OSCAR WATCH 2014

OSCAR WATCH 2014

It has been another stellar year at the movies with so many truly remarkable films.  It has also been a very divided year on which films people are drawn to and which leave them cold.  I have listened to friends who have both hated and loved films like Her and The Wolf of Wall Street.  I was not as partial to Dallas Buyers Club like others happen to be.  I have watched all of the best picture nominees at least two or three times and have watched more nominated films overall this year than I have in the recent past.  I missed out on the majority of the short films, animated films, and foreign films.  I stayed pretty focused on the documentaries as we got down to the wire.  Here are all of my FINAL predictions on who WILL, SHOULD, and COULD go home with some Oscar love this year.

BEST PICTURE
1. 12 Years a Slave
2. American Hustle
3. Captain Phillips
4. Dallas Buyers Club
5. Gravity
6. Her
7. Nebraska
8. Philomena
9. The Wolf of Wall Street

WILL WIN: Gravity. Gravity and 12 Years a Slave have been neck to neck in this race for the past few months. They both tied at the Producers Guild Awards, so it really is a toss-up.  12 Years a Slave is the safe bet and is the kind of movie the Academy loves.  Up until March 1, I would have picked that as the winner.  As of now, I am placing Gravity slightly ahead as I think the "surprise" win of the night could likely fall in this category.
SHOULD WIN: Gravity A truly remarkable film that is a stunning technical achievement and is the true definition of what going to the movies is all about.
COULD WIN: 12 Years a Slave

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
3. Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
3. Alexander Payne, Nebraska
4. David O. Russell, American Hustle
5. Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

WILL WIN: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
SHOULD WIN: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
COULD WIN: Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

BEST ACTOR
1. Christian Bale, American Hustle
2. Bruce Dern, Nebraska
3. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
4. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
5. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

WILL WIN: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club. He has had so much momentum with both the Golden Globe and SAG wins, plus his other performances of the year and his work on HBO's "True Detective" make him stand out a bit more over his competition.
SHOULD WIN: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave or Bruce Dern, Nebraska
COULD WIN: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

BEST ACTRESS
1. Amy Adams, American Hustle
2. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
3. Sandra Bullock, Gravity
4. Judi Dench, Philomena
5. Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

WILL WIN: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
SHOULD WIN: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
COULD WIN: no one else.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
2. Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
3. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
4. Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
5. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

WILL WIN: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
SHOULD WIN: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
COULD WIN: no one else.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
2. Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
3. Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
4. Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
5. June Squibb, Nebraska

WILL WIN: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
SHOULD WIN: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
COULD WIN: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

BEST EDITING
1. Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave
2. Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alan Baumgartner, American Hustle
3. Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips
4. John MacMurphy, Martin Pensa, Dallas Buyers Club
5. Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity

WILL WIN: Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity
SHOULD WIN: Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity
COULD WIN: Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle
2. Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
3. Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club
4. Spike Jonze, Her
5. Bob Nelson, Nebraska

WILL WIN: Spike Jonze, Her
SHOULD WIN: Spike Jonze, Her
COULD WIN: Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
2. Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
3. Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
4. Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena
5. Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

WILL WIN: John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
SHOULD WIN: John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
COULD WIN: Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
1. The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium
2. The Great Beauty, Italy
3. The Hunt, Denmark
4. The Missing Picture, Cambodia
5. Omar, Palestine

WILL WIN: The Great Beauty, Italy
SHOULD WIN: The Great Beauty, Italy. This is the only nominee I have seen.
COULD WIN: The Hunt, Denmark

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Phillip Le Sourd, The Grandmaster
2. Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
3. Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
4. Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
5. Roger Deakins, Prisoners

WILL WIN: Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
SHOULD WIN: Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
COULD WIN: No one else. Sadly to say, Roger Deakins will go home empty handed again.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
1. Adam Stochausen and Alice Baker, 12 Years a Slave
2. Jody Becker, Heather Loeffler, American Hustle
3. Catherine Martin and Beverly Dunn, The Great Gatsby
4. Andy Nicholson and Rosie Goodwin, Gravity
5. K.K. Barrett, Gene Serdena, Her

WILL WIN: Catherine Martin and Beverly Dunn, The Great Gatsby. For a poor movie, Martin and Dunn have actually been the favorite in this category.
SHOULD WIN: K.K. Barrett, Gene Serdena, Her or Andy Nicholson and Rose Goodwin, Gravity
COULD WIN: Andy Nicholson and Rose Goodwin, Gravity

BEST SOUND MIXING
1. Captain Phillips
2. Gravity
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
4. Inside Llewyn Davis
5. Lone Survivor

WILL WIN: Gravity
SHOULD WIN: Gravity
COULD WIN: Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST SOUND EDITING
1. All is Lost
2. Captain Phillips
3. Gravity
4. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
5. Lone Survivor

WILL WIN: Gravity
SHOULD WIN: Gravity
COULD WIN: No one else.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
1. Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave
2. Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle
3. William Chang Suk Pink, The Grandmaster
4. Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby
5. Michael O'Connor, The Invisible Woman

WILL WIN: Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle. Another tough category as I think this could go one of three ways. Wilkinson has the edge as the costumes are a highlight and the movie is a crowd-pleaser, unlike The Great Gatsby.
SHOULD WIN: Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave.
COULD WIN: Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby. Don't be surprised if you hear her name. Another favorite in this category despite the movie being sub par.

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
1. Dallas Buyers Club
2. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
3. The Lone Ranger

WILL WIN: Dallas Buyers Club
SHOULD WIN: Dallas Buyers Club
COULD WIN: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, but I highly doubt it.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
1. John Williams, The Book Thief
2. Steven Price, Gravity
3. William Butler, Owen Pallett, Her
4. Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
5. Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks

WILL WIN: Steven Price, Gravity. Price's score is one of the reason's why the film is so stressful!
SHOULD WIN: Steven Price, Gravity
COULD WIN: Alexandre Desplat, Philomena . Desplat is an Oscar favorite

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
1. "Happy" from Despicable Me 2
2. "Let It Go" from Frozen
3. "The Moon Song" from Her
4. "Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

WILL WIN: "Let it Go" from Frozen. Everyone loves this song and the movie, plus it has a great message.
SHOULD WIN: "Let it Go" from Frozen.
COULD WIN: "Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
1. 20 Feet from Stardom
2. The Act of Killing
3. Cutie and the Boxer
4. Dirty Wars
5. The Square

WILL WIN: The Act of Killing
SHOULD WIN: 20 Feet from Stardom. I haven't seen The Act of Killing at this time.
COULD WIN: 20 Feet from Stardom

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
1. CaveDigger
2. Facing Fear
3. Karama Has No Walls
4. The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
5. Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

WILL WIN: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
SHOULD WIN: I haven't seen any of the nominees. Sorry!
COULD WIN: Karama Has No Walls

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
1. Aquel No Era Yo
2. Avant Que De Tout Pedre
3. Helium 
4. Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? 
5. The Voorman Problem

WILL WIN: The Voorman Problem
SHOULD WIN: Another category where I have missed out on.
COULD WIN: Aquel No Era Yo

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
1. Feral
2. Get a Horse!
3. Mr. Hublot
4. Possessions
5. Room on the Broom

WILL WIN: Get a Horse!
SHOULD WIN: Get a Horse! It's the only nominee I have seen, plus it's Disney!
COULD WIN: Mr. Hublot

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
1. The Croods
2. Despicable Me 2
3. Ernest & Celestine
4. Frozen
5. The Wind Rises

WILL WIN: Frozen
SHOULD WIN: Frozen
COULD WIN: The Wind Rises, Miyazaki's swan song.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Gravity
2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
3. Iron Man 3
4. The Lone Ranger
5. Star Trek Into Darkness

WILL WIN: Gravity
SHOULD WIN: Gravity, OBVIOUSLY
COULD WIN: No one stands a chance