Lester’s Way Too Early 25+ Best Picture 2021 Oscar Winning Contenders

Lester’s Way Too Early 25+ Best
 Picture 2021 Oscar Winning Contenders
Scheduled for release in 2020

“Ammonite” - Ammonite is an upcoming British-Australian romantic drama film written and directed by Francis Lee. It stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. The independent historical drama tells the story inspired by the life of fossil hunter Mary Anning. The story is set in 1840s England, when Anning and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever.

“Annette” - The film tells the story of a provocative stand-up comedian (Adam Driver) and his wife, a world-famous soprano (Marion Cotillard). Their glamorous life takes an unexpected turn when their daughter Annette is born, a girl with a unique gift.

“Bernstein” - A portrait of Leonard Bernstein's singular charisma and passion for music as he rose to fame as America's first native born, world-renowned conductor, all along following his ambition to compose both symphonic and popular Broadway works. Director Bradley Cooper and stars Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan.

“Cherry” - American crime drama by Anthony and Joe Russo with a written screenplay by Jessica Goldberg and Angela Russo-Otstot. The film stars Tom Holland in the lead role, along with a supporting cast that includes Ciara Bravo, Bill Skarsgård and Jack Reynor. An Army medic named Nico Walker (Holland) who has returned from Iraq dealing with an opioid addiction and posttraumatic stress disorder begins robbing banks.

“Da 5 Bloods” - A group of veterans from the Vietnam War return to the jungle to find their lost innocence. Stars Chadwick Boseman – Spike Lee Directs.

“Dune” - Director: Denis Villeneuve of Incendies, Sicario, Blade Runner and Arrival, revisits the science fiction story in the far future of humanity, Duke Leto Atreides accepts stewardship of the dangerous desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe, "the spice", a drug which extends human life, provides superhuman levels of thought, and makes foldspace travel possible. The ensemble cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.

"Greyhound” - Directed by Aaron Schneider - Nazi U-boats pursue a convoy of Allied ships during the early days of World War II. Tom Hanks stars.

"Hillbilly Elegy” - Directed by Ron Howard aka for Apollo 13 is a film memoir of a family and culture in crisis based on J. D. Vance book about the Appalachian values of his Kentucky family and their relation to the social problems of his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, where his mother's parents moved when they were young. Amy Adams and Glenn Close star. 

“In the Heights” - Explores three days in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights. Stars and Produced by “Hamilton’s”  Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

“Mank” (Netflix) - “Mank,” Directed by David Fincher and written by the director's late father Jack Fincher, which tells the true story of Herman J. Mankiewicz as he sets out to write the script for Orson Welles' “Citizen Kane.” Stars Gary Oldman.

“Macbeth” - A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power. Director Joel Coen and  stars Denzel Washington.

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” An upcoming drama film directed by George C. Wolfe, based on the play of the same name by August Wilson. Depicts the tensions musician Ma Rainey encountered between her bandmates, her white agent and her producer while recording an album in 1927. Stars Viola Davis as Ma Rainey, Chadwick Boseman and Glynn Turman.

“Minari” – A Korean family moves to Arkansas to start a farm in the 1980s. Director Lee Isaac Chung. Won Best Picture at Sundance Film Festival.

“News of the World” - A Texan traveling across the Wild West agrees to help rescue a young girl who has been kidnapped. Director Paul Greegrass aka for The Bourne films also stars Tom Hanks.

“Nightmare Alley” – A thriller film directed by Guillermo del Toro about a corrupt con-man teams up with a female psychiatrist to trick people into giving them money. Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman and Rooney Mara. 

“Nomadland” - “Nomadland” is a road movie following Fern played Frances McDormand aka Fargo and 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO, a woman in her sixties, who after losing everything in the Great Recession embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. 

“On the Rocks” - An upcoming American comedy-drama film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It stars Rashida Jones, Bill Murray, Marlon Wayans, Jessica Henwick and Jenny Slate. The story follows a young mother who reconnects with her larger than life playboy father on an adventure through New York.

 “Soul” – Animation of a middle-school music teacher dreams of playing at legendary New York jazz club "The Blue Note".

“Stillwater” - When six old friends go on a weekend camping trip, it turns tragic when one of them dies under mysterious circumstances, triggering further turmoil as they attempt to unmask the killer within their own group.

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” - In 1969, seven people were charged by the federal government with conspiracy and more, arising from the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Aaron Sorkin aka for ‘The Social Network writes and directs.

 "Tenet" – World espionage and time travel. An action thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Batman trilogy - Dunkirk). It stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh.

"The French Dispatch" – Director Wes Anderson aka for Moonlight Kingdom and The Isle of Dogs tells the story of a staff of a European publication decides to publish a memorial edition highlighting the three best stories from the last decade: an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef.

“The Last Duel” - A historical period drama film directed by Ridley Scott. Based on the book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager, the script is written by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener, with Damon starring in the lead role opposite Adam Driver, with Affleck in a supporting role. Former best friends Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris are ordered to fight to the death after Carrouges accuses Le Gris of raping his wife in 14th-century France.

"The Prom" (Netflix) - Focuses on the relationship between an Indiana teenager (Caitlin Kinnunen) who wants to bring her girlfriend (Isabelle McCalla) to her school's big dance. Instead, they're banned from attending and band together with other friends to help fight the injustice.

“Those Who Wish Me Dead” - A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert tasked with protecting him and a forest fire threatening to consume them all. Director Taylor Sheridan formerly known for writing Sicario, Hell of High Water and Wind River. Stars Angelina Jolie, Jon Bernthal aka Sicario and Nicholas Hoult aka Mad Max: Fury Road. 

“True History of the Kelly Gang” - a British-Australian biographical western film directed by Justin Kurzel. It stars George MacKay, Essie Davis, Nicholas Hoult, Orlando Schwerdt, Thomasin McKenzie, Sean Keenan, Charlie Hunnam and Russell Crowe. Based on Peter Carey's novel. The story of Australian bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang as they flee from authorities during the 1870s.

“Untitled Project” – Director David O. Russell aka Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, The Fighter and Three Kings – Stars Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, Michael B. Jordan and possibly Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, and Robert De Niro. 

"West Side Story" - West Side Story is a romantic musical film remake directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner. The film stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler and is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.