Final Oscar Predictions

Well, here we are. In a way, I don’t feel as invested in this year’s race, which is somewhat strange since I’ve actually seen just about everything already. It’s exciting to know the contenders, but I also feel like most of the films I didn’t love, even I did like a lot of them. I do think that, in many ways, this is the most interesting awards season we’ve seen in a while because there’s such a diversity of contenders and inconsistencies.

Now I am predicting a bunch of shocking inclusions and snubs that are probably foolish. Many chose Damien Chazelle for directing “Whiplash,” so I won’t count that. But Michael Keaton not getting nominated for Best Actor is a big risk, and including Riz Ahmed and Rene Russo without star Gyllenhaal is equally mind-boggling. I’m also secretly hoping that both “Interstellar” and “A Most Violent Year,” which (spoiler alert) will rank in my top five films of the year, show up in some big and unexpected places. I just hope we’re rewarding good and solid films.

As with the last two years, I’ll be on the West Coast when the nominations are announced (in fact, I’m in flight right now). Not being a totally crazy person, I’m not going to be getting up at 5:30am but I will start blogging, category by category, at around 8:30am PST. Check back every half hour for analysis of each category, and let’s hope for some great picks! Click on category headings for full predictions in each race. Chime in below with your thoughts and predictions, and check back tomorrow for plenty of reactions!

No guts, no glory predictions:
Steve Carell opens up the Best Actor race by going supporting
Naomi Watts for Best Supporting Actress for “Birdman”
Oscar Isaac for Best Actor for “A Most Violent Year” (if only!)

Best Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Best Director
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Ava DuVernay (Selma)
Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
David Oyelowo (Selma)
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jennifer Aniston (Cake)
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler)
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
Edward Norton (Birdman)
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Rene Russo (Nightcrawler)
Emma Stone (Birdman)

Best Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
A Most Violent Year
Nightcrawler

Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Wild

Best Cinematography
Birdman
Ida
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
The Theory of Everything

Best Art Direction
Fury
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

Best Costume Design
Belle
Exodus: Gods and Kings
Fury
The Imitation Game
Into the Woods

Best Film Editing
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Interstellar

Best Original Score
Fury
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
A Most Violent Year

Best Original Song
“Opportunity” (Annie)
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” (Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me)
“Everything is Awesome” (The Lego Movie)
“Mercy Is” (Noah)
“Glory” (Selma)

Best Sound Birdman
Fury
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Unbroken

Best Sound Editing
American Sniper
Birdman
Fury
Interstellar
Whiplash

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Visual Effects
Godzilla
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Transformers: Age of Extinction

Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
Song of the Sea

Best Documentary Short Film
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
The Lion’s Mouth Opens
One Child
Our Curse

Best Animated Short Film
Coda
Duet
Feast
Me and My Moulton
Symphony No. 42

Best Live Action Short Film
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Carry On
The Phone Call

Best Documentary
The Case Against 8
Citizenfour
Citizen Koch
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Life Itself

Best Foreign Language Film
Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
Timbuktu
Wild Tales