The 87th annual Academy Awards will be held tonight in Los Angeles. If you want to get a perfect score on your Oscar ballot at a party this year, look no further: here are the presumptive winners at this year’s awards, as well as the nominees that would be taking home the statue in a perfect world.
Best Picture Nominees:
American Sniper
Boyhood
Birdman
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
The Theory of Everything
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Selma
Will win: Boyhood
Although Birdman has presented tough opposition in precursor awards, I’m still expecting the ingenuity of the former to be too irresistible to the Academy. Really, though, it could ultimately go either way, so fill out your ballots accordingly.
Should win: Birdman
Daring, beautiful and original. It’s my favorite movie of the year but it does have its fair share of detractors, so we’ll just have to wait and see which way the Oscars go this year. I certainly wouldn’t mind if Selma was able to pull off a surprise win, either.
Should have been nominated: Gone Girl & Nightcrawler
Best Actor Nominees:
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Will win: Eddie Redmayne
This is the only acting category that hasn’t been a lock for months. Michael Keaton is Redmayne’s biggest competitor, but I’ll give Redmayne the edge after his SAG win (many SAG voters also vote for the Oscars).
Should win: Eddie Redmayne
Although The Theory of Everything was relatively average as a whole, Redmayne was truly transformative as Stephen Hawking. I also loved Michael Keaton’s performance in Birdman, but he loses some points for essentially playing himself.
Should have been nominated: David Oyelewo (Selma), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Best Actress Nominees:
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Will win: Julianne Moore
Critical consensus says Moore has had this category locked up since her Alzheimer’s drama Still Alice premiered in September. Moore is a revered actress who has never won an Oscar, and she’s playing a woman with a debilitating disease. An easy win.
Should win: Rosamund Pike
Pike gave a, literally, scary good performance in Gone Girl, but sadly it looks like she will be going home empty handed. Amy Dunne would not be happy.
Should have been nominated: Anne Dorval (Mommy)
Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Emma Stone, Birdman
Laura Dern, Wild
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Will win: Patricia Arquette
Again, this has been pretty much decided for months. Arquette had some standout scenes, but the enormity of the project is mostly what she will be awarded for. Too bad she’ll have to go back to work on CSI: Cyber right after the ceremony.
Should win: Emma Stone
Stone and her massive eyes were the heart and soul of Birdman, and the scene where she finally snaps at her father is one of the best of the year. Still, I’m sure Stone will have plenty more opportunities to take home an Oscar in later years.
Should have been nominated: Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year), Suzanne Clement (Mommy), Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer)
Best Supporting Actor Nominees:
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Will win: J.K. Simmons
Easily the most deserved inevitable win of the night. Simmons took a flashy, yet potentially one dimensional, character and made him the most fascinating character study of the year.
Should win: J.K. Simmons
Should have been nominated: Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice)
Best Director Nominees:
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Will win: Alejandro Iñárritu
If Boyhood wins Best Picture, Iñárritu will win director, and vice versa. Everyone nominated did admittedly great work (except Morten Tyldum, whoever that is), so it will be hard for this category to go wrong.
Should win: Alejandro Iñárritu
Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki did some of the most fresh, innovative filmmaking I’ve seen in ages. In a perfect world this wouldn’t even been debatable.
Should have been nominated: Ava DuVernay (Selma), Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)
Now that you have your ballot in place, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the ceremony.