A few people have been asking me what my predictions are for the Oscars this year. I haven't seen all the nominated films (not even close!) so my answers will be biased towards the ones I have seen. So, with that in mind, here are my picks...
Best Picture:
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Who will win: Boyhood
Boyhood is a movie that captures the experience of growing up perhaps better than any other film I have ever seen. It is a fantastic, one of a kind experience that is beautifully acted and well directed. It should win and I think it will.
Best Director:
Alejandro Inarritu for Birdman
Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game
Who will win: Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater has been a filmmaker I have admired for a long time now. He crafts such great films and Boyhood, a film he shot over the course of 12 years, just may be his masterpiece.
Best Actor:
Steve Carell for Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper for American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton for Birdman
Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything
Who will win: Eddie Redmayne
This is such a tough category to call this year since everyone was so good, but it really comes down to either Keaton or Redmayne. Both gave amazing performances but I think Redmayne has the slight edge because he really captured Stephen Hawking to an uncanny degree and because the Academy loves their biopics. But I could be wrong and it could go to Michael Keaton just as easily. It's just too close to call.
Best Actress:
Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore for Still Alice
Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon for Wild
Who will win: Julianne Moore
She seems to be the odds on favorite in this category. I haven't seen Still Alice yet, so I can't comment further. For an upset, I'd love to see Rosamund Pike win for her performance in Gone Girl which just blew me away.
Best Supporting Actor:
Robert Duvall for The Judge
Ethan Hawke for Boyhood
Edward Norton for Birdman
Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher
J.K Simmons for Whiplash
Who will win: J.K Simmons
It's pretty much a sure thing that J.K Simmons will win for his role as a highly demanding, verbally abusive music instructor. It's an intense, incredible perfomance from a very talented actor and well deserved.
Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette for Boyhood
Laura Dern for Wild
Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game
Emma Stone for Birdman
Meryl Streep for Into the Woods
Who will win: Patricia Arquette
This one is also a sure thing. All the performances in the film were top notch, but Arquette's performance as a single mother trying to raise two kids fantastic, earnest and moving performance. The fact that she did it consistently over the course of twelve years makes it even more impressive to me.
Best Original Screenplay:
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Who will win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Since it most likely won't win Best Picture or Best Director, I'd love to see Wes Anderson pick up an Oscar for the Screenplay at least. I've been a big fan of his ever since I first saw Rushmore way back in 1998 and Grand Budapest may be his best one yet. Told with a unique style and wit, I found this film to be thoroughly amusing and original from beginning to end.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Who will win: The Imitation Game
Like Best Original Screenplay, this too will wind up being a bit of a consolation prize. Still, it's a deserved award as it presents the life of Alan Turing from his work cracking the Enigma code and helping win World War II to his later life being persecuted for being a homosexual is balanced and told very well with the basis being the screenplay the film is based on.
Best Animated Feature:
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Who will win: How to Train Your Dragon 2
I would love to see Big Hero 6 win, but it's pretty much guaranteed it will be How to Train Your Dragon 2. The Lego Movie really should be the winner here and why it was never even nominated will forever irritate me.
Best Cinematography:
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken
Who will win: Birdman
Any other year, The Grand Budapest Hotel would have nabbed this one, but I think it's going to go to Birdman this year as it should.
Best Film Editing:
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Who will win: Boyhood
Crafting what amounts to twelve years of story told in a largely episodic nature is no enviable task. The fact that Boyhood flows so easily from one scene to the next is all the more impressive. This is the one that should win, no question about it.
Best Production Design:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner
Who will win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
The films of Wes Anderson have a unique look and style all their own and the candy colored confection that is The Grand Budapest Hotel ranks right up there with the best of them. While the others are worthy nominees, I think this one will win because it just brings us something we've never quite seen before.
Best Costume Design:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
Who will win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Much for the same reasons as stated above, I think this one will win for Best Costume Design simply because it is something new, interesting and memorable that we have not seen before.
Best Original Score:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything
Who will win: Interstellar
I'm going against the predictions on this one because I really feel composer Hans Zimmer reinvented himself with this score that uses unconventional instruments for crafting the film score including, among others, a church pipe organ. It's used to fantastic effect in a film that all around really knocked my socks off.
Best Visual Effects:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Who will win: Interstellar
The visual effects of this film is another in a long list of things that really impressed me about this film. Not only are the effects astounding and convincing, they're beautiful.
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Who will win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
The fact that they managed to make Tilda Swinton look so convincingly like a much older woman while still looking recognizably like Tilda Swinton is an accomplishment in itself.
And there are my picks for the 2015 Oscars. Will I be right? There's only one way to find out...
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