Oscars 2020: Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, Martin Scorsese's The Irishman among front runners

SINGAPORE - It is early days yet for the Oscar race, but a dozen or so films have stood out by reaping awards at the major festivals. Reputation helps too. Nothing from Martin Scorsese gets released without scrutiny while none of Quentin Tarantino's films ever slip into cinemas unnoticed.

Parasite, the social satire from South Korea's Bong Joon-ho has become the talk of Hollywood, with many saying it should get a Best Picture and Best Director nod for Bong. There is also buzz around Us, the horror movie from writer-director Jordan Peele, whose first feature, Get Out (2017), also a horror movie, was denied wins in all its nominated categories, which included Best Picture, Best Actor for Daniel Kaluuya and Best Director. It did win Best Original Screenplay.