An unpredictable awards season is poised to wrap up with the 90th Academy Awards. The Best Picture race has been totally unpredictable. So with that, here we go with my predictions.
Short Film, Animated:
Dear Basketball
Garden Party
Lou
Negative Space
Revolting Rhymes
A bit of a surprise, but Pixar's entry here, Lou is actually really weak. This feels like it'll be between Kobe Bryant's Dear Basketball, and Garden Party. I'm going with Garden Party. For being just 6-7 minutes, there was a lot that went into it, including a twist ending.
Short Film, Live Action:
DeKalb Elementary
The Eleven O'Clock
My Nephew Emmett
The Silent Child
Watu Wote: All Of Us
I'm going with DeKalb Elementary. Its a shame how relevant it is, but it tells an important story.
Documentary Short Subject:
Edith + Eddie
Heaven Is A Traffic Jam On The 405
Heroin(e)
Knife Skills
Traffic Stop
Calling this for Edith + Eddie.
Visual Effects:
Blade Runner 2049
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2
Kong: Skull Island
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War For The Planet Of The Apes
It may have under-performed at the box office, but Blade Runner 2049 should be getting its due.
Film Editing:
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
I,Tonya
The Shape Of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
This could be a precursor to Best Picture....or could make the night even more unpredictable. I'm going with the latter, Dunkirk. It was really impressive how they spliced together the three arenas of Dunkirk.
Production Design:
Beauty And The Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape Of Water
Blade Runner 2049 again comes up in the technical category.
Cinematography:
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape Of Water
Roger Deakins gets his Oscar for Blade Runner 2049
Costume Design:
Beauty And The Beast
Darkest Hour
Phantom Thread
The Shape Of Water
Victoria & Abdul
Maybe a bit of an upset here, but I'm going with The Shape Of Water, for the fish-man alone.
Makeup And Hairstyling:
Darkest Hour
Victoria & Abdul
Wonder
For how they transformed Gary Oldman into Churchill, Darkest Hour takes this.
Sound Mixing:
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape Of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Calling this for Dunkirk, war movies seem to do well in the sound categories.
Sound Editing:
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape Of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
A sounds sweep, Dunkirk.
Original Song:
"Mighty River", Mudbound (Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq & Taura Stinson, music & lyrics)
"Mystery Of Love", Call Me By Your Name (Sufjan Stevens, music & lyrics)
"Remember Me", Coco (Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, music & lyrics)
"Stand Up For Something", Marshall (Diane Warren, music) (Lonnie Lynn & Warren, lyrics)
"This Is Me", The Greatest Showman (Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, music & lyrics)
This could come down to "Remember Me" and "This Is Me". I'm calling it for "This Is Me. Its become such a hit, even outside the movie.
Original Score:
Dunkirk (Hans Zimmer)
Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood)
The Shape Of Water (Alexandre Desplat)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (John Williams)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Carter Burwell)
I'm going The Shape Of Water. Desplat provided such a fantastic score.
Foreign Language Film:
A Fantastic Woman (Chile)
The Insult (Lebanon)
Loveless (Russia)
On Body And Soul (Hungary)
The Square (Sweden)
Feels like this is between A Fantastic Woman and The Square. I'm leaning towards A Fantastic Woman.
Documentary Feature:
Abacus: Small Enough To Jail
Faces Places
Icarus
Last Men In Aleppo
Strong Island
The Documentary Field featured some surprising omissions, including Jane. With this current field, I'm going with Faces Places, its brought in a lot of wins over the season.
Animated Feature:
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent
No surprise here...Coco. But its well deserved.
Adapted Screenplay:
Call Me By Your Name (James Ivory)
The Disaster Artist (Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber)
Logan (Michael Green, James Mangold, Scott Frank)
Molly's Game (Aaron Sorkin)
Mudbound (Dee Rees, Virgil Williams)
This feels like the easiest of the 2 screenplay awards. I'm going with Call Me By Your Name.
Original Screenplay:
The Big Sick (Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani)
Get Out (Jordan Peele)
Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)
The Shape Of Water (Guillermo Del Toro, Vanessa Taylor)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)
This could also go a long way towards signaling Best Picture.....or make it even more convoluted. I'm going again with the latter, and calling it for Get Out.
Actor In A Supporting Role:
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape Of Water
Christopher Plummer, All The Money In The World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The acting fields seem pre-determined this season, though if there's any upset here it'd come from Dafoe. This is going to Sam Rockwell.
Actress In A Supporting Role:
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Allison Janney, I,Tonya
Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
This one's going to Allison Janney.
Actor In A Leading Role:
Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Almost like a Casey Affleck situation, where everyone is rooting against Gary Oldman due to a shady past, but he's going to take this.
Actress In A Leading Role:
Sally Hawkins, The Shape Of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I,Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post
Another easy call, Frances McDormand.
Director:
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape Of Water
Coming off a Golden Globe and Director's Guild win, this is going to Guillermo del Toro.
Best Picture:
Call Me By Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape Of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
We've finally arrived to Best Picture. There are a number of ways this could go. Right now, it seems to be between The Shape Of Water and Three Billboards. Though I wouldn't count out an upset coming from Get Out or even Dunkirk. Its a tough call, but I'm going with The Shape Of Water.
