85th Academy Awards Predictions

I won't be going through every category because either A.) I'm not big on the subject (like Sound Mixing/Editing) or B.) I haven't seen any of the films in that category (Foreign Films). Heck, sometimes it might be both. So, let's get started...

BEST FILM

Nominees:


*Argo

*Amour

*Beasts of the Southern Wild

*Django Unchained

*Les Miserables

*Life of Pi

*Lincoln

*Silver Linings Playbook

*Zero Dark Thirty

My pick- Argo

There's certainly a strong list of candidates this year, but considering that Argo's winning almost every major 'Best Picture' award across the awards circuit, I won't be surprised if it earns another 'Best Picture' award this Sunday. This will also hopefully make up for the Academy snubbing Ben Affleck for Best Director. For runner-up, I'm going with 'Silver Linings Playbook' and in third, 'Les Miserables'.

BEST DIRECTOR
 

Nominees:

*Michael Haneke (Amour)

*Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

*David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

*Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

*Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

My pick (if he was actually nominated)- Ben Affleck (Argo)

 

But of course he wasn't, so moving on...

 

My actual pick- David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)





 

For me, it was either Spielberg or Russell and while Spielberg definitely did a good job with Lincoln, I think this one belongs to Russell. Not only will it serve as redemption for Russell after his 'on-set' incidents with George Clooney on 'Three Kings' and Lily Tomlin on 'I Heart Huckabees', but this film also means a lot to Russell (his son is a student at a special education school, which connects to the main character Pat who suffers from bipolar disorder) so I'm giving my vote to him.

BEST ACTOR

Nominees:

*Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

*Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)

*Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)

*Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)

*Denzel Washington (Flight)

My pick- Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)



This was actually the hardest category to choose from this year. For me, it was a three-way battle between Daniel Day-Lewis, Bradley Cooper, and Hugh Jackman. In the end, I decided to go with Day-Lewis and not because he's won the award two times already. Day-Lewis is seriously one of the best actors working today and there's no denying that he did a fantastic job as President Lincoln. I'm also in support of Hugh Jackman for 'Les Miserables' but ultimately Day-Lewis edged him out in my opinion.

BEST ACTRESS

 

Nominees:

 

*Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

*Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

*Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

*Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

*Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)

 

My pick- Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)



In another close race, it comes down to Lawrence and Chastain. Chastain did a fantastic job in 'Zero Dark Thirty', especially when considering she's pretty much the only major character in the film. But Jennifer Lawrence also did a fantastic job in 'Silver Linings Playbook'. She had great chemistry with Bradley Cooper and held her own against an acting legend like Robert De Niro. Even if she doesn't end up winning this Sunday, I'm pretty sure this won't be the last time Lawrence will be up for this award.

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nominees:

 

*Alan Arkin (Argo)

*Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)

*Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

*Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)

*Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

 

My pick- Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

 



Despite the fact that one major performance was snubbed this year (no love for Leonardo DiCaprio?), this is a really stacked group of nominees but in the end, my pick is for DiCaprio's Django co-star, Christoph Waltz, who gave an equally as good, if not better, performance in the film as bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz.

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees:

*Amy Adams (The Master)

*Sally Field (Lincoln)

*Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

*Helen Hunt (The Sessions)

*Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

My pick- Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)



No contest here, she stole the film in just 10 minutes of screen-time.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Nominees:

 

*Amour

*Django Unchained

*Flight

*Moonrise Kingdom

*Zero Dark Thirty

My pick- Django Unchained



It's about time the Academy recognizes Tarantino for his excellent screenplays.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Nominees:

*Argo

*Lincoln

*Beasts of the Southern Wild

*Life of Pi

*Silver Linings Playbook

 

My pick- Silver Linings Playbook



Mostly because of Russell's witty screenplay that perfectly balanced humor and drama.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Nominees:

*Paranorman

*Brave

*Frankenweenie

*The Pirates! Band of Misfits

*Wreck-it Ralph

My pick- Wreck-it Ralph



I was surprised that Brave won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature because it really wasn't their best effort, or the best Animated film of the year for that matter. Wreck-it Ralph, on the other hand, is a terrific film, and I'm not just saying this because I'm a gamer. Wreck-it Ralph is more than just a video game film. It's a creative film with an endearing story that can appeal to everyone, not just gamers.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Nominees:

*Adam and Dog

*Fresh Guacamole

*Head over Heels

*Paperman

*The Longest Daycare

My pick- Paperman



While I haven't seen all of the nominees in this category, I have seen Paperman and I will be genuinely surprised if doesn't go home with the gold. Paperman is just a beautiful short in terms of both animation and story. For runner-up, I'm going with Fresh Guacamole because it does something very unique with such a simple premise that I don't want to spoil it here. I'll provide a link to it at the end so you can see it for yourself. (UPDATE: The video on YouTube has since become private)

 

BEST SCORE

Nominees:

*Dario Marianelli (Anna Karenina)

*Alexandre Desplat (Argo)

*Mychael Danna (Life of Pi)

*John Williams (Lincoln)

*Thomas Newman (Skyfall)

My pick- Thomas Newman (Skyfall)



While John Williams always turns out great scores, evident once again in Lincoln, and Argo had a really beautiful melody at the end, titled 'Cleared Iranian Airspace', I give my vote to Thomas Newman's work for James Bond.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Nominees:

 

*'Before My Time' (Chasing Ice)

*'Skyfall' (Skyfall)

*'Everybody Needs a Best Friend' (Ted)

*'Suddenly' (Les Miserables)

*'Pi's Lullaby' (Life of Pi)

 

My pick- Skyfall



Again, no contest here. One of the best Bond theme songs of all time.

 

And those are my picks for the Oscars. Who will win this Sunday? You're just going to have to tune in to find out.

 

Fresh Guacamole: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQMO6vjmkyI