List compiled by Eddie on 06/02/2019
It’s not often we head into the Academy Awards ceremony with so many categories up in the air in regards to whose going to win.
Regardless of what film you are supporting heading in the industries night of nights is set to make for fascinating viewing as we tune in to see who will reign supreme.
In my mind it’s one of the strongest fields in many years and with the likes of industry greats like Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt and Sam Mendes all likely to walk away victorious, I feel like this will be the most likable Oscars night in some time.
Happy reading and happy watching.
2020 Wins Prediction Tally:
5 – 1917
4 – Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood
2 – Joker
Most Happy About –
The Best Picture field: Each film in the hotly contested Best Picture race is a deserving winner for many a varied reason. After year’s upon year’s worth of Oscar nights where more than a few unworthy films found themselves in the race and even winning, it’s great to see such an all-round strong group of contenders, even if JoJo Rabbit can count itself rather lucky to be amongst such great company.
Most Unhappy About –
No Willem Dafoe: Dafoe’s brilliant supporting turn in the bonkers The Lighthouse was one for the ages. It’s unfortunate that the Best Supporting Actor field is this year’s strongest individual category with many fine performances overlooked. In any other year, Dafoe would have been a shoe-in nominee and even a potential winner.
Biggest Surprise –
Joker’s 11 Oscar Nominations: Don’t get me wrong, I’m personally over the moon that the great Joker got so many nominations but not even the most optimistic of supporters would’ve thought Joker was going to lead the nomination totals on the night. While it’s likely the film will only walk away with 2 or 3 golden statues, the fact is the naysayers don’t have much ammunition left now the nominations are done and dusted.
Biggest Snub –
No Apollo 11 for Best Documentary: Like the bizarre snub last year of Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Apollo 11’s omission from the Best Doco field is utterly bizarre! An amazing experience, it really does make no sense that the film wasn’t allowed to even make the final cut of contenders.
Lucky to be There –
1917 in Best Original Screenplay: An undeniably great film that deserves all the awards it’s likely to win, it’s still surprising that Sam Mendes World War 1 thriller found itself in the Original Screenplay field. With film’s like The Lighthouse, Midsommar, Ad Astra, The Nightingale, The Report and more all at one time in contention here, 1917 can count itself lucky to be in this field.
Best Picture:
The Irishman is one of the years most nominated efforts
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
Winner: 1917
Dark Horse: Parasite
Lead Actor:
Joaquin Phoenix delivered an Oscar worthy turn for the ages in Joker
Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
Winner: Joaquin Phoenix – Joker
Dark Horse: Adam Driver – Marriage Story
Lead Actress:
It would be surprising if Renee Zellweger didn’t win Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger, “Judy”
Winner: Renee Zellweger – Judy
Dark Horse: Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
Supporting Actor:
Brad Pitt shone bright in the loaded Hollywood
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Winner: Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Dark Horse: Joe Pesci – The Irishman
Supporting Actress:
Industry favorite Laura Dern is a strong chance to win on the night
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Winner: Laura Dern – Marriage Story
Dark Horse: Margot Robbie – Bombshell
Director:
1917 is a directional masterclass by Sam Mendes
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
Winner: Sam Mendes – 1917
Dark Horse: Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood
Animated Feature:
Toy Story 4 would be a worthy winner here
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus,” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link,” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4,” Josh Cooley
Winner: Toy Story 4
Dark Horse: Klaus
Adapted Screenplay:
Little Women would be a deserving winner here
“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten
Winner: Little Women
Dark Horse: The Irishman
Original Screenplay:
An original hit, Knives Out is a worthy nominee
“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han
Winner: Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Dark Horse: Parasite
Cinematography:
It’s nice to see The Lighthouse represented here
“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson
Winner: 1917
Dark Horse: Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best Documentary Feature:
Netflix’s American Factory may just win in this hotly contested field
“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Winner: For Sama
Dark Horse: Honeyland
Best International Feature Film:
The surest thing of the night is Parasite winning here
“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho
Winner: Parasite
Dark Horse: Honeyland
Tech Fields –
Film Editing:
“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang
Winner: Ford v Ferrari
Dark Horse: Parasite
Sound Editing:
“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord
Winner: 1917
Dark Horse: Ford v Ferrari
Sound Mixing:
“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Winner: 1917
Dark Horse: Ad Astra
Production Design:
“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee
Winner: Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Dark Horse: 1917
Original Score:
“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams
Winner: Joker
Dark Horse: 1917
Original Song:
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”
Winner: Stand Up
Dark Horse: I’m Gonna Love Me Again
Makeup and Hair:
“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”
Winner: Bombshell
Dark Horse: Joker
Costume Design:
”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips
Winner: Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Dark Horse: Little Women
Visual Effects:
“Avengers Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
Winner: Avengers: Endgame
Dark Horse: The Lion King
Animated Short:
“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song
Winner: Kitbull
Dark Horse: Sister
Best Documentary Short Subject:
“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix
Winner: Walk Run Cha-Cha
Dark Horse: Life Overtakes Me
Best Live Action Short Film:
“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard
Winner: Saria
Dark Horse: Brotherhood
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
Our predictions barely line up at all, you’ve definitely got some bold choices that go against the grain of some recent trends. I personally am hoping that Parasite wins Best Picture and I think it has a real shot at it, especially if it takes editing, production design, and/or writing. A lot of the major categories are hotly contested between two or three nominees. One thing is for certain though – The Irishman will walk away with no wins on Sunday night, and that’s kind of a shame.
You’re right Darren, poor Scorsese and crew!
I really do think Parasite has a great shot at multiple awards, including some of the big ones!
E
I agree 100% with your major categories (spoiler alert for my site’s awards coming in a couple days). Nice work!
Glad we are on the same page mate, will keep my eyes peeled on your predictions when they come out.
E
We’ve definitely got a few differences but I think pretty much everyone is in agreement on the 4 acting categories and the best picture. Any of those categories going to someone different is going to be the shock of the night, it almost feels like it’s destined that Phoenix, Pitt, Zelwegger, Dern and 1917 are taking home those awards.
Only thing for my mind is that I can’t shake the feeling Parasite can win the main prize. It feels like hype for it is building by the day.
E
I would love if it did, and the hype is big enough that it might just pull it off… but then I keep thinking “The Academy just isn’t exciting enough to do that” but god I want to be wrong there.
I would have liked to see a Best Production nom gone to The Irishman, it looked fabulous and some of the locations were wonderful.
It’s pretty sad it’s likely the Irishman is going home empty handed, only thing I can see it winning maybe is adapted screenplay or maybe editing.
E