We’re finally done with this Oscar Season! With the decisions that the Academy are making and the constant complaints when it came to two movies nominated for Best Picture, this has been the year everybody has been annoyed with this season. But, the time has finally come to do the final predictions for the upcoming Oscars. Difficult? Indeed.
This is the one year where it doesn’t seem like everything has a clear chance of winning. Most of the awards have gotten different winners, some that weren’t even nominated. There’s really only one lock and the rest could go either way, and the people’s reactions will be split. All 24 categories (which will air) are going to be explained (except two of the short categories).
Will The Favourite win any of its 10 nominations? Will fans get angry if Bohemian Rhapsody wins anything? Does Lady Gaga have a shot of actually winning over Glenn Close? I go down and talk about what’s winning.
Best Picture
Prediction: Roma
There have been three movies that have been considered front-runners for Best Picture: Roma, A Star is Born and Green Book. Personally, Roma really does have a great chance of winning Best Picture, because not only will this be the first Netflix original movie to have possibly won an Oscar, it might just be the first non-English speaking film to ever win Best Picture. Roma is a beautiful and poignant drama that captures the feels. This is gonna be the first black-and-white Best Picture winner since Schindler’s List people might care about (The Artist doesn’t count).
Should and Will Win: Roma
Should’ve Been Nominated: First Man, If Beale Street Could Talk, Eighth Grade
Best Director
Prediction: Alfonso Cuarón- Roma
Cuarón has been dominating this award season and the Mexican filmmaker is sure to take home the prize for the drama that’s based on his personal life. This would be Cuarón’s second Oscar for Best Director after winning his first for Gravity.
Should and Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón- Roma
Should’ve Been Nominated: Bradley Cooper- A Star is Born
Best Actor
Prediction: Rami Maleck- Bohemian Rhapsody
It is a shame that Bradley Cooper hasn’t been winning anything for his terrific performance in A Star is Born. He lost both the Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics’ Choice to Rami Maleck and Christian Bale, respectively. But Maleck really seems to be the one to beat out Bale in what’s considered the toughest Best Actor race in recent memory, and I never thought he was gonna be a real contender back in November. But here we are. I say Maleck will win for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, even if he didn’t sing in his real voice.
Should Win: Bradley Cooper- A Star is Born
Will Win: Rami Maleck- Bohemian Rhapsody
Should’ve Been Nominated: John David Washington- BlacKkKlansman
Best Actress
Prediction: Glenn Close- The Wife
Same with her co-star, Lada Gaga should’ve been the one to really win every award for her performance as Ally in A Star is Born. And yet, the only the time won was as a tie at the Critics’ Choice with Glenn Close. I’m not too happy about this pick because nobody has heard of The Wife. But Close has never won an Oscar, so they’ll just give it to her anyway.
Should Win: Lady Gaga- A Star is Born
Will Win: Glenn Close- The Wife
Should’ve Been Nominated: Elsie Fisher- Eighth Grade
Best Supporting Actor
Prediction: Mahershala Ali- Green Book
This year’s Best Supporting Actor is pretty easy when we already know Mahershala Ali is a clear choice. His performance as Dr. Don Shirly was great and one of the biggest standouts in Green Book. He already won this award for Moonlight two years ago, and it would be accomplished to win it again.
Should Win and Will Win: Mahershala Ali- Green Book
Should’ve Been Nominated: Timothée Chalamet- Beautiful Boy
Best Supporting Actress
Prediction: Regina King- If Beale Street Could Talk
The Best Supporting Actress race has recently been challenging since Regina King was already gonna be winning since she earned a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice. But ever since I saw If Beale Street Could Talk, I knew King was gonna be the frontrunner to beat everyone out.
Should and Will Win: Regina King- If Beale Street Could Talk
Should’ve Been Nominated: Claire Foy- First Man
Best Original Screenplay
Prediction: The Favourite
It was hard last year choosing between Lady Bird and Get Out, and this year isn’t any different when it comes to picking between The Favourite and Green Book. If Green Book wins, some will get angry because of the backlash it caught with the inaccuracies. It did win the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay. But I now think The Favoruite is gonna win based on the fact it on a BAFTA. Its script by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara was pretty clever and was one of my favorite screenplays of the year. Tough call, but I hope The Favourite wins. If Green Book ends up taking it, I won’t complain.
Also, am I the only one who feels like First Reformed‘s nomination is dumb?
Should and Will Win: The Favourite
Should’ve Been Nominated: Eighth Grade
Best Adapted Screenplay
Prediction: BlacKkKlansman
Ever since I saw it back in August, I had a feeling BlacKkKlansman has a good shot at possibly winning Best Adapted Screenplay. Its script it funny, serious and the fact that it’s actually based on a true story is sure enough to make this the first win for Spike Lee, along with co-writers Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Willmott.
Should and Will Win: BlacKkKlansman
Should’ve Been Nominated: The Hate U Give
Best Animated Feature
Prediction: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the one animated that everybody hasn’t stopped talking about ever since it’s been released. And it would be a great thing for this to win Best Animated Feature. It has pretty much cleaned up everything it ‘s been nominated. The only one that might steal it would be Incredibles 2 considering it is from Pixar. If Incredibles 2 actually wins, it would be the Brave win all over again. But it would be fantastic if Into the Spider-Verse took it.
Should and Will Win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best Foreign Language Film
Prediction: Roma
Roma doesn’t seem like the easy choice to win in this category, but it really sounds like everybody has been talking about this more than any other movie nominated. Cold War, which I decided to check out later, could take it in a major upset but Roma has this.
Should and Will Win: Roma
Best Editing
Prediction: Vice
If I had to be honest, the nominations for Editing aren’t doing it for me this year. Vice is the worst movie out of the five nominated since the editing wasn’t all that good. However, it did win a BAFTA, so it kinda persuaded me to pick Vice.
Should Win: The Favourite
Will Win: Vice
Should’ve Been Nominated: First Man
Best Cinematography
Prediction: Roma
Does it seem rare for the director to also be the Director of Photography? Well, it isn’t with Cuarón behind in camera. Roma is the most beautiful looking movie all year. Every black-and-white frame captures the screen with beauty and shot with 65MM to feel like it was actually taking place in the 1970s. Though I’m secretly hoping A Star is Born will win since I believe it was the best looking film all year, I would love to see Roma take Best Cinematography home.
Should Win: A Star is Born
Will Win: Roma
Should’ve Been Nominated: First Man
Best Production Design
Prediction: Black Panther
Hard decision picking between Black Panther and The Favourite. Both have beautiful art direction that feels like its own world. However, I think Black Panther has the edge over The Favourite based on the world-building of Wakanda.
Should Win: The Favourite
Will Win: Black Panther
Should’ve Been Nominated: Crazy Rich Asians
Best Costume Design
Prediction: Black Panther
It’s a difficult decision again choosing between Black Panther and The Favourite. But I have to pick Black Panther because of the colorful costume work by Ruth E. Carter brought so much to the look of Wakanda that reminds one of the most memorable elements of the film.
Should and Will Win: Black Panther
Should’ve Been Nominated: Crazy Rich Asians
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Prediction: Vice
There’s no real competition since the actors playing their political counterparts look nearly alike. Vice is the clear winner.
Should and Will Win: Vice
Best Visual Effects
Prediction: Avengers: Infinity War
You’d be shocked to learn that an MCU movie has never won an Oscar. Almost most of them have been nominated for Visual Effects but never won. Avengers: Infinity War has a chance to be the first. Every detail from the motion-capture performance of Thanos and all of the action sequences just looks amazing.
Should Win: Avengers: Infinity War
Will Win: Avengers: Infinity War
Best Sound Mixing
Prediction: Bohemian Rhapsody
The sound categories are always the toughest to pick from just based on what movie is nominated. But if I learned anything from past winners, the Academy usually goes for movies based around music. It’s a close call between A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody, so now believe Bohemian Rhapsody will win. And it’s gonna be another win for the Queen biopic that people will get a hissy fit over.
Should Win: A Star is Born
Will Win: Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Sound Editing
Prediction: Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man really needs a win in either sound category. But it could look like another win for Bohemian Rhapsody. Why? I personally think because of the Live-Aid sequence, which is amazing. Looks to be another year where both sound awards are the same film.
Should Win: First Man
Will Win: Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Original Score
Prediction: Nicholas Britell- If Beale Street Could Talk
All five movies nominated for Best Original Score are excellent, even if I believe the score for Mary Poppins Returns is the weakest. But I do feel that Nicholas Britell’s melancholic score for If Beale Street Could Talk should win. Used at the best moments throughout the film, it’s the one that I personally remember the most and it should be deserving of this award.
Should and Will Win: Nicholas Britell- If Beale Street Could Talk
Should’ve Been Nominated: Justin Hurtwitz- First Man
Best Original Song
Prediction: “Shallow”- A Star is Born
Did you really expect another song to beat out “Shallow”? This is already gonna win when it was first heard in the trailer. And since Lady Gaga is gonna lose Best Actress, at least we will finally get to see her win an Oscar for something else.
Should and Will Win: “Shallow”- A Star is Born
Should’ve Been Nominated: “Suspirium”- Suspiria
Best Documentary
Prediction: Free Solo
Since Won’t You Be My Neighbor? got completely ignored, chances are that Free Solo will win for Documentary. Haven’t seen any of the documentaries nominated, but Free Solo is one that I’m willing to check out when it’s on Blu-Ray. Critics’ have been praising this ambitious tale of Alex Honnold and how sweeping it turned out to be.
Should and Will Win: Free Solo
Should’ve Been Nominated: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Best Documentary- Short Subject
Prediction: Black Sheep
Best Animated Short
Prediction: Bao
Bao is the only animated short I’ve seen because it played before Incredibles 2. That being said, I loved this short. I wasn’t one of the few people who was confused by it when it ended. It’s touching and it was unexpectedly emotional. Usually, when a Pixar short is nominated, I always pick it as a safe bet.
Best Live-Action Short
Prediction: Marguerite
Final Predictions for the 91st Academy Awards:
Best Picture: Roma
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón- Roma
Best Actor: Rami Maleck- Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Actress: Glenn Close- The Wife
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali- Green Book
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King- If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Original Screenplay: The Favourite
Best Adapted Screenplay: BlacKkKlansman
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best Foreign Language Film: Roma
Best Editing: Vice
Best Cinematography: Roma
Best Production Design: Black Panther
Best Costume Design: Black Panther
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Vice
Best Visual Effects: Avengers: Infinity War
Best Sound Mixing: Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Sound Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Original Score: Nicholas Britell- If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Original Song: “Shallow”- A Star is Born
Best Documentary: Free Solo
Best Documentary- Short Subject: Black Sheep
Best Animated Short: Bao
Best Live-Action Short: Marguerite
DC's Take 