Me, Popcorn and the Oscars: Final Oscar Predictions

Best Picture

1. Arrival
2. Fences
3. Hacksaw Ridge
4. Hell or High Water
5. Hidden Figures
6. La La Land
7. Lion
8. Manchester by the Sea
9. Moonlight

• Who should win? La La Land
• Who I want to win? Arrival
  
• Who will win? La La Land. OR, Moonlight might come in, and seduce everyone with their black cast and the gay themes and the drugs. The Oscars do love all that, especially to prove the point that they are not “so white”.  Which sadly, even with a story about Jazz, La La Land is (a very white story). The only thing La La Land could’ve done better was to change Ryan Gosling for a black guy.
• Which was the biggest snub? Silence.

Best Director

1. Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”)
2. Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”)
3. Kenneth Lonergan (“Manchester by the Sea”)
4. Mel Gibson (“Hacksaw Ridge”)
5. Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival”)

• Who should win? Denis Villeneuve or Damien Chazelle
• Who I want to win? Denis Villeneuve
  Who will win? Damien Chazelle
• Which was the biggest snub? Tom Ford (“Nocturnal Animals”).

Best Actor

1. Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”)
2. Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”)
3. Ryan Gosling (“La La Land”)
4. Denzel Washington (“Fences”)
5. Viggo Mortensen (“Captain Fantastic”)

• Who should win? Casey-Andrew-Denzel
• Who I want to win? Casey Affleck
  
• Who will win? Casey Affleck (although Denzel Washington could steal this one from him if the Oscars go full-on black love)
• Which was the biggest snub? Colin Ferrel (“The Lobster”)

Best Actress

1. Meryl Streep (“Florence Foster Jenkins”)
2. Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”)
3. Natalie Portman (“Jackie”)
4. Emma Stone (“La La Land”)
5. Ruth Negga (“Loving”)

• Who should win? Natalie Portman (she won’t because last time she was nominated she won, and this performance or movie isn’t that great for two wins in a row). Also, Isabelle Huppert was great.
• Who I want to win? Ruth Negga or Isabelle Huppert.
  
• Who will win? If the Oscars move past Isabelle Huppert’s nationality, she’ll win. If the Oscars forget Emma’s age, she might pull a Jennifer Lawrence and win one before her thirties. Or if the Oscars go full-on black love, then Ruth Negga.
• Which was the biggest snub? Amy Adams was the biggest snub this year. Period. Also, Annette Bening.

Best Supporting Actor

1. Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”)
2. Jeff Bridges (“Hell or High Water”)
3. Lucas Hedges (“Manchester by the Sea”)
4. Dev Patel (“Lion”)
5. Michael Shannon (“Nocturnal Animals”)

• Who should win? No one. But probably Dev Patel’s performance was the best.
• Who I want to win?  Michael Shannon.
  Who will win? Mahershala Ali
• Which was the biggest snub? Everyone that wasn’t nominated and should’ve been.

Best Supporting Actress

1. Viola Davis (“Fences”)
2. Naomie Harris (“Moonlight”)
3. Nicole Kidman (“Lion”)
4. Octavia Spencer (“Hidden Figures”)
5. Michelle Williams (“Manchester By the Sea”)

• Who should win? Viola Davis or Michelle Williams
• Who I want to win? Either one of them.
  Who will win? Viola Davis
• Which was the biggest snub? Felicity Jones, but not really.

Best Original Screenplay

1. “20th Century Women” (Mike Mills)
2. “The Lobster” (Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos)
3. “La La Land” (Damien Chazelle)
4. “Manchester by the Sea” (Kenneth Lonergan)
5. “Hell or High Water” (Taylor Sheridan)

• Who should win?  The Lobster.
• Who I want to win? 20th Century Woman.
  Who will win? Manchester by the Sea.
• Which was the biggest snub? Jackie.

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. “Arrival” (Eric Heisserer)
2. “Fences” (August Wilson)
3. “Hidden Figures” (Allison Schroeder & Theodore Melfi)
4. “Lion” (Luke Davies)
5. “Moonlight” (Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney)

• Who should win? Arrival.
• Who I want to win? Arrival.
  Who will win? Moonlight.
• Which was the biggest snub? Nocturnal Animals

Best Animated Feature

1. “The Red Turtle”
2. “Kubo and the Two Strings”
3. “Moana”
4. “My Life as a Zucchini”
5. “Zootopia”

• Who should win? Kubo and the Two Strings
• Who I want to win? Kubo and the Two Strings
  Who will win? Zootopia or Kubo and the Two Strings
• Which was the biggest snub? Sing.

Best Cinematography

1. “Lion”
2. “Moonlight”
3. “Silence”
4. “La La Land”
5. “Arrival”

• Who should win?  Arrival or Silence.
• Who I want to win? Arrival.
  
• Who will win? La La Land.
• Which was the biggest snub? Manchester by the Sea

Best Original Song

1. “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (Justin Timberlake, “Trolls”)
2. “City of Stars” (Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”)
3. “How Far I’ll Go” (Auli’i Cravalho, “Moana”)
4. “Audition” (Emma Stone, “La La Land”)
5. “The Empty Chair” (By J. Ralph & Sting, “Jim: The James Foley Story”)

• Who should win? City of Stars
• Who I want to win? Audition
  
• Who will win? City of Stars
• Which was the biggest snub? Never Give Up, Sia “Lion”

Best Foreign Language Film

1. “Land of Mine” (Denmark)
2. “Tanna” (Netherlands)
3. “A Man Called Ove” (Sweden)
4. “The Salesman” (Iran)
5. “Toni Erdmann” (Germany)

• Who should win?  Toni Erdmann
• Who I want to win? The Salesman
  Who will win? Toni Erdmann
• Which was the biggest snub? The Handmaiden

Me, Popcorn and The Oscars: The Oscars 2017 Final Nomination Predictions

I promised a nomination prediction a couple of days before the Oscars announced their nominations, and here it is. I have found that most people don’t really know or care about nominations like “Best Sound Mixing” and “Best Production Design”, and because I don’t know much about that either, I have limited my predictions to the bigger awards. I hope nobody minds this. If you do, there are a lot of other predictions you could read.

Best Picture (First set of five)

• La La Land
• Manchester by the Sea
• Moonlight
• Arrival
• Hacksaw Ridge

Best Picture (Second set of five; in the case that the Academy chooses—like in previous years—to nominate more than five)

• Fences
• Hell or High Water
• Nocturnal Animals
• Silence
• 20th Century Women
• Hidden Figures

Best Director

• Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”)
• Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”)
• Kenneth Lonergan (“Manchester by the Sea”)
• Tom Ford (“Nocturnal Animals”)
• Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival”)

Best Actor

• Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”)
• Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”)
• Ryan Gosling (“La La Land”)
• Denzel Washington (“Fences”)
• Colin Farrel (“The Lobster)

Best Actress

• Amy Adams (“Arrival”)
• Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”)
• Natalie Portman (“Jackie”)
• Emma Stone (“La La Land”)
• Annette Bening (“20th Century Women”)

Best Supporting Actor

• Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”)
• Jeff Bridges (“Hell or High Water”)
• Hugh Grant (“Florence Foster Jenkins”)
• Michael Shannon (“Nocturnal Animals”)
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Nocturnal Animals”)

Best Supporting Actress

• Viola Davis (“Fences”)
• Naomie Harris (“Moonlight”)
• Nicole Kidman (“Lion”)
• Felicity Jones (“A Monster Calls”)
• Michelle Williams (“Manchester By the Sea”)

Best Original Screenplay

• “20th Century Women” (Mike Mills)
• “The Lobster” (Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos)
• “La La Land” (Damien Chazelle)
• “Manchester by the Sea” (Kenneth Lonergan)
• “Jackie” (Noah Oppenheim)

Best Adapted Screenplay

• “Arrival” (Eric Heisserer)
• “Fences” (August Wilson)
• “Loving” (Jeff Nichols)
• “Nocturnal Animals” (Tom Ford)
• “Moonlight” (Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney)

Best Animated Feature

• “Finding Dory” (Pixar/Disney)
• “Kubo and the Two Strings” (Focus Features)
• “Moana” (Disney)
• “My Life as a Zucchini” (Gkids)
• “Zootopia” (Disney)

Best Original Song

• “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (Justin Timberlake, “Trolls”)
• “City of Stars” (Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”)
• “How Far I’ll Go” (Auli’i Cravalho, “Moana”)
• “Faith” (Stevie Wonder, “Sing”)
• “Never Give Up” (Sia, “Lion”)

Best Foreign Language Film

• The Handmaiden (South Korea)
• “It’s Only the End of the World” (Canada)
• “A Man Called Ove” (Sweden)
• “The Salesman” (Iran)
• “Toni Erdmann” (Germany)