A few hours before the Oscars ceremony officially puts an end to a year of cinema, here’s our predictions for those who needs some guidance with their home polls. Despite being criticize for a number of Oscar bait biopics elbowing out more deserving films, this is being one of the most exciting Awards seasons in recent memory, a genuine three way race with Birdman in the lead but closely followed by Boyhood and The Great Budapest Hotel. Selma and American Sniper polarized the critics and found support on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Whiplash added fresh talent to the best picture shortlist and a number of shocking snubs just served to underline the wealth of deserving contenders.
Whereas three of the four acting categories are deemed as locked (Julianne Moore for best actress; J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette for supporting actor and actress; the actor field was so crowded that it could have been formed by five completely different candidates (Fiennes; Gyllenhaal; Oyelowo; Locke and Spall) without diminishing the average quality. And although it almost always ends being the most predictable of nights, this year the seeds are sowed for many a surprise.
Good luck to all the candidates and our Oscar predictions go to…
Best Picture: Birdman
(Could and should win: Boyhood)
Director: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
(Could win: Alejandro G. Iñarritu (Birdman)
Actor: Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
(Could win: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything) or Michael Keaton (Birdman) . Tightest race of the year)
Actress: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Supp. Actor: J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Supp. Actress: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Adapted Screenplay: American Sniper
(Could win: Whiplash or The Imitation Game)
Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
(Could win: Birdman or Boyhood)
Foreign Picture: Ida
(Could win: Leviathan or Timbuktu)
Cinematography: Birdman
(Long shot: Mr. Turner)
Film Editing: Boyhood
(Could win: Whiplash)
Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
(Could win: Mr. Turner)
Original Score: The Theory Of Everything
(Could Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Makeup & Hairstyling: The Grand Budapest Hotel
(Could win: Guardians Of The Galaxy)
Original Song: Glory (Selma)
(Could win: Everything In awesome (The Lego Movie) )
Sound Editing: American Sniper
(Could win: Birdman)
Sound Mixing: Whiplash
(Could win: American Sniper)
Visual Effects: Interstellar
(Could win; Dawn of The Planet of The Apes)
Costume Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
(Mr. Turner or Into The Woods are very long shots)
Animated Feature: Big Hero 6
(Could win: How To Train Your Dragon 2)
Documentary Feature: CITIZENFOUR
(Possible shock: Virunga)
Live Actions Short: The Phone Call
Documentary Short: Joanna
Animated Short: The Bigger Picture
