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Last week, Searchlight Pictures launched an earthquake heard \u2018round Hollywood with the sudden dating of A Complete Unknown<\/em>, its buzzy Bob Dylan<\/strong> biopic helmed by Oscar nominee James Mangold<\/strong>. The film will be released this December\u2014which is to say, this awards season. It completed production only recently, following delays induced by last year\u2019s industry strikes, and the assumed approach would be that it\u2019d be taking this cycle off. But as discussed on this week\u2019s Little Gold Men<\/em> (listen below), Mangold is a pro who knows how to work efficiently\u2014and the studio must like what it sees enough to swiftly mount a campaign.<\/p>\n Dylan is played in the film by Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet,<\/strong> in what could be the actor\u2019s first Oscar-nominated turn since his 2017 breakout in Call Me by Your Name<\/em>. In the seven years between that indie and A Complete Unknown<\/em>, of course, Chalamet has emerged as one of his generation\u2019s most established movie stars, toplining the likes of Dune<\/em> and Wonka<\/em> to massive box-office success. Searchlight released a surprisingly thorough teaser<\/a> for the movie alongside the date announcement that highlights Chalamet singing as Dylan in the musical icon\u2019s signature, polarizing twang. Some inevitable debate ensued over just how close Chalamet\u2014who prepared for years all told\u2014got to the real voice, but Searchlight was right to project some confidence that Chalamet has risen to the occasion.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old star will crash a fairly unformed best actor field. By this point last year, Cillian Murphy<\/strong>\u2019s Oscar-winning Oppenheimer<\/em> performance had already been seen by millions, and the likes of Bradley Cooper, Paul Giamatti,<\/strong> and Colman Domingo<\/strong> were widely expected to figure into the race (as they ultimately did). This year, so far, the field has been dominated by smaller festival discoveries like Sing Sing<\/em> (expected to net Domingo a second consecutive nomination) and A Different Man<\/em> (starring Sebastian Stan<\/strong>); the big fall festival bows will inevitably complicate that picture, from the Ralph Fiennes<\/strong> vehicle Conclave<\/em> to Joaquin Phoenix<\/strong>\u2019s Joker<\/em> encore. But things hardly feel as top-heavy now as they did in the summer of 2023. A Complete Unknown<\/em>\u2019s mere dating adds a seeming new heavy hitter to a mix that could really use one.<\/p>\n We haven\u2019t had many quick-turnaround, late-breaking awards contenders since COVID. Movies like West Side Story<\/em> and Nightmare Alley<\/em> scored best picture nominations after last minute, end-of-year releases\u2014but only after being held for a full year, essentially, due to the pandemic\u2019s impact on production and theatrical attendance. The last few winners for best picture premiered well before the fall in their respective years, from CODA<\/em> (Sundance, in January) to Everything Everywhere All at Once<\/em> (South by Southwest, in March) to Oppenheimer<\/em> (theatrical, in July). But there\u2019s also precedent for dark horses swooping in near the end of the season and dominating anyway.<\/p>\n Back in 2009, The Blind Side<\/em> started filming in the early spring. At that time, they year\u2019s best actress race was expected to be led by Sundance discoveries Carey Mulligan<\/strong> (An Education<\/em>) and Gabourey Sidibe<\/strong> (Precious<\/em>). Like A Complete Unknown<\/em>, this was a mid-budget studio true-story adaptation helmed by a filmmaker (John Lee Hancock<\/strong>) known for solid, mainstream filmmaking. The movie premiered near the end of the year, skipping festivals since it wasn\u2019t done\u2014and star Sandra Bullock<\/strong> promptly waltzed to the best-actress Oscar, beating out Mulligan and Sidibe as well as Meryl Streep<\/strong> (competing for Julie & Julia<\/em>) and Helen Mirren<\/strong> (The Last Station<\/em>).<\/p>\n Or how about five years later, when Still Alice<\/em> premiered in Toronto without even a distributor, and Julianne Moore<\/strong>\u2019s heartbreaking performance got an eleventh-hour campaign from acquiring studio Sony Pictures Classics to go all the way?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n