2014 Oscars – Final Predictions

By Jordan and Eddie

When Oscar nominations were announced this year it became abundantly clear just how up in the air a majority of the categories are going to end up being as on the night any film has a chance to snatch victory in its respective field.

One suspects that Best Picture is down to a 3 way battle between Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle but a total counting out of Her is also not a wise move. If Gravity does not walk away with the big gong of the night it will wipe the floor with many of the “tech” categories whilst the hard fought battles will be raged around it in the other nominations.

It was an interesting year last year for films and the Oscars showcase this, both Jordan and Eddie below look to add a few thoughts each to how they feel about the overall nominations and then go ahead and predict a winner and underdog in each category. We look forward to watching on the night and seeing if we’re in the ball park or right off the planet but either way it should be some sort of night!

Jordan’s Overview –

Most happy about?

12 Years a Slave love

Sure, given the Academy’s soft spot for dramas based on racial injustices and movies of this period it may have been quite predictable, but the recognition given to McQueen’s opus is still a good sign that the Oscars will remain relevant for a little while longer yet.

Most unhappy about?

Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts both being nominated for the same ignored and under-seen film! Plus undeserved kudos for Wolf of Wall Street

Seriously, two of the most irksome actresses to ever grace the big screen being nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for August: Osage County, a movie with a 64% Rotten Tomatoes rating. I swear that Streep could fart her way through a Scary Movie sequel and be praised for it.

Also, The Wolf of Wall Street was scarcely more than a glorified fraternity comedy with outstanding production values… though still not outstanding enough to warrant even one of its many big nominations.

Biggest Surprise?

The Best Foreign Language Film category

Why did they even bother with 5 nominees? It’s so obvious that Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt will win, and being the best film of last year in general, it most certainly deserves to.

Biggest Snub?

The Conjuring and Prisoners

I realise that they’re not the types of films usually featured on the big night, but the costume design, as well as sound mixing and editing in James Wan’s The Conjuring are of an expert fashion, and Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as Detective Loki in the highly effective Prisoners, as well as Denis Villeneuve’s direction both deserved credit.

Lucky to be there?

Captain Phillips for Best Picture. Wolf of Wall Street for Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, Director, etc… 

It was tense and the acting was of a high order (though of course poor Hanks did miss out on a nod), but Captain Phillips is still no Best Picture contender… really the only thing that sets it apart from a regular hostage thriller that would normally star Bruce Willis is the location and budget. See above for my ramblings on Wall Street.

Eddie’s Overview –

Most happy about?

Leonardo DiCaprio, Gravity and 12 Years a Slave just rewards

It’s great to see Leonardo DiCaprio get into the Best Actor category, at times I was worried that he would be overlooked for his great turn here. In other aspects it’s great to see both 12 Years a Slave and Gravity with a respective 9 and 10 nominations each.

Most un-happy about?

American Hustle Love, Nebraska love

I will get panned for this but American Hustle, seriously 10 nominations? Being this year’s flavor of the month and pretty much the same as its cousin Silver Linings Playbook (in that it is so overhyped its almost unbearable) has allowed Hustle to in my opinion get way more than it’s dues as it’s a film I doubt in years to come people will be talking about. I also question the amount of Nebraska love as it seems just like Russell director Payne could make almost anything and get a token nomination over the likes of Paul Greengrass who did a lot more in the directing stakes with his take of Captain Phillips.

Biggest surprise?

Tom Hanks missing out, love for Dallas Buyers Club

Wowie how did Tom Hanks miss out for his arguably career best performance in Captain Phillips? To think that Bale took his spot is a little hard to swallow also. Dallas Buyers Club is a film made worthy thanks to its performances and it’s extra nominations came as a real surprise as if one were to take away Leto and McConaughey one feels this is nothing more than a TV movie of the week.

Biggest Snub?

Inside Llewyn Davis and Prisoners

Unfortunately I have yet to see Llewyn Davis but it’s almost complete snubbing came as a massive surprise to me after reading reviews and considering the critical darlings the Coen Brothers are in the industry. I don’t want to rant but for Prisoners to only get one Oscar nomination (equal alongside Bad Grandpa!) is a mighty insult to such a finely acted and constructed thriller.

Lucky to be there?

Meryl Streep, Dallas Buyers Club (bar it’s actors)

You get that feeling don’t you that Meryl Streep could almost turn up and sit on a chair for 2 hours and she would be nominated on name alone and her turn here in August: Osage County looked so overblown that the trailer in itself was barely tolerable. Despite 2013 being a little lacking in quality female performances for Streep to get in for this turn is pretty bewildering. As mentioned before take away its leads is Dallas Buyers Club best picture material? I think not.

BEST PICTURE

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: 12 Years a Slave (Jordan’s take Here)         Dark Horse: Her (review Here)

Eddie – Winner: 12 Years a Slave (Eddie’s take Here)           Dark Horse: Gravity (Eddie’s take Here)

BEST DIRECTOR

David O. Russell, “American Hustle”
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Steve McQueen (Jordan’s take Here)          Dark Horse: Alfonso Cuaron (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: Alfonso Cuaron (Eddie’s take Here)          Dark Horse: Steve McQueen (Eddie’s take Here)

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Matthew McConaughey          Dark Horse: Chiwetel Ejiofor (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: Matthew McConaughey (review Here)            Dark Horse: Leonardo DiCaprio (review Here)

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Judi Dench, “Philomena”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Cate Blanchett (review Here)       Dark Horse: Judi Dench

Eddie – Winner: Cate Blanchett (review Here)            Dark Horse: Sandra Bullock (Eddie’s take Here)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“American Hustle” – Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
“Blue Jasmine” – Written by Woody Allen
“Her” – Written by Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” – Written by Bob Nelson
“Dallas Buyers Club” – Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: American Hustle           Dark Horse: Blue Jasmine (review Here)

Eddie – Winner: Her (review Here)           Dark Horse: American Hustle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“Before Midnight” – Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
“Captain Phillips” – Screenplay by Billy Ray
“Philomena” – Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
“12 Years a Slave” – Screenplay by John Ridley
“The Wolf of Wall Street” – Screenplay by Terence Winter

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: 12 Years a Slave (Jordan’s take Here)          Dark Horse: Captain Phillips (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: 12 Years a Slave (Eddie’s take Here)            Dark Horse: The Wolf of Wall Street (Eddie’s take Here)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”
Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Jennifer Lawrence          Dark Horse: Lupita Nyong’o (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: Jennifer Lawrence            Dark Horse: Lupita Nyong’o (Eddie’s take Here)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Michael Fassbender (Jordan’s take Here)           Dark Horse: Bradley Cooper

Eddie – Winner: Jared Leto (review Here)            Dark Horse: Michael Fassbender (Eddie’s take Here)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

“The Croods”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Ernest & Celestine”
“Frozen”
“The Wind Rises”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Frozen          Dark Horse: The Croods

Eddie – Winner: Frozen            Dark Horse: The Wind Rises

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

“The Grandmaster”
“Gravity”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”
“Prisoners”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Inside Llewyn Davis          Dark Horse: Prisoners

Eddie – Winner: Gravity (Eddie’s take Here)           Dark Horse: Prisoners (review Here)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Michael Wilkinson, “American Hustle”
William Chang Suk Ping, “The Grandmaster”
Catherine Martin, “The Great Gatsby”
Michael O’Connor, “The Invisible Woman”
Patricia Norris, “12 Years a Slave”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: American Hustle           Dark Horse: 12 Years a Slave (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: The Great Gatsby (Eddie’s take Here)           Dark Horse: American Hustle

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“The Act of Killing”Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“Cutie and the Boxer” Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
“Dirty Wars” Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
“The Square” Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
“20 Feet from Stardom” Nominees to be determined

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner:  The Act of Killing         Dark Horse: The Square

Eddie – Winner: The Act of Killing           Dark Horse: Cutie and the Boxer

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

“CaveDigger” Jeffrey Karoff
“Facing Fear” Jason Cohen
“Karama Has No Walls” Sara Ishaq
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” Edgar Barens

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hal          Dark Horse: CaveDigger

Eddie – Winner: Facing Fear            Dark Horse: Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

BEST FILM EDITING

“American Hustle” Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” Christopher Rouse
“Dallas Buyers Club” John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” Joe Walker

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: American Hustle          Dark Horse: Gravity (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: Gravity (Eddie’s take Here)            Dark Horse: Captain Phillips (Eddie’s take Here)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“The Broken Circle Breakdown” Belgium
“The Great Beauty” Italy
“The Hunt” Denmark
“The Missing Picture” Cambodia
“Omar” Palestine

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: The Hunt (review Here)         Dark Horse: Omar

Eddie – Winner: The Hunt            Dark Horse: The Great Beauty

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

“Dallas Buyers Club” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” Stephen Prouty
“The Lone Ranger” Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Dallas Buyers Club          Dark Horse: Bad Grandpa

Eddie – Winner: Dallas Buyers Club (review Here)           Dark Horse: Bad Grandpa (review Here)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

John Williams, “The Book Thief”
Steven Price, “Gravity”
William Butler and Owen Pallett, “Her”
Alexandre Desplat, “Philomena”
Thomas Newman, “Saving Mr. Banks”

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Her           Dark Horse: Gravity (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: Gravity (review Here)           Dark Horse: Her (review Here)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”
Music by Bruce Broughton; Lyric by Dennis Spiegel

“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams

“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

“The Moon Song” from “Her”
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze

“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Let It Go          Dark Horse: Ordinary Love

Eddie – Winner: Let it Go            Dark Horse: The Moon Song

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

“American Hustle”
Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler

“Gravity”
Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard

“The Great Gatsby”
Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn

“Her”
Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena

“12 Years a Slave”
Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: American Hustle          Dark Horse: Gravity (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: 12 Years a Slave (Eddie’s take Here)           Dark Horse: American Hustle

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

“Feral” Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
“Get a Horse!” Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
“Mr. Hublot” Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
“Possessions” Shuhei Morita
“Room on the Broom” Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Feral          Dark Horse: Mr. Hublot

Eddie – Winner: Get a Horse            Dark Horse: Feral

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” Esteban Crespo
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)” Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
“Helium” Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)” Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
“The Voorman Problem” Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Helium          Dark Horse: Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)

Eddie – Winner: Helium            Dark Horse: Aquel No Era Yo

BEST SOUND EDITING

“All Is Lost” Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
“Captain Phillips” Oliver Tarney
“Gravity” Glenn Freemantle
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Brent Burge
“Lone Survivor” Wylie Stateman

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Captain Phillips (Jordan’s take Here)          Dark Horse: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: Gravity (Eddie’s take Here)            Dark Horse: Captain Phillips (Eddie’s take Here)

BEST SOUND MIXING

“Captain Phillips” Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro
“Gravity” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
“Lone Survivor” Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Inside Llewyn Davis           Dark Horse: Captain Phillips (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: Gravity (Eddie’s take Here)            Dark Horse: Lone Survivor (review Here)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

“Gravity” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
“Iron Man 3” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
“The Lone Ranger” Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
“Star Trek Into Darkness” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

Predictions –

Jordan – Winner: Gravity (Jordan’s take Here)          Dark Horse: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Jordan’s take Here)

Eddie – Winner: Gravity (Eddie’s take Here)            Dark Horse: Iron Man 3 (review Here)

OSCAR WIN TALLY

So there you have it! Let us know what your thoughts are on who the winners and losers might be in the comments below.