Could ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ fall prey to ‘Prey’ at the Emmys?
The Emmy race for Best TV Movie is a wildly mixed bag of contenders, so it’s fitting that it might come down to a parody music biopic and a sci-fi horror film from the “Predator” franchise. But what seemed at first like it might be an easy win for “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” suddenly turned into a real horserace when “Prey” exceeded our expectations in the nominations.
“Weird” still leads with 16/5 odds based on the combined predictions of Gold Derby users. It’s backed by four out of six Expert journalists who have chimed in so far with their early predictions, 10 out of 11 Gold Derby Editors, 20 of our Top 24 Users, and 22 of our All-Star Top 24. But “Prey” is right behind it with 19/5 odds and support from one Expert, one Editor, three Top Users, and one All-Star. So while “Weird” is still a pretty heavy favorite, “Prey” is in a strong position to upset.
Benefitting “Weird” is the fact that it’s the most nominated TV movie of the year with eight bids including key noms for lead actor Daniel Radcliffe and writers Eric Appel and Al Yankovic, along with noms for casting and picture editing. But “Prey” is not far behind with six nominations, including one that “Weird” missed: Best Movie/Limited Directing. “Prey” is actually the only TV movie nominated for its direction, which could be a signal that it’s going to defeat “Weird.”
Either film would be an uncharacteristic choice since the Emmys didn’t used to go for comedy or fantasy in a category that has honored such down-to-earth prestige fare as “Temple Grandin,” “The Normal Heart,” and “Bessie.” But the sci-fi anthology series “Black Mirror” won this category three times, and the last champ was “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers,” so really, all bets are off. This year it seems likely that one of these unlikely candidates will win. But which one?
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?