Analysis: Tales of reinvention abound in Oscars race

F. Scott Fitzgerald, who said there are no second acts in American lives, might have felt differently had he seen this year's Oscar race.

In mid-November, there is much solidifying, scrapping and self-promotion to come (not to mention a few potential awards heavyweights). But most of the expected contenders have by now been seen and there's a definite theme: Reinvention is the season's most sought-after attribute.

One after another, potential contenders have trotted out new iterations of themselves: Lady Gaga, the actor; Alfonso Cuaron, the re-made filmmaker; Melissa McCarthy, dramatic actress; Peter Farrelly, a million miles from "Dumb and Dumber."

This image released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Gwilym Lee, from left, Rami Malek and Joe Mazzello in a scene from "Bohemian Rhapsody." (Alex BaileyTwentieth Century Fox via AP)

Metamorphoses, like that of Rami Malek's prosthetic-toothed, full-bodied performance as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (an expected best actor nominee), are always a staple of awards season. But this year, transformation is more than a costume change. It's an abiding ethos.

Coming between the fall festivals and the onset of critics' awards, November is when Oscar campaigns hope to get enough traction to land on — or ascend — the short lists that proliferate ahead of the litany of ceremonies to come.

So far, much of the field breaks down between an old dichotomy: crowd-pleasers and show-stoppers, and intimate art-house indies. Among the former are Bradley Cooper's box-office smash "A Star Is Born"; Peter Farrelly's soon-to-debut charmer "Green Book," with Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen; and Ryan Coogler's superhero sensation "Black Panther."

This image released by Netflix shows a scene from the film "Roma," by filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron. (Netflix via AP)

All of them are studio films. And each reminds Hollywood it can still do something it may have thought it no longer could: make an old-fashioned romance; craft a poignant, uplifting comic drama; create an urgent and meaningful comic book film.

Like many of this year's nominees, Hollywood, itself, is in flux. The film industry is becoming more digital (Disney and Warner Bros. are prepping Netflix-like streaming services) and it's shrinking (Disney is acquiring Fox; more consolidation is expected). Hollywood is searching for a second act, too.

That pressure is due, in part, to new viewing habits and deep-pocketed innovators like Netflix, which this year has its most lauded Oscar contender yet: Cuaron's "Roma," a deeply personal black-and-white film that the Mexican director has said made him reinvent himself as a filmmaker. "Roma" won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and it's expected to return Cuaron (who won best director for his last film, 2013's "Gravity") to the category, alongside Cooper, whose "A Star Is Born" launches the 43-year-old actor as director.

This image released by Disney and Marvel Studios' shows Chadwick Boseman in a scene from "Black Panther." (Marvel StudiosDisney via AP)

Partly to appease Oscar voters, Netflix has for the first time granted a theatrical window for a handful of films (including "Roma" and the Coen brothers' "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"). The gesture has an underlying message to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members: Netflix and theaters can coexist (at least if an Oscar is at stake).

There are plenty of contenders predicated not on reinvention, but on doing what they do best. There is Spike Lee's incendiary "BlacKkKlansman," a prize-winner at the Cannes Film Festival. Yorgos Lanthimos' savage period romp "The Favourite" could land noms for all three of its leads: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz. (The latter two are expected to go as supporting actresses.) Two years after "Moonlight" won best picture, Barry Jenkins is back with an equally lyrical and eloquent film, the James Baldwin adaptation "If Beale Street Could Talk." And lauded performances by the likes of Robert Redford (his maybe-swansong in "The Old Man & the Gun") and Richard E. Grant (alongside McCarthy in "Can You Ever Forgive Me?") are brilliant because they capture the performers in their sweet spot.

There are plenty more in the mix, too, like Steve McQueen's just-opening "Widows"; Damien Chazelle's "First Man," with Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong; and "Eighth Grade," the tender coming-of-age drama from Bo Burnham.

This image released by Fox Searchlight Films shows Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, right, in a scene from the film "The Favourite." (Atsushi NishijimaFox Searchlight Films via AP)

The 28-year-old Burnham boasts one of the year's most extreme accounts of reinvention. He was an internet-fueled stand-up comedian when, two years ago, he gave up the stage and grew disenchanted with social media. "Eighth Grade," starring 15-year-old Elsie Fisher, is about a shy girl who overcomes Instagram-amplified anxieties.

Most notable of the still-unseen films is "Vice," the Dick Cheney biopic from Adam McKay, who several films ago charted the path from comedy to drama that Farrelly (he of the Farrelly brothers) is now steering. Christian Bale, who disappears under makeup and a 40 lb. weight gain as the former vice president, is, sight-unseen, believed to be a likely contender, so great is his reputation for transformation. Another of those "nearly unrecognizable" performances may follow suit: Nicole Kidman, mean and gaunt in the L.A. noir "Destroyer," if votes don't instead go her way for the gay conversation therapy drama "Boy Erased."

The academy members voting on those and other performances (Glenn Close! Timothee Chalamet! Yalitza Aparicio! Ethan Hawke! Regina King!) are perhaps the most fluctuating part of the whole season. Membership has been greatly expanded in recent years to diversify and internationalize the academy's ranks. After last year's all-time low ratings, the Oscar ceremony is being revamped by John Bailey, academy president. Though the academy withdrew its "popular film" category, it's shortening the broadcast and won't present all awards live.

At this year's Academy Awards, everyone's getting a makeover.

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)