On January 24th, the nominations for the 89th Academy Awards ceremony were finally announced. There have been so many outstanding films that came out in 2016, this year's Oscar's will be a tight race. After looking at the nominees, looking at their success, and past award ceremonies for these films, I have a pretty good idea of who will win the awards. The categories listed are all of the Oscar categories, these are the ones where I have a pretty good knowledge of who might win when analyzing the categories.
BEST PICTURE
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
My prediction: La La Land
La La Land is nominated for 14 Oscars, and swept the Golden Globes. I think La La Land will not only win Best Picture, but will take home many awards this evening. La La Land is visually stunning and paid homage to the classic movie musical. If one film will give it a run for its money, I would pick Moonlight. I personally would love to see Moonlight win, but I don’t foresee anyone beating La La Land.
BEST DIRECTOR
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
My prediction: Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Again, I’d really love to see Moonlight take this category with Barry Jenkins. There may be a good possibility he could, but I feel the odds are more towards Damien Chazelle for La La Land. There is no denying La La Land was beautifully executed because of his work on the film.
BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences
My prediction: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
I am 100% certain that Best Actor will go to Casey Affleck. He gave an emotional stunning performance in Manchester by the Sea. Even though Ryan Gosling is the heartthrob of this category, Casey Affleck has this one in the bag, deservingly.
BEST ACTRESS
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
My prediction: Emma Stone, La La Land
This is a tough category, with some snubs along with it (Amy Adams for Arrival?!) I’m pretty sure Emma Stone will ultimately take this award for La La Land. However, I would be surprised if Natalie Portman came around winning this award, or even Isabelle Huppert, who won the Golden Globe. It’s a tight race, but I think Emma Stone will win this category.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
My prediction: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Even though Dev Patel is my man crush every day, this award will most likely be going to the deserving Mahershala Ali. His performance in Moonlight was definitely my favorite performance of the year. He sadly did not win the Golden Globe (the winner of the Golden Globe was not even nominated for an Oscar), but I don’t think that matters. I will definitely be rooting for Mahershala Ali!
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
My prediction: Viola Davis, Fences
These are all talented actresses, but I think Viola Davis will most likely win this award for Fences. She won a Tony award for the Broadway version of Fences, and I’d really love to see her take home her first Oscar. I would also be happy to see Octavia Spencer win for Hidden Figures, who may also have a shot at winning.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women
My prediction: La La Land
La La Land should definitely win this category. It brought back the love of movie musicals, and showed a very relatable story of struggling musicians and actors. I think La La Land is a shoe in for this category.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight
My prediction: Moonlight
Moonlight will most likely win this category. It is based on the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney, which was interestingly a drama school project written by McCraney that has never been performed. I think Moonlight is a beautiful story, and deserves to win this category.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers
My prediction: La La Land
Yes, La La Land again. It is a musical, so I am sure the original score category will go to the musical. Plus, it is a very pretty score!
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land
“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls
“City of Stars,” La La Land
“The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story
“How Far I’ll Go,” Moana
My prediction: “City of Stars,” La La Land
Personally, I would LOVE to see Lin-Manuel Miranda win the Oscar for “How Far I’ll Go” for the movie Moana. If Lin-Manuel Miranda actually does win the Oscar, he would be a member of the prestigious EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) club! Sadly, I do think this award will go to La La Land, respectively.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
My prediction: Zootopia
I saw Zootopia right when it first came out in theaters, and I knew by the end that it would be the Oscar winner for Animated Feature. Even though it was a Disney movie with cute talking animals, it had very deep messages about politics and society. It was one of my favorite movies of the year, I am very sure it will win the Oscar!
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
13th
My prediction: O.J.: Made in America
2016 seemed to be the year about the O.J. Simpson trails with television shows and documentaries. O.J.: Made in America seemed to stand out amongst the crowd. It was probably the most talked about, popular documentary of the year, being a 9-hour long series. I am personally a big fan of Ava DuVernay and would love to see her win an Oscar for 13th, but I think O.J.: Made in America’s popularity and critical acclaim will win it the Oscar.
