In this last week before the Academy Aways Ceremony, I’ve decided to make public my finalized Oscar predictions. Because the hard part for me is balancing my predictions based on my affection for the nominee and their chance of winning, I’ve decided to include both. The bolded nominees are my predicted Gold Statues, and I will indicate (in some cases) the nominee I personally want to win.
Keep in mind that not all categories are included. I am not including movies in which I know nothing about the nominees, or don’t care about. Best Original Song, for instance, I care nothing about, so this category will not make an appearance.
So, let’s start with some of the smaller categories and work our way up from there.
Best Animated Short Film
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
I haven't seen any of these short films in their entirety, but from what I’ve seen, Pixar will probably be taking this award home. All of the nominees look absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait to be able to watch all of them.
Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
I haven’t seen it yet, but Amy has definitely got this in the bag. Critics raved, audiences love it, and it’s the unanimous choice among experts.
Best Foreign Language Film
Embrace of the Silent
Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War
I really need to see this movie. It has been lauded so much, and has won all of the Foreign Language awards this year.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant
Without question, Mad Max is definitely the champion here. I had never heard of The 100-Year-Old-Man and not many people had. But regardless, Mad Max is definitely capable of overtaking The Revenant in this category.
Best Costume Design
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Cinderella seems to be the frontrunner here. Ms. Sandy Powell did an amazing job bringing this world to life. Mad Max and Carol seem to be splitting second place, allowing Cinderella to take home the statue.
Best Production Design
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Mad Max absolutely has this in the bag. No question.
Best Visual Effects
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
All of these films really deserve to win this. Even though I really want Star Wars to take this one home, I think Mad Max will.
Best Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I'm cheating. Star Wars has been a pioneer in Sound Editing since 1977, but Mad Max really has done some great work in this area. So I’m calling it a draw in my head, and whoever takes it, takes it.
Best Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
This is another very blurry category. Both Star Wars and Mad Max have incredible chances of winning, but I personally think The Revenant will take this home. These guys did a jaw-dropping job of immersing the audience into the natural world.
Best Film Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I absolutely love the increase in female lead editors. Both Mad Max and Star Wars were edited by women making up 3 out of 6 nominees. I’m sure Thelma Schoonmaker is proud of this.
Best Original Score
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Dismissing how much I love John Williams, I think Ennio Morricone really deserves this win. His score for Tarantino was incredible! He also has never won an Oscar in his legendary 70 year career.
Best Animated Feature Film
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There
Pixar is in the race with a film many people thought should have been nominated for Best Picture. It’s going to win, no doubt about it.
Best Cinematography
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario
All of these films were beautiful crafted and shot. Carol was shot on Super 16mm to encapsulate 1950s New York City. Roger Deakins killed it with outstanding landscape footage as well as Night Vision footage. Mad Max’s on location footage looks stunning, especially after post-production. Rob Richardson did an outstanding and revolutionary job utilizing Ultra Panavision 70 lenses. But Chivo… Chivo knocks all of these geniuses out of the water with his work on The Revenant. He’ll be bringing home his third Oscar for the third year in a row.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room
No question about this. The Big Short was a knockout among audiences and critics alike, and the writing was definitely one of the largest parts of their success.
Best Original Screenplay
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Spotlight was one of the best dramas I’ve seen in a long time. So brilliantly acted, and so brilliantly written. Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy really deserve this win.
Best Director
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
It’s awesome to see Adam McKay nominated for an Oscar for Best Directer. And while Alejandro would be my top pick in terms of his performance as a director, George Miller is my top pick with regards to the product. He brought back to life a film that he himself directed almost thirty years prior and made a film so memorable and outstanding that, even though it was released in May, it received ten Oscar nominations. I couldn’t have imagined that this film would be so great, so well made, and so successful. Props to the genius George Miller.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
I am so happy to see Alicia nominated in this category. She is one of my favorite up and coming actresses and this win could slingshot her into such incredible success. Beginning with her amazing performance in Ex Machina and later in The Man from U.N.C.L.E and The Danish Girl, she has had an unbelievably great year. All of these performances were favorites of mine this year, but Alicia is the perfect pick to represent these incredible actresses.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
I loved Tom Hardy in The Revenant. He had my attention more than Leo did, and I think a win for him is definitely possible. But, Sly blew us all away in Creed and I think that a win for this beloved character is more than likely and definitely deserved.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Brie has won so many key awards for this outstanding performance and so many experts are pinning this one to her. While I loved all of these performances - except Charlotte’s, since I haven't seen the film yet - I think Brie is going to take this home.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
While all of these actors are phenomenal, this is Leo’s year. He deserves it not only because of this performance, but because of his career. With all of his nominations, he has only lost to actors who were clear winners in that year. This year, Leo is the clear winner.
Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
I’m not sure why the Academy would increase the number of nominees from five to “up to ten” without just nominating ten. I feel like this year missed out on giving two more films nominations. With the Oscars, it’s not only about the win. In my mind, the winner is the nominee who is chosen to represent the winners in their category - the winners being all of the nominees. These films were voted the best of the year, and I think this year had so many great films that two spots were wasted.
However, I think based on my opinions of the films, their commercial success, their accolades, and expert predictions that The Revenant will take this home. It’s a film that has grown on me so much since I saw it the first time in the theaters. I really liked it initially, but after listening to the soundtrack (of course the music would have an effect on my opinion) and watching it a second time, I think it is one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen visually, thematically, and aesthetically. Well done, Alejandro.
We’ll see which of these films take home the Golden Statue during the Academy Awards ceremony on February 28th. Good luck to this year's host, Chris Rock!
