At first I didn’t think I would be able to watch all the Best Picture nominees before Oscar night this year. However I did it. That also meant signing up for Hulu, Disney+ and also renting on Youtube. What can I say? Netflix only had two of the eight Best Picture nominees. Not as expensive as the box office, but still a challenging expense.
Anyways the Academy Awards will be happening this Sunday. The Oscars promise to be an experience like a movie. We’ll see! Also it will be curious to see how many winners show up to accept. So here are my predictions for the Academy Awards for who Should Win, Will Win and the anticipated winner's Closest Threat:
BEST PICTURE
Should Win and Will Win: Nomadland
Closest Threat: Promising Young Woman
There were a lot of complaints how most of the Best Picture nominees were morbid downer films. Something we could do without after a downer morbid 2020. Like Bill Maher said: “You don’t have to go to church if you want to feel guilty, dirty and bad. Just watch Nomadland.” Actually it’s not that bad. It’s an excellent film, but it is a downer of a film.
BEST DIRECTOR:
SW & WW: CHLOE ZHAO/Nomadland
CT: LEE ISAAC CHUNG/Minari
This is the first year two women were nominated for Best Director. If heavy favorite Chloe Zhao wins, she will become the second female winner of this category.
Oh yeah, Zhao is the director of the next MCU release: The Eternals!
BEST ACTOR
SW & WW: CHADWICK BOSEMAN/Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
CT: ANTHONY HOPKINS/The Father
There have been posthumous acting nominations before, but only two – Peter Finch and Heath Ledger – have won. Chadwick looks poised to be the third.
BEST ACTRESS
WW: CAREY MULLIGAN/Promising Young Woman
SW & CT: VIOLA DAVIS/Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
This is the major category that will be hardest to predict. Andra won the GG, Carey won the Critics Choice, Viola won the SAG and Frances won the BAFTA. I’m tempted to go with Carey on this, despite how unwatchable the film can get.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
SW & WW: DANIEL KALUUYA/ Judas And The Black Messiah
CT: SACHA BARON COHEN/Trial Of The Chicago 7
Rebels of the 1960’s are the big treat in this category. A Black Panther vs. the leader of the Yippies. Daniel has it here.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
SW & WW: YUH-JUNG YOUN/Minari
CT: MARIA BALAKOVA/Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The year after Parasite wins Best Picture, another film predominantly in Korean is a favorite at this year’s Oscars. Youn was excellent as the grandmother.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SW & WW: EMERALD FENNELL/Promising Young Woman
CT: LEE ISAAC CHUNG/Minari
Promising Young Woman is quite possibly the angriest film to be nominated for Best Picture I’ve ever seen. The rage in Emerald’s story of Cassie can easily be sensed. It’s like the #MeToo movement wrapped up in two hours!
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
SW & WW: CHLOE ZHAO/Nomadland
CT: CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON & FLORIAN ZELLER/The Father
The most unique thing about Nomadland is that the story includes these modern-day nomads including some from Jessica Bruder’s book. I hope I don’t have to make a nomad of myself in my older years, but it is an inciteful story.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
SW & WW: Soul
CT: Wolfwalkers
It almost seems like a foregone conclusion that a Disney movie or a Disney/Pixar movie will have this category owned. And it’s no surprised since Soul is the undisputed animated hit of the year!
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
WW: JOSHUA JAMES RICHARDS/Nomadland
SW & CT: ERIC MESSERSCHMIDT/Mank
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
SW & WW: ANN ROTH /Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
CT: ALEXANDRA BYRNE/Emma
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
SW & WW: Time
CT: My Octopus Teacher
BEST FILM EDITING
WW: ALEX BAUMGARTEN/Trial Of The Chicago 7
SW & CT: MIKKEL E. G. NIELSEN/Sound Of Metal
It’s interesting in a year where people complain how this year’s crop of Best Picture nominees are morbid and downer, the favorites in this category are from the two most uplifting Best Picture nominees of the year.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
WW: Another Round (Denmark)
SW & CT: Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia-Hercegovina)
It’s interesting many people see Thomas Vinterberg as the ‘heir apparent’ to Lars von Trier. Another Round didn’t show many von Trier traits. Actually Another Round was very watchable. A bizarre story, but very watchable, unlike von Trier’s works. Besides Vinterberg is not von Trier anyways.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR
WW: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
CT: Mank
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
SW & WW: TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS and JON BATISTE/Soul
CT: TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS/Mank
Looks as though Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are the film composers of the year. Who would’ve thought the brains behind Nine Inch Nails would become a film composer that could have John Williams looking over his shoulder?
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
SW: ‘Husavik’ – Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
WW: ‘Speak Now’ – One Night In Miami
CT: ‘Io Se (Seen)’ – The Life Ahead
This is the hardest to predict. Although I have a special liking for Husavik, as well as the Contest itself, I have to pick Speak Now.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
SW &WW: Mank
CT: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
I remember some journalist wrote the Academy loves films about Hollywood. Mank is that film about Hollywood and it’s Golden Age, and some not-so-golden things behind the scenes.
BEST SOUND
WW: Sound Of Metal
CT: Greyhound
One of the best traits of Sound Of Metal is its creativity with the film’s sound.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
WW: Tenet
CT: The Midnight Sky
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
WW: Burrow
CT: If Anything Happens I Love You
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
WW: A Love Song For Latasha
CT: Do Not Split
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
SW & WW: Two Distant Strangers
CT: Feeling Through
And there you have them! Those are my predictions for the winners of the 93rd Academy Awards. Winners to be decided tomorrow night. Hard to believe the Oscars are just one weekend away from what should be the start of the summer movie season. What can I say? 2020 was an unpredictable year and 2021 is the year we’re waiting things to get back to normal!
Glad to see Nomadland win, I don't watch but I am interested in the results, great picks.
I have not watched in years I have a deep disdain for Hollywood's Liberal hypocrites, I care more about the characters they play than I do about them they can OD for all I care. Hypocrites the lot and a car jacker run-up in their Mercedes they are the first calling 911 for a cop, not a social worker, MORONS. Thank your uncle for serving we need police we don't need the criminal trash ripping up our cities they all need to be jailed for a very long time.
Emo Girl said:
Unwatchable, that is no place for your political agenda, should be the lowest-rated ever nobody cares, I did not watch just saw here online how they spouted their anti-police bias, my uncle is a police officer and a good one. go to hell liberal Hollywood elites.
Unwatchable I am surprised a whole 9 Million a record low tuned in, they shooting themselves in the foot, the box office take tumbles year after year unless they have some marvel comic characters on screen or a bloody Star Wars movie, the first three should have been left alone.
I like loves to see a good film but sick of them pushing their progressive agenda in the script and characters of every movie, people are not going to movies and will be even less even after this bloody pandemic has passed.
Leftist braindead 1% who railed against police while police protect their venue, these bloody idiots have their private security so easy for them to call for no police while the inner city turns into something out of "Escape From New York" and speaking of escaping from NY people are emptying out of that cesspool at an alarming rate, soon only the serial predator Gov will be left along with the wishy-washy commie mayor.
Trevor does another great job as usual and I also did not watch and I have not for a few years, it is too bad that awards shows are just completely being ignored by viewers, back in the days maybe even 90s and below the Oscars were a can't miss and a rating bonanza especially 70s and 80s.
Is it the politics well a big part of it I think but also other factors come into play, these A-listers just are not as revered or placed in awe as they were years back when people did not know much about them, their tweets and other post expose who they are now and it is a turn off to many.
I will remain always interested in movies and in who won but not in watching the ceremonies.