenders. Let's start with my first predicted five. Annette Bening is already getting raves out of Sundance for her role as Sen. Feinstein in The Report, and is way overdue for an Oscar. Margot Robbie's star is so bright, she almost made it into the Oscar race for the otherwise so-so Mary, Queen of Scots. With a Tarantino script behind her, she could be looking at her second nomination. Nicole Kidman seems to pop up in this race every couple years. This year, she tackles the film adaptation of the Pulitzer winning The Goldfinch. Finally, I think the legends Maggie Smith and Meryl Streep, both of whom have multiple Oscars on their mantles, could be standouts in their ensemble pieces. Speaking of ensemble pieces, the casts of Downton Abbey (beyond Smith), Little Women (beyond Streep), Cats, Harriet, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Fair and Balanced, Lucy in the Sky, Wine Country, Ma, Knives Out, and Motherless Brooklyn have a plethora of contenders, many of whom are awards and Oscar favorites. Michelle Yeoh returns with Last Christmas, Vicky Krieps hopes to build on her Phantom Thread fame with Bergman Island, and the legend Catherine Deneuve could be in play. Kristen Wiig could bring humor and heart to Linklater's latest, Tiffany Haddish is always hilarious, Bryce Dallas Howard could stand out in Rocketman, Rosie Perez returns to the race, Anna Paquin does too with Scorsese, Caitriona Balfe hopes to leap to the big screen, and Julianne Moore plays opposite Amy Adams. It is going to be a hell of a race.