In my second article covering the contenders the studios have for this year’s Oscars, I’m taking a look at two groups: the mini-majors (DreamWorks, Lionsgate, Overture Films and The Weinstein Company) and the big studio specialty shingles.

The Mini-Majors

Although DreamWorks feels like a Major, it isn’t. It doesn’t have its own distribution arm, forcing it to rely on deals with other companies to release its films. And since it is not beholden to the distributor for the content it creates, it can be easily considered a mini-major. There are two films that really give DreamWorks its Oscar power this year and while I count Monsters vs. Aliens, it is truly not a contender for even the Animated Feature award. However, as a co-producer on The Lovely Bones and with nothing else in sight, it may fall to DW to market this one’s Oscar campaign. And what an opportunity it has. Oscar-winning, hot-property director (Peter Jackson); popular and acclaimed literary source; talented, Oscar-nominated cast. That it is one of the most buzzed-about films of the year helps and if it turns out to be a great movie, it may well be a slam dunk for Jackson even with a recent (if you count 2003 as recent) Oscar under his belt.

Lionsgate has been a genre company for quite some time. Their indie flicks have been fairly flaccid in terms of critical heft, they have finally stumbled onto a property that they can push hard core for the Oscars. However, they won’t need much help as both Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry (both Executive Producers on the film) are pushing it heavily. Precious seems like the little-Juno-that-could. Although story-wise, there’s not comparison, trajectory-wise, they seem to be moving at a similar pace. Lionsgate’s other contender is probably going to falter before it gets out of the gate. The first trailer for Brothers made it seem like another come-from-behind Jim Sheridan flick, but the second trailer belies much of that and makes it look like a potential failure. Time (and critics) will tell on that one.

Overture has already lost one battle. Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story did not make the short list for the Documentary Feature award. That leaves The Men Who Stare at Goats which is a box office weakling and may be a little too bizarre for mainstream Academy tastes. So, at this point, while a Supporting Actor nomination for someone in the cast is an extremely remote possibility, Overture may well be out of this one.

They turned Miramax into one of the strongest indie houses in history…until they sold out to Disney and lost much of their creative control. Along with the switch came a decline in quality (though, that may be more because they were pushing through more Oscar-baity properties and not going with the tested street-cred friendly vehicles). That left Harvey and Bob Weinstein with a bitter taste and so they terminated their contracts and left Miramax in Disney’s hands to destroy while they cut out on their own and formed The Weinstein Company. They are struggling financially and, although they managed to get The Reader a Best Picture nod and Kate Winslet her first Oscar, no one was certain they would be able to survive. However, this year, they have one of the strongest cadre of Oscar contenders of any studio. With Inglourious Basterds being talked about for several awards, A Single Man looking a strong contender for the Best Actor Oscar and maybe a few other nominations, Nine looking at a Chicago-like trajectory and The Road being talked about, but not as heavily as the others, it would be hard not to think the company can make the grade.

Specialty Divisions

Several specialty shingles were picked up by studios without one. Universal has claimed Focus Features as their own, which gives them access to some wonderful talent, but an iffy Oscar-nominatable history. This year is even less spectacular for them than usual. With Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock a critical misfire, they have to rely on some rather unspectacular choices and one guaranteed attention getter. The latter is the Coen Brothers’ latest film A Serious Man, which seems to be picking up some steam for Oscar consideration with so few other titles in competition. Had they not expanded to ten-slots, I would be certain the film wouldn’t be much of a contender, but even the Coens’ group of fans could get a 10-slot nomination. 9 and Coraline are both competing for Animated Feature, but only the latter seems to be really keyed towards a nod, but even that isn’t guaranteed. Away We Go has been virtually forgotten despite strong critical impressions; Pirate Radio seemed strong early in the year, but has dropped almost entirely off the radar; and Biutiful was thought to be a big vehicle for Javier Bardem, but has been since pushed into 2010.

Fox Searchlight picked up Mother and Child, which many had predicted would earn Annette Bening an Oscar, but Fox Searchlight decided to release it next year and focus on its other films. At first, that was just (500) Days of Summer and Amelia. Then, talk of The Fantastic Mr. Fox picked up and Amelia turned out to be a stinker. (500) Days of Summer peaked too early and Whip It didn’t generate near as much interest as some thought. So, the decision to push Mother and Child to 2010 seemed a bit odd until they started talking about Crazy Heart. Now, Jeff Bridges is in the running for Best Actor and the film is being pushed heavily for serious top-level Oscar contention including Best Picture.

Miramax hasn’t been entirely ignored since the Weinsteins left, but nor have they been buzzed about nearly as strongly. And this year, that buzz may die entirely. Chéri didn’t wag tongues like it could have and The Boys Are Back seems like an overly sentimental clich&eacute (which the Weinsteins could have done something with, but not Disney). That just leaves Everybody’s Fine which has only one shot at a nomination and that chance is fading quickly: Robert De Niro.

After performing miserably over the last few years since The Lord of the Rings made the studio one of the hottest properties out there, New Line Cinema has ended up in the Warner Bros. stable and is generating virtually nothing in terms of chatter. The only film they even released that could have been a contender, My Sister’s Keeper came and went back in June and hasn’t been heard from since.

Paramount Vantage has been noticeably quiet this year, generating nothing in terms of Oscar buzz for any of its limited schedule of films.

Sony Pictures Classics has become one of the top “indie” houses in recent years and 2009 is certainly no different with no fewer than eight films that could possibly compete. While SPC doesn’t have a line up nearly as powerful as The Weinstein Company, they have several smaller films that could pop up in a number of categories. The studio’s two biggest contenders are The Last Station and An Education. Both films are going for key Oscar nominations including Best Actress and at least the latter has a strong chance at a Best Picture nomination. Also on their docket, though with varying levels of important and potential, are: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in consideration for several tech awards; Un Prophète, a Foreign Language Film contender; Coco Before Chanel going also for some tech nods; Broken Embrace, which could earn Pedro Almodovar some nods for Original Screenplay and/or Director with Director being the longshot; The Damned United having very minimal chances in the acting fields; and Woody Allen’s Whatever Works, which is about as likely to get nominated as Paris Hilton, though surprises can occur.

And then there’s poor Warner Independent Pictures closed by Warner Bros. after its acquisition of New Line Cinema. So, they have zip.

That’s it for today. Only 60 days left until the Academy Awards nominations, so we’re going to have lots of chatter over the next two months.