We’re at the point of the regular season where the waiver wire offers some pretty slim pickings. I don’t like to repeat myself often, but my last waiver wire advice does still water as well as the one before that, albeit less so. In other words, if there are unowned players who either have appeared in my waiver advice OR have significant points, go after ‘em.
I can’t even really do a plug and play for Matchup #4 because it’s mostly “mainstream” awards. The Satellite Awards Nominations will account for a LOT of points due to the sheer volume of categories and the likelihood there will be six nominees per category. Predicting those would be hard, but points is a pretty good predictor. All the other scheduled ceremonies are from regional critics organizations, and we’ve had plenty of those already. Again, points talk. Given there aren’t any guild ceremonies or other category specific ceremony, there aren’t any good candidates for plug and plays.
I could also talk about some stashes for when we do get to that point in the season where there are more guilds, but most of those are taken too. And let’s be honest, if you’re scouring the waiver suggestions, you probably don’t have the bench spots to stash away because you are in a win-now mentality.
Nonetheless, let’s try to get a few waiver suggestions, shall we? And I’m not highlighting anyone I’ve already mentioned.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
There are only two locks for any ceremony honoring Animated Features. You already know that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and the Heron are trading wins and nominated everywhere. You know the third animated feature in points? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. It’s tied for 13th when combined with the Documentaries and International Features, but we’re still early enough in the season where documentaries are more unjustly inflated, so expect TMNT to rise in the rankings. It won’t win much, if at all, but an Oscar nomination and all those other nomination points are not out of the question.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
If you’re chasing stunt or action movie genre points, John Wick: Chapter 4 is the better option, but the second best option is Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Very low ceiling with this one, but you could plug it in for matchups that have high stunt and action movie potential.
Teyana Taylor
Teyana Taylor is the 8th ranked actress right now, which means she should be owned. It’s that simple. Ten teams, and she’s in Top Ten. (At least) Ten nominations for actresses at every ceremony, and she’s Top Ten. She should be owned in every league.
Jack Black’s Co-Songwriters
Jack Black appeared here, and he’ll get a few bonus points for voiceover performances as Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The other songwriters of “Peaches” deserve consideration. They are Aaron Horvath, John Spiker, Eric Osmond, and Michael Jelenic. They are also all tied for tenth in this category.
Wes Anderson
He does have SONG eligibility, but he has appeared a few times in screenplay nominations. If he picks up steam, he can camp out in the SCORE/SOUND/SONG/VFX slot on your lineup. He’s also not out of contention for an Oscar screenplay nomination. Full disclosure, I’m not targeting him even though I really enjoyed Asteroid City, but I can see the argument for rostering him.
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
The costume designer for The Color Purple (and They Cloned Tyrone) has nabbed a few nominations at these critics organizations. Period films generally do well for costume designers, so if you’re desperate to fill your PD/CD/MUAH slot, you can do worse.
And that’s it for a little early peek into the waiver wire before Matchup #4.
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