Mid-December Academy Award Nominations 2014 Predictions

With nominations for SAG and Golden Globes recently announced and the ongoing slew of critics awards happening, I guess it has become a bit clearer now. Still there is no formed consensus or a linear path. The nominations and wins are all over the place. Things are quite uncertain which is exactly how I love it. Looking at all the wins, "12 Years a Slave" and "Her" have dominated in the main category. Alfonso Cuaron won the most in director category so far with Steve McQueen not far behind. Some acting categories have scattered wins except for lead actress and supporting actor. The frontrunners seems to be "12 Years a Slave", "Gravity" and "American Hustle". "Her" from the critics side. Anything can happen! This is my second last attempt at predicting the Oscars nominations. The next time I will post these would be a week before the nominations are announced.

Best Picture:

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) Gravity
3) American Hustle
4) Inside Llewyn Davis
5) Her
6) Captain Phillips
7) Nebraska
8) The Wolf of Wall Street
9) Saving Mr Banks


Best Director:

1) Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
2) Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
3) David O. Russell, American Hustle
4) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
5) Spike Jonze, Her

Best Lead Actor:

1) Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
2) Bruce Dern, Nebraska
3) Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
4) Robert Redford, All is Lost
5) Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

Best Lead Actress:

1) Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
2) Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
3) Sandra Bullock, Gravity
4) Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
5) Judi Dench, Philomena

Best Supporting Actor:

1) Jared Leto, Dallas Buyer's Club
2) Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
3) Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks
4) Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
5) Daniel Bruhl, Rush

Best Supporting Actress:

1) Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
2) Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
3) Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler
4) June Squibb, Nebraska
5) Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

Best Original Screenplay:

1) Inside Llewyn Davis
2) American Hustle
3) Blue Jasmine
4) Nebraska
5) Her

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) The Wolf of Wall Street
3) Before Midnight
4) Captain Phillips
5) Philomena

Best Animated Feature:

1) The Wind Rises
2) Frozen
3) Monsters University
4) Ernest and Celestine
5) The Croods

Best Foreign Language Film:

1) The Past (Iran)
2) The Hunt (Denmark)
3) Wadjda (Saudi Arabia)
4) Gloria (Chile)
5) The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)

Best Documentary Feature:

1) The Act of Killing
2) Stories We Tell
3) Blackfish
4) 20 Feet from Stardom
5) The Square

Best Editing:

1) Gravity
2) 12 Years a Slave
3) Captain Phillips
4) The Wolf of Wall Street
5) American Hustle

Best Cinematography:

1) Gravity
2) 12 Years a Slave
3) Inside Llewyn Davis
4) Rush
5) The Great Gatsby

Best Production Design:

1) The Great Gatsby
2) 12 Years a Slave
3) Gravity
4) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
5) Saving Mr. Banks

Best Visual Effects:

1) Gravity
2) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
3) Pacific Rim
4) Elysium
5) Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Costume Design:

1) The Great Gatsby
2) 12 Years a Slave
3) American Hustle
4) The Invisible Woman
5) Saving Mr. Banks

Best Makeup and Hair:

1) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2) Lee Daniels' The Butler
3) Rush

Best Original Score:

1) 12 Years a Slave
2) Gravity
3) All is Lost
4) Saving Mr. Banks
5) The Book Thief

Best Original Song:

1) "Let It Go", Frozen
2) "Please Mr. Kennedy", Inside Llewyn Davis
3) "So You Know What It's Like", Short Term 12
4) "The Moon Song", Her
5) "You and I Ain't Nothin' No More", Lee Daniels' The Butler

Best Sound Editing:

1) Gravity
2) Captain Phillips
3) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
4) Rush
5) Lone Survivor

Best Sound Mixing:

1) Gravity
2) 12 Years a Slave
3) Captain Phillips
4) Rush
5) All is Lost