Streep trending top five for Supporting Actress in "The Laundromat"

For several years now, my main source of consistent, accurate commentary on the upcoming chances for film awards has been in the forums of Awards Watch. From the moment the Oscars are over, new polls surge for the next year's predictions in multiple categories. Meryl, of course, is a mainstay on the site (whether they love her or are jealous of hate her). Failing to predict her, at least early on, is a bold and probably stupid choice, as she's shown time after time that when she's in contention, hers is usually the last name left off the list nomination morning.

This year is no exception, as Streep again has a legitimate film role in contention for awards. Little is actually known about her character in Steven Soderbergh's upcoming Panama Papers drama The Laundromat. But needless to say, with the pedigree of the picture, if Meryl's role is more than tiny she's going to be on people's radars. With that, the March poll at Awards Watch lists Meryl in the top five (I KNOW...it's early) for Best Supporting Actress.

Let's break down the top five:

1. Margot Robbie (74 votes) in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Robbie portrays murdered actress Sharon Tate in a story set during the time of the Manson Family murders. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, biopics are usually Oscar-bait and this is likely a complicated role. It would be Robbie's second nomination following last year's lead nom for I, Tonya.

2. Annette Bening (56 votes) in The Report. She's playing Senator Dianne Feinstein in a post-9/11 drama about CIA interrogation tactics. Another real life character. This would be Bening's fifth nom and many would say she's due.

3. Laura Dern (47 votes) for Little Women. Sound familiar? Yes, Meryl is in this latest adaptation by director Greta Gerwig as well. I'm sure a lot of people might consider Streep's role as Aunt March a contender for this film as well, but it sounds like her screen time will likely be too brief for consideration. Dern is therefore the obvious choice here for supporting. After her recent Emmy love, this would be Dern's third nomination for Oscar. I have a feeling that this might be a tough one though, as (another) remake of Louisa May Alcott's classic may seem a bit tired for voters.

4. Scarlett Johansson (44 votes) for Jojo Rabbit. This film is apparently supposed to be a dark comedy. Johansson plays a mother hiding a Jewish boy during World War II. Yes, that totally sounds comedic. There's usually a newbie in the top five, and this would be Johansson's first nomination.

5. Meryl Streep (36 votes) for The Laundromat. I supposed I've already said what I know about this. Meryl is in a highly-anticipated film by an acclaimed director. It's a no-brainer that people are predicting her. I actually think it's incredible how high she's ranked, considering we know so little about her character. This would be Streep's 22nd nomination.

I'd be surprised if we didn't get at least one person of color in the mix. Octavia Spender in Luce? Janelle Monaé in Harriet? Jennifer Hudson in Cats? We've got a long way to go, but it's exciting to have Meryl in the mix again this year.