While neither Andrew Garfield nor Michael Shannon have an Oscar to call their own (Shannon coming close with a nomination for "Revolutionary Road"), this could be their year. Both of the men are generating quite a bit of buzz for their work in "99 Homes" which just had its North American premiere at the Telluride film festival. The film, directed by Ramin Bahrani, features the subject matter of the 2008 U.S. housing crisis (a subject that some are still feeling the effects of). There's only one thing standing in their way: distribution in time for the Academy Award cutoff date.

"99 Homes" has been making Oscar waves since it's debut at the Venice Film Festival. The buzz has been especially focused on Garfield and Shannon. Deadline reported: "Starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in career-best performances, this movie is not only a no-brainer for a quick distribution deal, it could be the rare - here comes that five letter word you hate so much, studios - drama that also could be a commercial powerhouse."

Based on that statement, there's definitely no doubt that "The Amazing Spiderman" actor carries his own, but as far as other critics are concerned, the definite draw is Michael Shannon. In the Time review of "99 Homes" they describe his performance: "it's a great showcase for Shannon, who magnetizes all eyes, like a cobra in the corner."

According to Deadline, even director Bahrani is already predicting nominations for the actors. But first, he'll have to get the film distributed in time. So far the director has explained to Deadline "that the financiers behind the film are waiting until its Toronto debut next week to finalize anything." They go on to mention that Fox Searchlight picked up "The Wrestler" this late in the game and went on to shuffle a lot of the Oscar nominations, so it would be a good move for any company looking to get to the awards in February.

As Oscar season continues through the big film festivals, it's good to know that the "human" part of politics is still explored on screen. And if the critics are right, maybe both Garfield and Shannon will finally earn their golden statues.