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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