Culture of Pop

Oscars 2017 Predictions

The 85th Academy Awards® will air live on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, 2013.

It’s that time of the year again for Hollywood to hand out statues of little gold men at the Academy Awards.  The Oscars don’t always get it right, but it makes it more interesting to watch if you place bets or turn it into a drinking game (example: drink every time someone wins an Oscar). For those that want to place their bets, here are my predictions for some of the major categories(you can Venmo me my cut later).

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Dev Patel (Lion)

Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Who’s going to win? Mahershala Ali. He’s the frontrunner, snatching the SAG award and the BFCA; although, there’s a chance that character-actor Michael Shannon could take it.

Who should win? Ben Foster in Hell or High Water. Nope, he’s not nominated, but he should’ve been. Fantastic performance from a very underrated actor. I’d also throw in John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane because I feel like it.

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis (Fences)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Who’s going to win? Viola Davis. She cries super hard, and doesn’t wipe her nose for like 24 minutes straight.

Who should win? Angourie Rice! Yeah, I know, she’s not nominated either. The kid was hilarious in The Nice Guys, and held her own acting alongside Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe. Out of the ones nominated, Michelle Williams crushed it in just a few scenes.

Best Actor

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Who’s going to win? Casey Affleck. He’s played variations of this tortured soul before, and he’s perfect for the role. Denzel Washington could swoop in, and it wouldn’t exactly be a wrong decision.

Who should win? See above.

Best Actress

Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Who’s going to win? Emma Stone. She gives a tremendous performance in a film that caught fire.

Who should win? Molly Shannon in Other People. Yes, Molly Shannon from SNL, gives a tremendous performance in this Indie film.

Best Editing

Tom Cross (La La Land)

John Gilbert (Hacksaw Ridge)

Joe Walker (Arrival)

Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders (Moonlight)

Jake Roberts (Hell or High Water)

Who’s going to win? Tom Cross.

Who should win? I’ll be happy if one of these three win: Tom Cross, John Gilbert, or Joe Walker.

Best Original Screenplay

Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water)

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou (The Lobster)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Mike Mills (20th Century Women)

Who’s going to win? Damien Chazelle. La La Land seems to be a juggernaut of a film in this awards season, so I’m guessing Chazelle takes it.

Who should win? Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou. I just want to see whoever is presenting the award try to pronounce those names. In all seriousness, the script for The Lobster is the most original of the bunch.

Best Director

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Hacksaw Ridge (Mel Gibson)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Who’s going to win? This is a toss up between Barry Jenkins and Damien Chazelle, but I have been known to be wrong before. I’m going to go with Barry Jenkins, so it doesn’t seem like the La La Land awards.

Who should win? Denis Villeneuve. Arrival is a wonderfully directed film that tells an amazing story with a message with need to hear.

Best Picture

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Lion 

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Who’s going to win? La La Land. Because La La Land. Moonlight has a slight chance to pull off the upset.

Who should win? La La Land has been hyped up to the moon, and it’s been labeled “overrated,” which is typical. It started with buzz at film festivals, slowly rolled out with a limited release, and then had a wide release closer to Christmas 2016. Will it be just as enthralling several years from now after the Oscar buzz? Judging from the quality of the film alone, yes, and that’s all that matters. I’d say it’s a tie between La La Land and Arrival.

 

In case you need a recap…

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