The Oscar machine for A Star is Born would have you believe that award season is over and they are going to walk away with everything, but it’s just October—award season is a little helpless baby at this point. We’re still solidifying the December release slate! We don’t even know for sure what will and won’t make it in under the wire. One late charger is Vox Lux, Natalie Portman’s pop-dystopic film which ran at the fall festivals. Joanna reviewed it out of TIFF and it certainly sounds interesting.
 
I’m still bummed that I missed it, and now there is a new trailer which makes me EVEN MORE BUMMED. As a piece of marketing meant to build curiousity and excitement, this is one of the most effective award season trailers. Not even Portman’s weird accent is putting me off, even though she is turning into Tom Hardy, insisting on doing A Voice in every movie. A Star is Born had a great trailer, and now so does Vox Lux. As both movies are about music and pop stars, they’re probably going to be drawing some comparisons over the next few months, though Vox Lux looks much stranger and less widely appealing. (There’s a school shooting scene I am already bracing for—that’s one thing I don’t care to see recreated on film.) Easily my favorite part of this trailer is the cut from Natalie Portman as popstar Celeste saying, “I won’t stay down,” to the bit with her falling in the hotel hallway. That’s a great comedy edit.

Also, Vox Lux has new songs from Sia. So there is a real chance that on Oscar night Lady Gaga could be going up against Sia. That’s a fun matchup, but it’s also another piece of the “no one is giving up” resistance building to A Star is Born. So far, no movie has emerged as a clear challenger across the board, but there are plenty of categories lining up individual challenges. I’m not sure Gaga is beatable in the song category—she’s been there before, she’s riding great reviews and box office, and “Shallow” is a legit good song. (I don’t recognize any other song off that soundtrack as great. Everything except “Shallow” sounds like a track that failed to make the cut on a previous Gaga album, including my beloved butt song. COME AT ME, KATHLEEN.) Vox Lux probably won’t have the mass market momentum of ASiB, but watch out for Portman and Sia. They could prove tough competitors.