First Attempt at Predicting Oscars 2014 Nomination

                   It is that time of the year....... yes it is! As much as I end up disappointed at the end of every Oscar Year, I still can't help but get excited for the next year and how it will all shape up. Throwing off predictions in the air is always a fun thing. These are my first predictions in a few categories (Picture, Director, 4 Acting categories, Original/Adapted Screenplay). The fall film festival season is already underway, some responses from Telluride specially are noted. Most of all I am relying on my instincts and the Oscar history. So far, Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, Inside Llewyn Davis, Lee Daniels' The Butler etc have been seen and loved. There are some movies by major names that are included, some for their name and others for the whole "they are due" thing so I have basically covered all the criteria here. My next and full predictions will be posted at the end of November from then on I will weekly update them till the nominations are announced.

Best Picture:-

Frontrunners

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) American Hustle
3) Inside Llewyn Davis
4) The Wolf of Wall Street
5) Gravity
6) Captain Phillips
7) August: Osage County
8) Lee Daniels’ The Butler
9) Foxcatcher

Alternates

10) Nebraska
11) The Monuments Men
12) Labor Day
13) Before Midnight
14) Fruitvale Station
15) All is Lost
16) Saving Mr. Banks
17) Her
18) Blue Jasmine
19) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
20) Prisoners

Best Director:-

Frontrunners

1) Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
2) David O. Russell (American Hustle)
3) Martin Scorcese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
4) Joel and Ethan Coen (Inside Llewyn Davis)
5) Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Alternates

6) Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)
7) Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)
8) Jason Reitman (Labor Day)
9) J.C. Chandor (All is Lost)
10) George Clooney (The Monuments Men)
11) Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station)
12) Alexander Payne (Nebraska)
13) John Wells (August: Osage County)
14) Lee Daniels (Lee Daniels’ The Butler)
15) Spike Jonze (Her)

Best Lead Actor:-

Frontrunners

1) Robert Redford (All is Lost)
2) Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
3) Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
4) Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
5) Forest Whitaker (Lee Daniels’ The Butler)

Alternates

6) Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
7) Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)
8) Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
9) Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station)
10) Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
11) Joaquin Phoenix (Her)
12) Benedict Cumberbatch (The Fifth Estate)
13) Hugh Jackman (Prisoners)
14) Christian Bale (American Hustle)
15) Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight)

Best Lead Actress:-

Frontrunners

1) Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
2) Judi Dench (Philomena)
3) Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)
4) Naomi Watts (Diana)
5) Kate Winslet (Labor Day)

Alternatives

6) Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
7) Berenice Bejo (The Past)
8) Amy Adams (American Hustle)
9) Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color)
10) Marion Cotillard (The Immigrant)
11) Nicole Kidman (Grace of Monaco)
12) Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
13) Julie Delpy (Before Midnight)
14) Rooney Mara (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints)
15) Brie Larson (Short Term 12)

Best Supporting Actor:-

Frontrunners

1) Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
2) Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
3) Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks)
4) Josh Brolin (Labor Day)
5) Benedict Cumberbatch (August: Osage County)

Alternates

6) Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
7) John Goodman (Inside Llewyn Davis)
8) George Clooney (Gravity)
9) Jared Leto (Dallas Buyer's Club)
10) Matthew McConaughey (Mud)
11) Sam Rockwell (The Way Way Back)
12) Matthew McConaughey (The Wolf of Wall Street)
13) Andrew Dice Clay (Blue Jasmine)
14) Daniel Oyelowo (Lee Daniels' The Butler)
15) Alec Baldwin (Blue Jasmine)

Best Supporting Actress:-

Frontrunners

1) Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
2) Oprah Winfrey (Lee Daniels' The Butler)
3) Carey Mulligan (Inside Llewyn Davis)
4) Lupita Nyong'o (Twelve Years a Slave)
5) Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Alternates

6) Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station)
7) Margo Martindale (August: Osage County)
8) Cameron Diaz (The Counselor)
9) Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
10) June Squibb (Nebraska)
11) Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
12) Jennifer Garner (Dallas Buyers Club)
13) Emily Watson (The Book Thief)
14) Kristin Scott Thomas (Only God Forgives)
15) Sarah Paulson (12 Years a Slave)

Best Original Screenplay:-

Frontrunners

1) Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
2) Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
3) American Hustle (David O. Russel, Eric Singer)
4) Nebraska (Bob Nelson)
5) Her (Spike Jonze)

Alternates

6) Lee Daniels' The Butler (Danny Strong)
7) Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron)
8) Dallas Buyers Club (Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack)
9) Saving Mr. Banks (Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith)
10) Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler)
11) The Past (Asghar Farhadi)
12) All Is Lost (J.C. Chandor)
13) Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig)
14) The Counselor (Cormac McCarthy)
15) Prisoners (Aaron Guzkowski)

Best Adapted Screenplay:-

Frontrunners

1) 12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
2) The Wolf of Wall Street (Terence Winter)
3) Captain Phillips (Billy Ray)
4) August: Osage County (Tracy Letts)
5) Before Midnight (Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater)

Alternates

6) Foxcatcher (E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman)
7) Labor Day (Jason Reitman)
8) The Monuments Men (George Clooney, Grant Heslov)
9) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Steve Conrad)
10) The Spectacular Now (Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber)
11) The Fifth Estate (Josh Singer)
12) Philomena (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
13) The Book Thief (Michael Petroni)
14) Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (William Nicholson)
15) The Railway Man (Frank Cottrell Boyce, Andy Paterson)