Academy Awards 2015 Predictions - Boyhood, Birdman, Selma and more

Awards race or better known as "Oscars race because everything leads to that big night"... has built up to a big blob of uncertainty. It is rare to have so much speculation and so little firm opinion on which film is likely to rule the Oscars night. Of course, such buzz is usually made or break once the Critics starts announcing their picks from the very first day of December but usually you have one or two films from the festivals having enough reviews and buzz to be considered your so-called 'frontrunners'. It is a good thing though, us bloggers and awards freaks are kept in this constant head-scratching mode. Personally I like to keep a big distance between "Oscars films" and "Worthy films" but these days, people often mistake the two being directly related to each other. The point being that movies that suddenly doesn't seem to have a chance at Oscars are sidelined even from general viewing or personal consideration point of view which is sad because that is where you actually find great stuff. The biggest examples right now seems to be Inherent Vice, A Most Violent Year (unless Academy finally goes all out for Chandor) and hundreds of indie films.

Talking about my predictions, I have compiled a list of most likely nominations with no emphasis on their winning chances. Boyhood, Birdman, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Foxcatcher, Gone Girl and maybe Whiplash are considered for best picture nominations. Ava DuVernay's MLK biopic premiered at AFI fest to extremely positive response meaning it could may as well go all the way. "Selma" is directed by a woman who has been a supporter of independent filmmaking and promotion of filmmakers and content specially for and from the African-American community. This is her first film to be in so much mainstream focus and guessing from the supreme response, a great high point of the year. Not only DuVernay but there is another female filmmaker hoping to get some Academy love. Angelina Jolie's directed feature "Unbroken" has been in the talks way before anybody started predicting this year's Oscars. Jolie's star power apparently doesn't need a festival or critics screening launch. Nobody has seen it but everybody is predicting it to win. I was as well back in September. Jolie isn't the only reason, the film looks and sounds like something Academy will root for. The involvement of Coens and Deakins further cements that thought. Jolie has been passionate about the project and the real life figure (who recently died) that inspired it all. Well, we will have to wait and watch.

BEST PICTURE:-

I can be wrong about Interstellar but it ain't getting in, at least at the moment. What will I do to see some A Most Violent Year, Mr. Turner and Inherent Vice in the list? Oh and I am not very confident about Into the Woods or American Sniper so, that's that.

1. Boyhood
2. Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
3. Selma
4. The Imitation Game
5. The Theory of Everything
6. Unbroken
7. Foxcatcher
8. Gone Girl
9. Whiplash

Possibilities:

- Interstellar
- Wild
- A Most Violent Year
- Mr. Turner
- The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST DIRECTOR:-

Can Damien Chazelle get in? Can there be two female nominees? The top 3 to me seems sure-fire but the other two slots are giving me a headache. Even DGA has been unreliable these past few years.

1. Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
2. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
3. Ava DuVernay (Selma)
4. Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
5. Angelina Jolie (Unbroken)

Possibilities:

- James Marsh (The Theory of Everything)
- Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)
- Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)
- David Fincher (Gone Girl)

BEST LEAD ACTOR:-

Tough competition. David Oyelowo is here to stay. Can Spall and/or O'Connell get in?

1. Michael Keaton (Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
2. David Oyelowo (Selma)
3. Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
4. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
5. Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)

Possibilities:

- Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner)
- Jack O'Connell (Unbroken)
- Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar)
- Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

BEST LEAD ACTRESS:-

Academy... nominate Marion Cotillard please!

1. Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
2. Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
3. Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
4. Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
5. Amy Adams (Big Eyes)

Possibilities:

- Emily Blunt (Into the Woods)
- Hilary Swank (The Homesman)
- Jessica Chastain (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby)
- Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:-

Some are predicting Miyavi from Unbroken, others are ignoring Josh Brolin. Meanwhile J.K. Simmons is peacefully sitting in the front row.

1. J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
2. Edward Norton (Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
3. Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
4. Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice)
5. Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)

Possibilities:

- Miyavi (Unbroken)
- Robert Duvall (The Judge)
- Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes)
- Logan Lerman (Fury)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:-

Chastain please! Am I underestimating the power of Streep?

1. Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
2. Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)
3. Emma Stone (Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
4. Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
5. Laura Dern (Wild)

Possibilities:

- Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
- Carmen Ejogo (Selma)
- Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
- Kristen Stewart (Still Alice)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:-

Really nice to see that original screenplay category is so competitive. Academy loves to nominate Mike Leigh here, should I switch Foxcatcher with Mr. Turner?

1. Birdman (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo)
2. Boyhood (Richard Linklater)
3. Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)
4. Selma (Ava DuVernay, Paul Webb)
5. Foxcatcher (E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman)

Possibilities:

- Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh)
- A Most Violent Year (J.C. Chandor)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness)
- Interstellar (Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:-

Hmmm...

1. The Imitation Game (Graham Moore)
2. Unbroken (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, William Nicholson, Richard LaGravenese)
3. The Theory of Everything (Anthony McCarten)
4. Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
5. Wild (Nick Hornby)

Possibilities:

- Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Still Alice (Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland)
- Into the Woods (James Lapine)
- American Sniper (Jason Dean Hall)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:-

1. Big Hero 6
2. The Lego Movie
3. How to Train Your Dragon 2
4. The Tale of Princess Kaguya
5. The Book of Life

Alternate: The Boxtrolls

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:-

1. Life Itself
2. Citizenfour
3. Last Days in Vietnam
4. Keep On Keepin' On
5. Red Army

Alternate: Tales of the Grim Sleeper

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:-

1. Mommy (Canada)
2. Leviathan (Russia)
3. Two Days, One Night (Belgium)
4. Force Majeure (Sweden)
5. Ida (Poland)

Alternate: Timbuktu (Mauritania)

BEST EDITING:-

Another category I am battling with. Arghh!
Whisplash? Interstellar?

1. Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Douglas Crise)
2. Boyhood (Sandra Adair)
3. The Imitation Game (William Goldenberg)
4. Gone Girl (Kirk Baxter)
5. Unbroken (Tim Squyres)

Alternates: Too many!

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:-

Bradford Young for Selma or A Most Violent Year?

1. Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Emmanuel Lubezki)
2. Unbroken (Roger Deakins)
3. Interstellar (Hoyte Van Hoytema)
4. Mr. Turner (Dick Pope)
5. A Most Violent Year (Bradford Young)

Alternate: Gone Girl (Jeff Cronenweth)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:-

1. Into the Woods
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel
3. Mr. Turner
4. The Imitation Game
5. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

Alternate: Unbroken

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:-

1. Interstellar
2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
4. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
5. Godzilla

Alternate: Transformers: Age of Extinction

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:-

1. Into the Woods (Colleen Atwood)
2. Maleficent (Anna B. Sheppard)
3. Big Eyes (Colleen Atwood)
4. Mr. Turner (Jacqueline Durran)
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Milena Canonero)

Alternate: Exodus: Gods and Kings (Janty Yates)

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:-

1. Into the Woods
2. Foxcatcher
3. Guardians of the Galaxy

Alternate: Maleficent

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:-

1. Unbroken (Alexandre Desplat)
2. Interstellar (Hans Zimmer)
3. The Theory of Everything (Johann Johannsson)
4. The Imitation Game (Alexandre Desplat)
5. Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Antonio Sanchez)

Alternate: Gone Girl (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:-

1. "Everything is Awesome", The Lego Movie
2. "Lost Stars", Begin Again
3. "Mercy Is", Noah
4. "There and Back Again", The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
5. "Glory" Selma

Alternate: "The Apology Song", The Book of Life

BEST SOUND EDITING:-

1. Interstellar
2. Fury
3. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
4. Unbroken
5. American Sniper

Alternate: Transformers: Age of Extinction

BEST SOUND MIXING:-

1. Interstellar
2. Into the Woods
3. Unbroken
4. Fury
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction

Alternate: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies