I’ve now seen more than 30 of this year’s Oscar nominated films, so as I do every year I’m going to have a go at predicting the winners for tomorrow’s 89th Academy Awards!
As with all award predictions I have a system, simply indicating my 1st choice, 2nd choice and what I think should win if it was up to me. These are then scored as 2pts for a correct first choice and 1pt for a correct second choice, no points are given for personally preferred films as they are indicated just for interest. In the case of a tie (as happened last year between my brother and myself) then the person with most correct first choices wins!
Here’s our free printable Oscars Ballot for you to have a go and challenge your friends and family too!
Academy Awards Nominees 2017:
Best Picture
‘Arrival’ (it’s fantastic to see this getting a nomination in this category and many others, my runner-up personal pick)
‘Fences’
‘Hacksaw Ridge’
‘Hell or High Water‘
‘Hidden Figures’
1P. ‘La La Land‘ (I do think this deserves a win for being so good in all respects)
‘Manchester by the Sea‘
‘Lion‘
2. ‘Moonlight’
Lead Actor (It’s close between Casey and Denzel, I think Mr Washington may get it on likeability)
2. Casey Affleck – ‘Manchester by the Sea‘
P. Andrew Garfield – ‘Hacksaw Ridge’
Ryan Gosling – ‘La La Land‘
Viggo Mortensen – ‘Captain Fantastic’
1. Denzel Washington – ‘Fences’
Lead Actress
2. Isabelle Huppert – ‘Elle’
Ruth Negga – ‘Loving’ (The film may not have gotten the nods once expected of it but this is a nice nomination to see)
Natalie Portman – ‘Jackie’ (don’t think I’ll finish my review in time, she’s good but the measured composure makes her a little distanced)
1P. Emma Stone – ‘La La Land‘ (She may just be doing ‘what she does’ but it’s exactly what’s needed for the film)
Meryl Streep – ‘Florence Foster Jenkins‘
Supporting Actor
1. Mahershala Ali – ‘Moonlight’
P. Jeff Bridges – ‘Hell or High Water‘ (The most memorable ‘supporting’ performance for me)
Lucas Hedges – ‘Manchester by the Sea‘
2. Dev Patel – ‘Lion‘ (He’s the lead for half the film, this category isn’t a good fit)
Michael Shannon – ‘Nocturnal Animals’ (Not the role from this film that was most expected to get a nomination, yet the one I’ve heard many critics praising)
Supporting Actress
1. Viola Davis – ‘Fences’ (another role that’s apparently more of a lead than the category suggests)
2. Naomie Harris – ‘Moonlight’
Nicole Kidman – ‘Lion‘
Octavia Spencer – ‘Hidden Figures’
Michelle Williams – ‘Manchester by the Sea‘
Best Director
P. Denis Villeneuve – ‘Arrival’
Mel Gibson – ‘Hacksaw Ridge’
1. Damien Chazelle – ‘La La Land‘ (the skill and complexity of making the film will probably win it for him)
Kenneth Lonergan – ‘Manchester by the Sea‘
2. Barry Jenkins – ‘Moonlight’ (If he wins he will be the first black director to do so, there’s a chance)
Animated Feature (I actually think this is closer than you’d expect between my 2 choices)
2. ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ (It’s incredible stop-motion work, the best they’ve done and the Academy appreciate the skill)
‘Moana‘ (I have a soft spot for Disney musicals)
‘My Life as a Zucchini’ (I’m gutted I’ve not been able to see this yet it looks fantastic)
‘The Red Turtle‘
1P. ‘Zootopia‘
Animated Short
2. ‘Blind Vaysha’
‘Borrowed Time‘
‘Pear Cider and Cigarettes’
‘Pearl‘
1P. ‘Piper‘ (it’s so charming and that seems unlikely to be just my opinion)
Adapted Screenplay
2P. ‘Arrival’
‘Fences’
‘Hidden Figures’
‘Lion‘
1. ‘Moonlight’
Original Screenplay
P. ‘Hell or High Water‘
2. ‘La La Land‘ (it’s wonderful but nothing particularly new or different)
‘The Lobster’ (I saw this over a year ago when it was out in the U.K. but I didn’t really feel like reviewing it, though it’s definitely an original idea and interesting screenplay)
1. ‘Manchester by the Sea‘
’20th Century Women’
Cinematography
‘Arrival’
1P. ‘La La Land‘ (stunning start to end)
‘Lion‘
2. ‘Moonlight’ (from the trailers and clips I’ve seen the lighting and colour use is beautiful so it has an outside chance)
‘Silence‘
Best Documentary Feature
‘Fire at Sea’
‘I Am Not Your Negro’
‘Life, Animated‘
1P. ‘OJ: Made in America’ (I slightly take issue with this nearly 8 hour film being classed as a feature when it was made and aired originally as a 5-part series, still it won me over by the end and is amazing so seems to be the frontrunner,)
2. ‘13th‘
Best Documentary Short
‘Extremis‘
‘4.1 Miles‘
2P. ‘Joe’s Violin‘
‘Watani: My Homeland‘
1. ‘The White Helmets‘
Best live-action short film (sadly I didn’t get around to seeing any of these so I can only pick based on things I’ve heard)
1. ‘Ennemis Interieurs’
‘La Femme et le TGV’
‘Silent Nights’
‘Sing’
2. ‘Timecode’
Best foreign language film
‘A Man Called Ove’
‘Land of Mine’
‘Tanna’
1P. ‘The Salesman‘
2. ‘Toni Erdmann’
Film editing
‘Arrival’
2. ‘Hacksaw Ridge’
‘Hell or High Water‘
1. ‘La La Land‘
‘Moonlight’
Sound editing
2. ‘Arrival’
P. ‘Deepwater Horizon’ (I thought the immersive quality and the detail of the sound of destruction was excellent)
1. ‘Hacksaw Ridge’
‘La La Land‘
‘Sully‘
Sound mixing
‘Arrival’
2. ‘Hacksaw Ridge’
1P. ‘La La Land‘
‘Rogue One‘
’13 Hours’ (I really doubt I’ll bother to watch this, I’m sure the sound is beautifully mixed but it doesn’t appeal to me at all)
Production design
P. ‘Arrival’
2. ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ (the ‘magical’ aspects have been done before in the HP films so it may impress less)
‘Hail Caesar!‘
1. ‘La La Land‘
‘Passengers‘ (I cheered when I heard this announced, I think the production design is superb and though it won’t win I’m very pleased this aspect of the film gained it a nomination)
Original score
‘Jackie’
1P. ‘La La Land‘
‘Lion‘
2. ‘Moonlight’
‘Passengers‘
Original song:
Audition – ‘La La Land‘
Can’t Stop the Feeling – ‘Trolls’ (it’s been on repeat on the radio for months, the feeling has stopped)
1. City of Stars – ‘La La Land‘
Empty Chair – ‘Jim: The James Foley Story‘ (this is a great documentary so its nice to see it get a nomination even if it’s not for the film itself)
2P. How Far I’ll Go – ‘Moana‘ (it’s a great song, works beautifully in the film and even sounds good as a pop cover by Alessia Cara)
Makeup and Hair:
‘A Man Called Ove’
1P. ‘Star Trek Beyond‘
2. ‘Suicide Squad’ (not worth reviewing, it’s a mess though the makeup and hair is possibly the only praiseworthy element though I think voters will be reluctant to make this an ‘Oscar Winning Film’)
Costume Design
‘Allied’
‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’
‘Florence Foster Jenkins‘
1. ‘Jackie’ (recreating some iconic outfits which often goes down very well)
2P. ‘La La Land‘ (loads of colour and nice dresses, though people do just look like people so it’s not a stretch the vibrancy worked)
Visual Effects
‘Deepwater Horizon‘ (I had a feeling this would get a nomination after reading about the reaction to the presentation made by the effects team to the Academy guild making the nominations which apparently was superb, though it may be a trickier task to convince the Academy as a whole to vote for it)
‘Doctor Strange’
1P. ‘Jungle Book‘
‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ (If I’m correct this is the first animated film to be nominated for this award but it won’t win, the award will go to CGI effects, though an extra vote or two may go to this in the ‘Animated Feature’ race)
2. ‘Rogue One‘ (We all knew this would be nominated here, seen most of it before but it’s extensive and looks good)
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