【A Male Friend Who Spins it Around】

Rogue Oneis in the running to win at least one Oscar,A Male Friend Who Spins it Around as the Star Warsspinoff is among 20 contenders to advance for a visual effects award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday.

The prize has roots dating back to the first ceremony in 1928 (Wingswon it, along with Best Picture and virtually everything else) and is typically pretty sci-fi and blockbuster-heavy. Because let's face it, this is just as much a "most effects" award as it is "best" -- and this year has its fair share of that.

But sci-fi (Rogue One, Arrival)and super heroes (Doctor Strange, X:Men Apocalypse, Deadpooland Captain America: Civil War, the 8th, 9th and 10th noms for Marvel since Iron Man) will have stiff competition this year, even just to get nominated.

That's because Disney's The Jungle Bookbecame a global box office juggernaut on the strength of its naturalistic environments and talking animals. And the Academy likes some meaningful story along with its effects, putting Arrivalway up the list, too.

Meanwhile, Doctor Strangemight be the super hero genre's best shot at a VFX Oscar, which would be a first.

Rogue Onefollows a long tradition of Star Wars films up for the award. The three original trilogy films each won it, while two of the George Lucas prequels and The Force Awakenswere merely nominated (the only one not nominated was Revenge of the Sith).

The list of 20 finalists, determined by the Academy's Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee, will be whittled down to 10 in a vote later this month, and five of those will be nominated by the Academy at large before the February ceremony.

The finalists are:

Alice through the Looking GlassArrivalThe BFGBatman v Superman: Dawn of JusticeCaptain America: Civil WarDeadpoolDeepwater HorizonDoctor StrangeFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemIndependence Day: ResurgenceThe Jungle BookKubo and the Two StringsMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar ChildrenPassengersRogue OneStar Trek BeyondSuicide SquadSullyWarcraftX-Men: Apocalypse

The 89th Oscars will be held Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017.

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