Saturday, February 21, 2015

Predicting the Academy Award Winners!


I'm ready for the Oscars!  Here are my bold predictions, marked with gold stars.  The red hearts are for the ones I liked the most.


Best Picture
  • American Sniper
  • Birdman
  • Boyhood
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • The Imitation Game  
  • Selma
  • The Theory of Everything
  • Whiplash
This is a tight race.  I think the voters will go with Birdman because of its combination of technical wizardy, fantastic acting, and artistic vision.  But a lot of people really love Boyhood.  Should have been nominated: Ida.


Best Director
  • Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman  
  • Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
  • Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
  • Richard Linklater, Boyhood
  • Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman is an astounding directorial achievement.  But I think the voters will want to reward Linklater for his long-term dedication to the Boyhood project.


Best Actress
  • Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
  • Julianne Moore, Still Alice 
  • Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
  • Reese Witherspoon, Wild
  • Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Finally the divine Julianne Moore will win her long-deserved Oscar, this time for a powerful performance that is among her best.  Marion Cotillard is perhaps equally deserving, but I’m happy that Moore will win.  Should have been nominated: Hilary Swank, magnificent in The Homesman.


Best Actor
  • Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game 
  • Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
  • Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
  • Michael Keaton, Birdman
  • Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Oscar loves to see actors overcome horrible diseases, so Redmayne will beat out sentimental favorite Keaton.  Should have been nominated: David Oyewolo, Selma; Chadwick Boseman, Get On Up; Miles Teller, Whiplash.


Best Supporting Actress
  • Emma Stone, Birdman
  • Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
  • Laura Dern, Wild 
  • Meryl Streep, Into The Woods
  • Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
What a fantastic year for supporting actresses!  I wish the Academy could have made room in this category for Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer), Agata Kulesza (Ida), and Oprah Winfrey (heartbreaking in Selma).


Best Supporting Actor
  • Edward Norton, Birdman
  • Ethan Hawke, Boyhood 
  • J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
  • Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
  • Robert Duvall, The Judge

Ethan Hawke was the best part of Boyhood, in my opinion. 


Best Adapted Screenplay
  • American Sniper
  • The Imitation Game 
  • Inherent Vice
  • The Theory of Everything
  • Whiplash
I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m hoping that the voters will use this category to express their appreciation for the powerful, elegant Imitation Game.


Best Original Screenplay
  • Birdman
  • Boyhood
  • Foxcatcher
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel 
  • Nightcrawler
This is another tough call.  For every ardent admirer of Wes Anderson there is another voter who “just doesn’t get” his movies


Best Visual Effects
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Interstellar 
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past
From the tesseract to the ice planet to the black hole, Interstellar was an amazing visual experience.

Best Production Design
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • The Imitation Game
  • Interstellar
  • Into The Woods 
  • Mr. Turner

Best Original Score
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel 
  • The Imitation Game
  • Interstellar
  • Mr. Turner
  • The Theory of Everything

Best Original Song
  • “Lost Stars” from Begin Again
  • “Grateful” from Beyond the Lights
  • “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glenn Campbell: I’ll Be Me
  • “Everything is Awesome” from The LEGO Movie 
  • “Glory” from Selma

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
  • Foxcatcher
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel 
  • Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Costume Design
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • Inherent Vice
  • Into the Woods
  • Maleficent
  • Mr. Turner

Best Cinematography
  • Birdman
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • Ida 
  • Mr. Turner
  • Unbroken

Best Film Editing
  • American Sniper
  • Boyhood
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • The Imitation Game
  • Whiplash 

Best Sound Editing
  • American Sniper
  • Birdman 
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • Interstellar
  • Unbroken

Best Sound Mixing
  • American Sniper
  • Birdman 
  • Interstellar 
  • Unbroken
  • Whiplash

Best Foreign Language Film
  • Ida 
  • Leviathan
  • Tangerines
  • Timbuktu
  • Wild Tales

Best Animated Feature
  • Big Hero 6 
  • The Boxtrolls
  • How To Train Your Dragon 2
  • Song of the Sea
  • The Tale of Princess Kayuga

Best Animated Short
  • The Bigger Picture
  • The Dam Keeper
  • Feast
  • Me and My Moulton
  • A Single Life

Best Live-Action Short
  • Aya
  • Boogaloo and Graham
  • Butter Lamp
  • Parvaneh
  • The Phone Call 

Best Documentary Feature                                                   
  • Citizenfour 
  • Finding Vivian Meier
  • Last Days in Vietnam
  • The Salt of the Earth
  • Virunga
Best Documentary Short                                                      
  • Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 
  • Joanna
  • Our Curse
  • The Reaper
  • White Earth

I hope you all enjoy the show! 

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