The 87th annual Academy Awards will be handed out this Sunday evening, and if all goes as expected then director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Broadway comedy-drama hybrid Birdman will likely walk away with the majority of the awards. Based on recent victories with the Producers Guild (PGA), the Directors Guild (DGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), it’s hard to imagine a scenario where it doesn’t emerge victorious, at least as far as Best Picture is concerned, the other seven nominees more or less along for the ride and little else.
Or are they? There are some interesting and intriguing wrinkles which could throw the evening into chaos. Richard Linklater’s 12-years-in-the-making Boyhood has won the majority of the awards up to this point, dominating with critics groups, taking home the BAFTA [British Academy of Film and Television Arts] and coming out on top as far the Golden Globes were concerned. Then there is Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper. With over $300-million in ticket sales it’s easily the box office titan as far as this awards season is concerned. While Hollywood likes to talk about how money isn’t the end all-be all that kind of cash can lead voters to take a second look at the picture, and if that’s the case the chances for it to pull an upset aren’t as extreme as some might think.
As for the remainder of the nominees, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash and Selma, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where any of them could sneak their way to victory. But with the Academy’s preferential voting system, anything, I guess, is possible, and if Birdman and Boyhood split votes down the middle, and any one of those titles is listed third on a majority of ballots, then be prepared for a shock. If this scenario were to come comes to pass, what then? My money would be on quiet, lonely two-nomination Selma, because imagining a typical Academy member ballot where it was listed any lower than third is incredibly difficult to do.
What about the rest of the night? Will Julianne Moore finally nab an Oscar? Can Studio Ghibli and their latest hand-drawn stunner The Tale of the Princess Kaguya defeat the big guns from Disney (Big Hero 6) and DreamWorks (How to Train Your Dragon 2)? Is Patricia Arquette going to continue her Best Supporting Actress dominance, or will rising young starlet Emma Stone come out of nowhere to nab victory? And what about the showdown between Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne? Who’s going to take the crown as far as their Best Actor battle royale is concerned?
The answers to these questions and more will all be revealed during the live ceremony hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. The following are my predictions as to which films and performances I believe will take home the Oscar. Whether I’m right or not, well, you’ll just have to tune in at 4 p.m. on Sunday like the rest of the world in order to find out.
Nominees – American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash
Will Win – Birdman
Should Win – Boyhood
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees – Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman), Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
Will Win – Iñárritu
Should Win – Linklater
BEST ACTOR
Nominees – Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Will Win – Redmayne
Should Win – Keaton
BEST ACTRESS
Nominees – Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Will Win – Moore
Should Win – Jones
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nominees – Robert Duvall (The Judge), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Edward Norton (Birdman), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Will Win – Simmons
Should Win – Ruffalo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees – Patricia Arquette (Birdman), Laura Dern (Wild), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), Emma Stone (Birdman), Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
Will Win – Arquette
Should Win – Arquette
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nominees – American Sniper, The Imitation Game, Inherent Vice, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash
Will Win – Whiplash
Should Win – The Theory of Everything
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Nominees – Birdman, Boyhood, Foxcatcher, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Nightcrawler
Will Win – Birdman
Should Win – The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Nominees – Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Will Win – How to Train Your Dragon 2
Should Win – The Boxtrolls
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Nominees – CitizenFour, Finding Vivian Maier, Last Days in Vietnam, The Salt of the Earth, Virunga
Will Win – Citizen Four
Should Win – Virunga
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Nominees – Ida, Leviathan, Tangerines, Timbuktu, Wild Tales
Will Win – Ida
Should Win – Leviathan
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nominees – Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Ida, Mr. Turner, Unbroken
Will Win – Birdman
Should Win – Birdman
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Nominees – The Grand Budapest Hotel, Inherent Vice, Into the Woods, Maleficent, Mr. Turner
Will Win – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Should Win – Inherent Vice
BEST EDITING
Nominees – American Sniper, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Whiplash
Will Win – Boyhood
Should Win – American Sniper
BEST MAKEUP / HAIRSTYLING
Nominees – Foxcatcher, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Guardians of the Galaxy
Will Win – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Should Win – The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Nominees – The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Interstellar, Mr. Turner, The Theory of Everything
Will Win – The Theory of Everything
Should Win – The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Nominees – “Everything is Awesome” (The LEGO Movie), “Glory” (Selma), “Grateful” (Beyond the Lights), “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” (Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me), “Lost Stars” (Begin Again)
Will Win – “Glory”
Should Win – “Lost Stars”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Nominees – The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Interstellar, Into the Woods, Mr. Turner
Will Win – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Should Win – The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST SOUND EDITING
Nominees – American Sniper, Birdman, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Interstellar, Unbroken
Will Win – American Sniper
Should Win – Birdman
BEST SOUND MIXING
Nominees – American Sniper, Birdman, Interstellar, Unbroken, Whiplash
Will Win – American Sniper
Should Win – Whiplash
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Nominees – Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Guardians of the Galaxy, Interstellar, X-Men: Days of Future Past
Will Win – Interstellar
Should Win – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Nominees – The Bigger Picture, The Dam Keeper, Feast, Me and Moulton, A Single Life
Will Win – The Dam Keeper
Should Win – The Dam Keeper
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Nominees – Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Joanna, Our Curse, The Reaper (La Parka), White Earth
Will Win – Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Should Win – The Reaper (La Parka)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Nominees – Aya, Boogaloo and Graham, Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak), Parvaneh, The Phone Call
Will Win – Boogaloo and Graham
Should Win – The Phone Call
- Portions of this article reprinted courtesy of the SGN in Seattle and Movie Freak-
No comments:
Post a Comment