My picks for tonight's Academy Awards!

I’m excited for the Oscars!  Here are the nominees in each category.  The gold star indicates the nominee that I think will win, and the red heart is for the one I think is most deserving.

BEST PICTURE

·       BlacKkKlansman

·       Black Panther

·       ­Bohemian Rhapsody

·       The Favourite ♥

·       Green Book

·       Roma ★

·       A Star is Born

·       Vice

This category is wide open, with all of the nominees except A Star is Born and Vice having a real chance to win.  My favorite/favourite movie of the year is The Favourite, but I would also be happy to see Roma or BlacKkKlansman win.  Should have been nominated: Leave No Trace. 

DIRECTING

·       Alfonso Cuaron, Roma ★

·       Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

·       Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite ♥

·       Adam McKay, Vice

·       Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War

I think there’s a chance that Spike Lee could be the surprise winner, which would be very cool.  Too bad that the Academy voters couldn’t make room on this list for a deserving female director like Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) or Debra Granik (Leave No Trace).

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

·       Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

·       Glenn Close, The Wife ★

·       Olivia Colman, The Favourite

·       Lady Gaga, A Star is Born

·       Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me? ♥

Colman is a potential upset winner, but the biggest suspense is over what Lady Gaga will be wearing!

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

·       Amy Adams, Vice

·       Marina de Tavira, Roma

·       Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk ★ ♥

·       Emma Stone, The Favourite

·       Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Vote-splitting could lead to a surprise victory for Amy Adams, which would be unfortunate; while she is overdue for an Oscar, her Vice performance is nothing special.  So I’m hoping that Regina King prevails for her unforgettable portrait of a determined mother.  Should have been nominated: Nicole Kidman, perfection in Boy Erased, and Emily Blunt, for that terrifying bathtub scene in A Quiet Place.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

·       Christian Bale, Vice

·       Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born

·       Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

·       Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody ★♥

·       Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

Rami Malek was mesmerizing in Bohemian Rhapsody.  I’m excited to see what he does next. 

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

·       Mahershala Ali, Green Book ★

·       Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

·       Sam Elliot, A Star is Born

·       Richard E. Grant, Can You Every Forgive Me? ♥

·       Sam Rockwell, Vice

Ali did fine work in Green Book, but he just won an Oscar two years ago for an even better performance in Moonlight.  It would be great if this award could go to Richard E. Grant, a revelation in Can You Ever Forgive Me?  Two fantastic overlooked supporting performances: Nicholas Hoult as the crafty opposition leader in The Favourite, and Bryan Tyree Henry, heartbreaking in If Beale Street Could Talk.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

·       Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

·       Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, The Favourite ★ ♥

·       Adam McKay, Vice  

·       Paul Schrader, First Reformed

·       Nick Vallelonga et al, Green Book

Should have been nominated: Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal for the brilliant Blindspotting.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

·       Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

·       Bradley Cooper et al, A Star is Born

·       Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me? ♥

·       Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

·       Spike Lee et al, BlacKkKlansman ★

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Can You Ever Forgive Me? team steals this one from Spike Lee.  Barry Jenkins would also be a deserving winner for the beautiful screenplay for If Beale Street Could Talk.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

·       Incredibles 2

·       Isle of Dogs

·       Mirai

·       Ralph Breaks the Internet

·       Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse ★♥

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

·       Animal Behaviour

·       Bao ★

·       Late Afternoon ♥

·       One Small Step

·       Weekends

I liked all of these short films, especially the very funny Animal Behaviour and the creative, unique Weekends.  Late Afternoon won my heart with its lyrical, beautiful treatment of dementia.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

·       Alfonso Cuaron, Roma ★

·       Caleb Deschanel, Never Look Away

·       Matthew Libatique, A Star is Born

·       Robbie Ryan, The Favourite ♥

·       Lukasz Zal, Cold War

There’s something off-putting about the idea of Alfonso Cuaron winning ALL the awards, so I’m rooting for Robbie Ryan, king of the fish-eye lens.

COSTUME DESIGN

·       Alexandra Byrne, Mary Queen of Scots

·       Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther ★ ♥

·       Sandy Powell, The Favourite

·       Sandy Powell, Mary Poppins Returns

·       Mary Zophres, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

·       Free Solo ♥

·       Hale County This Morning, This Evening

·       Minding the Gap

·       Of Fathers and Sons

·       RBG ★

If you haven’t seen Free Solo yet, hurry out and catch it while it’s still in theaters.  It wouldn’t be as thrilling on the small screen.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

·       Black Sheep

·       End Game ★

·       Lifeboat ♥

·       A Night at the Garden

·       Period. End of Sentence

Period might win because it is the only optimistic entry, but I think voters will respond best to the excellent End Game, about end-of-life decisions.  The film that stuck with me the most, though, was Lifeboat, about the harrowing voyage across the Mediterranean by people seeking a better life in Europe.

FILM EDITING

·       BlacKkKlansman

·       Bohemian Rhapsody ★

·       The Favourite ♥

·       Green Book

·       Vice

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

·       Capernaum

·       Cold War

·       Never Look Away

·       Roma ★

·       Shoplifters ♥

Roma will win, but I encourage everyone to seek out the extraordinary Capernaum, Cold War, and Shoplifters, as well as the non-nominated The Guilty and The Cakemaker.

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

·       Border ♥

·       Mary Queen of Scots

·       Vice ★

ORIGINAL SCORE

·       Terence Blanchard, BlacKkKlansman

·       Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk ★ ♥

·       Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs

·       Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther

·       Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns

I’m torn between the jazzy genius of Terence Blanchard and the emotional brilliance of Nicholas Britell. 

ORIGINAL SONG

·       Lady Gaga et al, “Shallow,” A Star is Born ★ ♥

·       Kendrick Lamar et al, “All the Stars,” Black Panther

·       Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman, “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns

·       Diane Warren, “I’ll Fight,” RBG

·       Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings,” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Would have loved to have seen a nomination for Troye Sivan’s stirring “Revelation” from Boy Erased.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

·       Black Panther ♥

·       The Favourite ★

·       First Man

·       Mary Poppins Returns

·       Roma

Some traditionalist older voters may be reluctant to honor production design for a film that incorporates CGI, as if that is somehow cheating.  But the glorious design of Black Panther deserves recognition.

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

·       Detainment ♥

·       Fauve

·       Marguerite ★

·       Mother

·       Skin

Such a depressing bunch.  I think Oscar voters will pick the only nominee that is not about children in peril. 

SOUND EDITING

·       Black Panther

·       Bohemian Rhapsody ★

·       First Man

·       A Quiet Place

·       Roma ♥

SOUND MIXING

·       Black Panther

·       Bohemian Rhapsody ★

·       First Man

·       Roma ♥

·       A Star is Born

VISUAL EFFECTS

·       Avengers: Infinity War

·       Christopher Robin

·       First Man ★

·       Ready Player One ♥

·       Solo: A Star Wars Story