by Stephen Milek
The Oscars are less than a week away which means it’s time to make some predictions. In case you are wondering I usually get around 70% correct. This year I haven’t seen a lot of the nominees and some of my predictions in the short categories are just pure guesses. Let me know what you think.
Best Picture- Birdman – After racking up a lot of the big guild awards it seems like a lock it will get the best picture. There is still a lot of love for Boyhood and the awards could go that way. The Grand Budapest Hotel I think will do very well on Oscar night but probably won’t get too many major awards but it has the potential to get the win. If any other movie wins it will be a major upset.
Best Director- Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman) – He won the DGA award and despite there being a trend in recent years where there is a split between Best Picture and Best Director I think this year they will go to the same movie.
Best Actor- Michael Keaton (Birdman) – Probably one of my riskier picks. The safe bet is on Eddie Redmayne. Redmayne picked up the SAG and Best Actor Drama at the Golden Globes but there is a lot of love in Hollywood for an actor that makes a big comeback and I think Keaton will be awarded for that.
Best Actress –Julianne Moore (Still Alice) – All the pre-Oscar buzz have been about her. Not sure is she was the best performance but she has been nominated 4 times without a win so looks like she will finally get her Oscar.
Best Supporting Actor- J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) – If there is one award I is almost guaranteed it is J.K. Simmons for Best Supporting Actor. It would be shocking if anyone else gets it.
Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) – While I won’t say she is a guaranteed win it doesn’t feel like anyone else is really challenging her.
Best Original Screenplay – The Grand Budapest Hotel- This is actually a tough category. With Birdman, Boyhood, and The Grand Budapest Hotel it is hard to say which of the three will get the win. I am going with The Grand Budapest Hotel, mainly for its witty dialogue and quick pace.
Best Adapted Screenplay- Whiplash – Some see it as misplaced and should be in the Original Screenplay category. But with its placement in the adaption category I think it gives it a better chance of winning. The Imitation Game won the WGA award so that would be the closest competition.
Best Animated Feature- How to Train Your Dragon 2 – With the omission of The LEGO Movie I think it makes picking the Best Animated Feature easier. How to Train Your Dragon 2 had one of the most pre award buzz and a lot more critical praise than Big Hero 6. Although you can never count out Studio Ghibli and The Tale of Princess Kaguya could take the award.
Best Documentary Feature – CitizenFour – Another pick that is easier with the omission of a movie. With no Life Itself to go up against I don’t see any of the other movies as serious contenders.
Best Foreign Language Film- Ida – This is a bit of a tough category. All the movies have had some buzz but I feel Ida has the best chance.
Best Cinematography- Birdman- With one of the most interesting looking movies of the year not sure anything can beat Birdman in this category. Looks like Emmanuel Lubezki will win his second Oscar in as many years.
Best Editing – Boyhood – This is a tough category and I am not sure who will come out on top. But I think Boyhood will take it for the fact that Sandra Adair had to edit together footage from over 12 years. American Sniper and Whiplash also have a chance at winning.
Best Production Design – The Grand Budapest Hotel – Anyone that saw The Grand Budapest Hotel and knows Wes Anderson know that he is very particular about how his movies look and a lot of that is in the production design. And these are the awards I think it will dominate in.
Best Costume Design – The Grand Budapest Hotel – Again the unique look of The Grand Budapest Hotel comes not only from the Production Design but also the costumes. Mr. Turner could pick up the award here as it is one of the few period pieces with fancy costumes.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling – The Grand Budapest Hotel – This is a tough category but with The Grand Budapest Hotel the only movie here that is nominated for Best Picture I am going to go with it.
Best Visual Effects – Interstellar – While Interstellar didn’t get enough love to score a Best Picture nomination it wasn’t for the lack of amazing special effects.
Best Sound Editing – Interstellar – The sound categories get me every time but I am going with Interstellar for Sound Editing.
Best Sound Mixing – American Sniper – While I usually go with the same movie for Sound Editing and Sound Mixing this year I am going to split the two. The Sound Mixing in Interstellar was controversial so I am going with American Sniper since war movies seem to do well in this category.
Best Animated Short – The Dam Keeper – I have actually seen all 5 movies nominated for animated short this year so I feel I have an idea how the Academy will vote. For me it is between The Dam Keeper and Feast. While I like Feast a little bit more I think the emotional The Dam Keeper will take it.
Best Live-Action Short –Aya – I have not seen any but I am going with Aya for no particular reason.
Best Documentary Short –Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 – Another category that I have seen zero movies in but it’s not going to stop me from taking a guess. After the controversy caused by American Sniper and the discussion about PTSD it has started I think this is a timely doc and will benefit from that.
Best Original Score – The Grand Budapest Hotel – This is actually a tough category for me to figure out. I actually liked the music in The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Imitation Game but The Theory of Everything has won a few awards. But I am riding The Grand Budapest Hotel train and predicting a win here too.
Best Original Song- “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” (Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me) – Another category that I think is up in the air. There really isn’t a front runner here. While I love “Everything is Awesome” I think it is too poppy and silly for the Oscars who like more mellow serious music. “Glory” from Selma could get the win as kind of a make up for snubs in other categories. But I am going out on a limb with the Glen Campbell song from his documentary.