The Oscar shortlists have been announced! So the waiver wire rankings here are more focused on that than anything else. The technical categories are vitally important in Matchup #8, when many guild awards announce their nominees. You can’t afford to miss out on those points, so jump on the waiver wire now. Also, technical categories are often the difference between a first round playoff win and loss. So even though it appears those “below-the-line” players give you not as many points as directors, actors, actresses, pictures, etc., you have to start at least one of them, and overlooking them is a grave mistake.
Before I give my waiver wire rankings, I’d like to provide at least a short reaction to the Oscar shortlists.
Reaction to the Oscar shortlists
Injuries mount for superstar players
Just like in fantasy football, Red Carpet Rosters leagues have injuries. Sure Michael Giacchino didn’t really sprain his ankle, but throughout seasons, there is always something that happens to cause an “injury.” The most common event to lead to injuries, it seems, is getting snubbed on the Oscar shortlists.
The biggest snub of the shortlists is, of course, Michael Giacchino. If you’ve seen The Batman, surely you agree that the score is one of the more unforgettable things about it. Not counting Daniels, who have SONG eligibility, Giacchino was only behind Alexandre Desplat for most points, and Desplat is helped by co-writing “Ciao Papa” from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. Giacchino missed the shortlist despite THREE composers who made it AND didn’t hitherto score any fantasy points (Chanda Dancy of Devotion, John Powell of Don’t Worry Darling, and Nathan Johnson of Glass Onion.) So what should team managers do with Michael Giacchino? He still has value in the regular season and maybe the semifinals, but be sure to bench him if you make that first round of the playoffs.
Another big snub/injury was Good Night Oppy. Early in the season, it looked dead in the water until the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, then it started getting some solid points, being the 8th best ANI/INT/DOC for the season. The so-called curse of the CCDA claimed its latest victim, though. However, like Michael Giacchino, this still has some regular season value, but Good Night Oppy is a drop candidate before the playoffs start. There were some other docs getting buzz, like Sidney and Sr., but they had marginal value to begin with.
Alcarràs missed the shortlist, and looked like a sneaky pick to break into the nominations, but this can spend the rest of the season on waivers.
Everything Everywhere All at Once MUAH and VFX both missed the shortlist. The bigger injury is VFX. Now that these two didn’t make the shortlist, go ahead and drop them.
Billy Eichner, Jennifer Lopez, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross all become drop candidates. I was really pulling for Billy Eichner to get on the shortlist, but there are plenty of SCORE and SONG to choose from, in addition to the SOUND and VFX that are increasing in value right now.
And lastly, M.M. Keeravani got injured by getting snubbed at SCORE. We knew that RRR only had upside in the regular season, and missing here could spell trouble for the rest of RRR. Maybe that’s an overreaction, but just be prepared that RRR will get you to the playoffs, but that’s it.
Waiver Wire Rankings
As always, the best resource for waiver wire advice is the available players in your own league. Let’s get to it!
- Diane Warren (SONG) – Diane Warren is all but guaranteed an Oscar nomination. This is a priority add. Add her, stash her, start her on Oscar nomination Tuesday a.k.a. the first round of the playoffs.
- Argentina, 1985 (INT) – Argentina won the World Cup, so why not pick up Argentina, 1985? I’m mostly kidding, but of any widely available film to fill the ANI/INT/DOC, this is worth taking a risk for
- Corsage (INT) – See Argentina, 1985 but minus the World Cup.
- Anything from All Quiet on the Western Front (SOUND, VFX, or MUAH) – If any film gained momentum, it’s All Quiet on the Western Front. All three of these techs can be safely added, and might even result in some points in the playoffs.
- SOUND – Having a strong sound candidate on your team so you can plug and play in Matchup #7 (MPSE), Matchup #8 (CAS), and the playoffs, is a winning strategy. It’s likely some good SOUND players are on waivers. Here is my own ranking of sound:
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Elvis
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- The Batman
- Babylon
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Giullermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
- Moonage Daydream
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