Oscar Predictions
After much mulling it over, reading, but mostly just despairing that I can’t have my way in just one category, I’ve compiled my final predictions for Sunday night’s awards.
For each category I’ve listed the nominees, which movies in the category I haven’t seen, who I think will win, and who I think should win.
Best Picture
Nominees: The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Bridge of Spies, Spotlight, The Big Short, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road
Unseen: None.
Will Win: The Revenant
Should Win: Spotlight (or Room, but I think Spotlight has a better chance)
Best Actress
Nominees: Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlotte Rampling, Saoirse Ronan
Unseen: None.
Will Win: Brie Larson
Should Win: Brie.
Best Actor
Nominees: Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender, Eddie Redmayne
Unseen: None.
Will Win: Leo
Should Win: *sighs eternally* It’s both consolation and salt in the wound that several critics agree with me (and they didn’t see the movie more times than they have fingers, so they’re probably much less biased)
Best Supporting Actress
Nominees: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rooney Mara, Rachel McAdams, Alicia Vikander, Kate Winslet
Unseen: None.
Will Win: Alicia Vikander
Should Win: I sincerely loved every one of these, but Rooney Mara would be my preference.
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Rylance, Sylvester Stallone
Unseen: None
Will Win: Sylvester Stallone
Should Win: Tom Hardy
Best Director
Nominees: Adam McKay (The Big Short), George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant), Lenny Abrahamson (Room), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
Unseen: None
Will Win: Inarritu
Should Win: George Miller
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees: Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short), Drew Goddard (The Martian), Emma Donoghue (Room), Nick Hornby (Brooklyn), Phyllis Nagy (Carol)
Unseen: None
Will Win: The Big Short
Should Win: Steve Jobs. But if picking from nominees, then Carol.
Best Original Screenplay
Nominees: Matt Charman, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (Bridge of Spies), Alex Garland (Ex Machina), Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve (Inside Out), Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight), Andrea Berloff and Jonathan Herman (Straight Outta Compton)
Unseen: None
Will Win: Spotlight
Should Win: Ex Machina or Spotlight
Best Foreign Language Film
Nominees: Embrace of the Serpent, Mustang, Son of Saul, Theeb, A War
Unseen: All. Oops.
Will Win: Son of Saul
Should Win: Son of Saul
Best Production Design
Nominees: Bridge of Spies, The Danish Girl, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant
Unseen: None
Will Win: Mad Max
Should Win: Mad Max
Best Visual Effects
Nominees: Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Unseen: None
Will Win: Mad Max (Could be Star Wars though)
Should Win: Ex Machina
Best Editing
Nominees: The Big Short, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Spotlight, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Unseen: None
Will Win: Mad Max
Should Win: Mad Max
Best Cinematography
Nominees: Carol, The Hateful Eight, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Sicaro
Unseen: None
Will Win: The Revenant
Should Win: The one category I truly agree The Revenant is deserving of
Best Animated Feature
Nominees: Anomalisa, Boy and The World, Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep Movie, When Marnie was There
Unseen: Boy and The World, When Marnie was There
Will Win: Inside Out
Should Win: Anomalisa
Best Documentary Feature
Nominees: Amy, Cartel Land, The Look of Silence, What Happened, Miss Simone?, Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Unseen: All
Will Win: Amy
Should win: ?
Best Live Action Short
Nominees: Ave Maria, Day One, Everything Will Be Okay, Shok, Stutterer
Unseen: All
Will Win: Shok
Should Win: ?
Best Documentary Short
Nominees: Body Team 12, Chau, Beyond the Lines, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, A Girl in the River, Last Day of Freedom
Unseen: All
Will Win: Body Team 12
Should Win: ?
Best Animated Short
Nominees: Bear Story, Prologue, Sanjay’s Super Team, We Can’t Live Without Cosmos, World of Tomorrow
Unseen: All
Will Win: This category is so split between Bear Story, Sanjay’s Super Team, and World of Tomorrow. I’ll go with World of Tomorrow
Should Win: ?
Best Costume Design
Nominees: Carol, Cinderella, The Danish Girl, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant
Unseen: None
Will Win: Mad Max
Should Win: Carol
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees: Mad Max: Fury Road, The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, The Revenant
Unseen: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
Will Win: Mad Max.
Should Win: Mad Max
Best Original Score
Nominees: Thomas Newman (Bridge of Spies), Carter Burwell (Carol), Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight), Johann Johannson (Sicario), John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Unseen: None
Will Win: The Hateful Eight
Should Win: Steve Jobs. Right, nominees only. Then Carol
Best Original Song
Nominees: The Weeknd (Earned It — 50 Shades of Grey), J. Ralph & Sia (Manta Ray — Racing Extinction), Sumi Jo (Simple Song #3 — Youth), Lady Gaga (Til It Happens to You — The Hunting Ground), Sam Smith (Writing’s on the Wall — Spectre)
Unseen: Racing Extinction, Youth, and The Hunting Ground
Will Win: Til It Happens To You
Should Win: Til It Happens To You
Best Sound Editing
Nominees: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Sicario, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Unseen: None
Will Win: Very split between Mad Max and Revenant. I’ll give the slight edge to Mad Max.
Should Win: Mad Max if for no other reason than I like being anti-Revenant
Best Sound Mixing:
Nominees: Bridge of Spies, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Unseen: None
Will Win: Again very split. This one slight edge to Revenant
Should Win: Mad Max
