It’s that time! At long last, the nominations for this year’s Oscars are here! What groundbreaking films are going to be honored? What brave performances will be awarded? Which documentary did no one watch? All of these questions were percolating in my mind as I read through the nominations this past Tuesday.
Upon seeing said nominations, I have to admit, I was disappointed and shocked that the Academy completely shut out what I think was the best movie of the year, “Eighth Grade.” No nominations for the film, nor director Bo Burnham, nor lead actress Elsie Fisher. Absolutely shameful.
But, since last year I went through the nominations pretty thoroughly, I wanted to mix it up this year–instead of doing that, I will be predicting all the winners for you. Am I qualified to do this? Not really. Have I even seen all these movies? Big no. But will it be entertaining? Heck yeah.
Best Picture Nominees:
- “Black Panther”
- “BlacKkKlansman”
- “Bohemian Rhapsody”
- “The Favourite”
- “Green Book”
- “Roma”
- “A Star Is Born”
- “Vice”
Grace’s Prediction: “A Star is Born”
A Thought: So we’ve got three movies about the black experience, one movie about the Mexican experience, and then four movies about being in the spotlight. Interesting.
Lead Actor:
- Christian Bale, “Vice”
- Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
- Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
- Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
- Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
Grace’s Prediction: Rami Malek
A Thought: Everyone except Rami Malek, who has Egyptian parents, is white.
Lead Actress:
- Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
- Glenn Close, “The Wife”
- Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
- Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
- Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Grace’s Prediction: Lady Gaga
A Thought: Everhone except Yalitza Aparicio, who is Hispanic, is white.
Supporting Actor:
- Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
- Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
- Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
- Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
- Sam Rockwell, “Vice”
Grace’s Prediction: Mahershala Ali
A Thought: Everyone except Mahershala Ali, who is black, is white.
Supporting Actress:
- Amy Adams, “Vice”
- Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
- Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
- Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
- Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”
Grace’s Prediction: Marina de Tavira
A Thought: Well, at least in this category we have both Regina King, who is black, and Marina de Tavira, who is Hispanic. But everyone else is white.
Director:
- Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
- Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
- Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
- Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
- Adam McKay, “Vice”
Grace’s Prediction: Yorgos Lanthimos
A Thought: A better amount of ethnic diversity–Spike Lee is black, Yorgos Lanthimos is Greek, and Alfonso Cuaron is Hispanic–and yet, these are all men.
Animated Feature:
- “Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
- “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
- “Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
- “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
- “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Grace’s Prediction: I feel like it’s gonna be “Isle of Dogs,” but it should be “Incredibles 2”
Animated Short:
- “Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
- “Bao,” Domee Shi
- “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall
- “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
- “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez
Grace’s Prediction: Eh, guess I’ll go with “One Small Step”????
Adapted Screenplay:
- “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
- “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
- “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
- “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
- “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters
- Grace’s Prediction: “BlacKkKlansman”
A Thought: What in God’s name is “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”??????
Original Screenplay:
- “The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
- “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
- “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
- “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
- “Vice,” Adam McKay
Grace’s Prediction: “Roma”
Cinematography:
- “Cold War,” Lukasz Zal
- “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
- “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
- “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
- “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique
Grace’s Prediction: “A Star is Born”
Best Documentary Feature:
- “Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
- “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
- “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu
- “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki
- “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen
Grace’s Prediction: “RBG”
Film Editing:
- “BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
- “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman
- “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito
- “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
- “Vice,” Hank Corwin
Grace’s Prediction: “The Favorite”
Sound Editing:
- “Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker
- “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst
- “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan
- “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
- “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay
Grace’s Prediction: “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Sound Mixing:
- “Black Panther”
- “Bohemian Rhapsody”
- “First Man”
- “Roma”
- “A Star Is Born”
- Grace’s Prediction: “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Production Design:
- “Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler
- “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
- “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
- “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim
- “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez
Grace’s Prediction: “The Favorite”
Original Score:
- “BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
- “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson
- “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
- “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
- “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
Grace’s Prediction: “Mary Poppins Returns”
Original Song:
- “All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
- “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
- “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
- “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice
- “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch
Grace’s Prediction: “Shallow”
Makeup and Hair:
- “Border”
- “Mary Queen of Scots”
- “Vice”
Grace’s Prediction: “Mary Queen of Scots”
Costume Design:
- “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
- “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter
- “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
- “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
- “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne
Grace’s Prediction: “Black Panther” should win, but it will probably be “The Favorite” or “Mary Queen of Scots”
Visual Effects:
- “Avengers: Infinity War”
- “Christopher Robin”
- “First Man”
- “Ready Player One”
- “Solo: A Star Wars Story”
Grace’s Prediction: Probably “Avengers: Infinity War” but my heart wants “Christopher Robin”
Great. Now, never fear–I will again be watching all of the Best Picture nominees and reviewing those for you. Stay tuned for that. Also stay tuned to find out if they ever find someone to host, because as of this moment, there is still no host for the Oscars. Personally, I find the situation very amusing. In any case, The Academy Awards will air live Feb. 24 at 8 pm!