Michelle Williams was basically the frontrunner to win the Supporting Actress Oscar as it was, and still is, a very weak field of contenders this year. Then Universal decided to campaign her as a Lead Actress. A misguided decision if you ask me. Universal essentially threw away a locked Oscar win.
Now, Williams has to go up against the mighty Cate Blanchett, whose performance in “TAR” is total brilliance, and Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” They’ve both been winning awards these last few weeks, not not Williams.
Further proof, writer Michael Stewart has broken down the screentime for each individual player in “The Fabelmans.” The film is 152 minutes long and Williams just has 52 minutes of screentime.
Just in case you’re wondering, Judd Hirsch, who should absolutely win the Supporting Actor Oscar, is in the movie for 8 minutes — his performance would be the 7th shortest ever nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. It would also be the shortest one to win.