It must be nearly a year since I started writing for these websites as one of my first columns was an Oscars show review last year. The latest awards are being handed out on 3 March, and here is my preview of the main categories…
BEST FILM
The nominees are:
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Should have been nominated: Enough Said
Should win: 12 Years a Slave will probably become a classic, but I was affected by Philomena more
Will win: Can’t see this being more than a two horse race and Gravity seems to be picking up momentum, but I think the winner will be 12 Years a Slave
BEST DIRECTOR
The nominees are:
American Hustle (David O. Russell)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Nebraska (Alexander Payne)
12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)
Should have been nominated: Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass)
Should win: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Will win: David O Russell is an Academy darling and will surely win this award one year, but not this one. McQueen has to be a contender as usually best film and director go hand in hand, but I think this year will be different: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
BEST ACTOR
The nominees are:
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Should have been nominated: Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Should win: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Will win: Di Caprio has his fans and Ejiofor is a strong contender, but for accumulation of outstanding performances if for no other reason:
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
BEST ACTRESS
The nominees are:
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Should have been nominated: Adele Exarchopolous (Blue is the Warmest Colour)
Should win: Blanchett is thoroughly deserving, but I would give the award to Judi Dench (Philomena)
Will win: A shoe in for Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The nominees are:
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Should have been nominated: Sam Rockwell (The Way, Way Back)
Should win: Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Will win: This looked like it would be close a few months ago, but not now: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The nominees are:
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
Should have been nominated: Imogen Poots (The Look of Love)
Should win: June Squibb (Nebraska)
Will win: Lawrence may yet pull a surprise but I don’t think she will win two years in a row. Roberts will have a lot of support, but will just lose out to
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The nominees are:
Before Midnight (Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke)
Captain Phillips (Billy Ray)
Philomena (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Terence Winter)
Should have been nominated: Will Beall (Gangster Squad)
Should win: Philomena (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
Will win: 12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The nominees are:
American Hustle (Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell)
Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
Dallas Buyers Club (Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack)
Her (Spike Jonze)
Nebraska (Bob Nelson)
Should have been nominated: Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said)
Should win: Nebraska (Bob Nelson)
Will win: maybe the tightest category of all with all bar Allen in with a shout… American Hustle (Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell)
And my predictions in the other categories (excluding those for short films) ….
Best Animated Feature: Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)
Best Cinematography: Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
Best Documentary Feature: The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen)
Best Film Editing: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger)
Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (Italy)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club (Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews)
Best Original Score: Gravity (Steven Price)
Best Original Song: Let It Go (Frozen)
Best Production Design: American Hustle (Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler)
Best Sound Editing: Gravity (Glenn Freemantle)
Best Sound Mixing: Gravity (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro)
Best Visual Effects: Gravity (Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould)
And that’s the lot.
All I need to do now is work out whether to try to stay awake, got to bed and set the alarm or record it and watch it the next day without knowing the results…each option has its risks!!