Margot Robbie could be excused for being a little distracted at the Australian premiere of I, Tonya this week.
A few hours after the Sydney screening on Tuesday, she and Dunkirk editor Lee Smith are expected to lead the Australian contenders when the nominations for the 90th Academy Awards are announced in Los Angeles.
Robbie's blazing performance as ice-skater Tonya Harding has her firmly in the running for a best actress nomination alongside Frances McDormand??? (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Saoirse Ronan??? (Lady Bird), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) and Meryl Streep??? (The Post).
In a poll on the generally-close-to-the-mark awards web site Gold Derby, 27 out of 31 Oscar pundits predict Robbie will be nominated from strong competition that includes Jessica Chastain??? (Molly's Game), Kate Winslet??? (Wonder Wheel) and Michelle Williams (All The Money In The World).
Her first Oscar nomination would continue the stunning Hollywood rise for the former Neighbours star since she broke through with The Wolf of Wall Street barely four years ago.
For I, Tonya, a black comedy about the infamous 1994 attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan???, Robbie has been nominated already for a Golden Globe (pipped by Ronan), a Screen Actors Guild Award (losing to McDormand) and a British Academy Award as well as winning best actress at the Australian Academy's international awards.
Robbie is one of the producers of I, Tonya, directed by fellow Australian Craig Gillespie, which also has a solid chance of a best picture nomination.
Smith, who has two previous Oscar nominations for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and The Dark Knight, is warm favourite to not just be nominated but also win best editor for Dunkirk.
All 26 pundits on the web site are predicting he will be nominated for his latest collaboration with director Christopher Nolan after Batman Begins, The Prestige, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.
The Oscar nominations come as Hollywood continues to grapple with the #metoo and #timesup movements and follow the fiasco that saw Moonlight belatedly win best picture after La La Land was originally announced as winner last year.
Last year, Australia had a record 14 nominations including best picture nods for both Lion and Hacksaw Ridge.
