The Debut could soon join an exclusive Oscar club.
According to Gold Derby experts’ predictions, the Jesse Eisenberg-directed musical comedy is tracking at 100% for nominations in two categories: Best Actress for Julianne Moore and Best Supporting Actor for Paul Giamatti.
If both performers go on to win at the 99th Oscars ceremony, The Debut would be the first movie since Everything Everywhere All at Once to accomplish that feat. Michelle Yeoh prevailed in Best Actress for the 2022 multiverse film, while Ke Huy Quan took home the Best Supporting Actor prize.
Only six other movies accomplished the acting combo:
- A Streetcar Named Desire (1951): Vivien Leigh and Karl Malden
- Hud (1963): Patricia Neal and Melvyn Douglas
- Cabaret (1972): Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey
- Terms of Endearment (1983): Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson
- Million Dollar Baby (2004): Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017): Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell
In The Debut, Moore portrays Mona Friedman, a New Jersey housewife who auditions for a part in Nosy Neighbors. That fictitious musical is directed by the strong-willed Jerry Blankenbuehler, played by Giamatti. The cast also includes Halle Bailey, Colton Ryan, Bonnie Milligan, and Eisenberg as performers in the musical.
At a recent Hollywood screening, Eisenberg admitted he was “obsessed” with Moore. “I was writing it for her, but it was my story,” the writer-director explained. “I wrote it for her voice and things I know she likes to do, and kind of a certain alienness that she can bring while still being grounded and emotional.”
Moore won the Best Actress Oscar for Still Alice (2014) after previously being nominated four times: Far From Heaven (lead in 2002), The Hours (supporting in 2002), The End of the Affair (lead in 1999), and Boogie Nights (supporting in 1997). A victory for The Debut would make her a two-time Best Actress winner, joining Emma Stone and others. As fate would have it, Stone is an executive producer on the film.
Moore is currently the front-runner for a nomination, according to our Oscar experts:
Best Actress
1.
2.
3.
4.
Inde Navarrette
Obsession
5.
Virginie Efira
All of a Sudden
Giamatti has two Oscar noms to his name — Cinderella Man (supporting in 2005) and The Holdovers (lead in 2023) — though he has yet to win. He was memorably snubbed for Sideways (lead in 2004), despite being nominated at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and Actor Awards.
Giamatti currently holds the top spot for a Best Supporting Actor nod:
Best Supporting Actor
1.
2.
Sam Rockwell
Wild Horse Nine
3.
John Leguizamo
The Odyssey
4.
Andrew Garfield
Artificial
5.
Guitarricadelafuente
La Bola Negra
Two years ago, Eisenberg’s last feature film, A Real Pain, also earned Oscar attention. Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for playing a free-spirited man reconnecting with his cousin, while Eisenberg received a bid for Best Original Screenplay.
A24’s The Debut opens in theaters on Dec. 11.
