The time has come! Roll out the red carpet! Queue the fashion statements whether they be bold or dull! And above all, get pumped for Oscar Night!
I’ll keep the intro to this post brief, so that I can get to the point of my predictions and whatnot. What I will do is state the award, list the nominees, state which nominees I WANT to win, which will be italicized, and what nominees I think WILL win, which will be bolded. So without further adieu, here are my predictions for the 2014 Academy Awards.
BEST PICTURE
Nominees:
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyer’s Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Without a doubt I want Her to win best picture. I thought it was phenomenal and a true statement on society and technology today. However, after much thought, I believe Gravity will take home best picture this year. It has all of the technical achievements on lockdown, the movie was a technical masterpiece. I really could not decide between this or 12 Years a Slave, but in the end I went with the former because I think it actually deserves it more. Director Alfonso Cuarón’s vision of space and it’s perils was nothing short of a masterpiece. If Her wins, I will be ECSTATIC. However Gravity is, in all honesty, just as good.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale in American Hustle
Bruce Dern in Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwotel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club
Nothing would please me more than to see DiCaprio finally get what he deserves, after years of breakthrough performances. He was snubbed last year for his performance in Django Unchained (2012), and on numerous other occasions. He certainly performed out of his shoes in The Wolf of Wall Street. His gratuity was unprecedented and he certainly will be remembered for this role. I went with McConaughey for best actor because I think the academy will look at him and see the physical changes he went through for the movie and the combination of subtlety and charisma. If either of them wins, I will be satisfied. The only person in this category I really don’t want to win is Bruce Dern, to be honest.
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper in American Hustle
Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club
This is arguably the most competitive award this season. Each of these actors performed exceptionally in their movies and deserve the recognition they have received. However the difference between the four preceding nominees and Leto is Leto’s commitment was incomparable. Changing himself physically the way he did and playing a transgender is no easy task. I do have a soft spot for Jared Leto, being a fan of 30 Seconds to Mars (his band he lead sings for), and acknowledging his performance in Requiem for a Dream (2000). But I really feel he deserves this win and would love to see it happen.
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams in American Hustle
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock in Gravity
Judi Dench in Philomena
Meryl Streep in August: Osage County
It came down to Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett but I’m going with my gut and saying Blanchett. Her performance in Woody Allen’s picture was both intriguing and downright sad. I was attracted to Sandra Bullock though because of the way she shows fear of being lost in space, something that is certainly a terrifying thing to really think about. She captures it really well, but not the way Cate Blanchett delivers her performance of a woman who has lost everything and cannot admit to the harsh reality of it, thus reverting to talk to herself. Blanchett definitely deserves this award, but Bullock is certainly a dark horse in the race.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts in August: Osage County
June Squibb in Nebraska
It’s really not a competition. She has the most powerful and awe inducing performance out of these actresses. I love Jennifer Lawrence and admire her for winning best actress last year, but she really doesn’t compare to Nyong’o’s role as a slave in the 19th century who has essentially given up on hope. If she doesn’t win this, I’d be incredibly shocked.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises
It’s gonna be Frozen. Great animation, exceptional voice acting, catchy songs, and it has already created this cult following out of half my friends in three months. I would have loved to see Monsters University get nominated, but I still think Frozen would win regardless.
For the remainder of the awards I’m just gonna state the nominees and who I think/want to win, without explanation.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners
COSTUME DESIGN
American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave
DIRECTING
David O’Russel for American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón for Gravity
Alexander Payne for Nebraska
Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave
Martine Scorcese for The Wolf of Wall Street
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – I didn’t see any of these, I’m just going off of word of mouth
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT – Again, word of mouth
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Way Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall
FILM EDITING – Hopefully I get nominated for this one day
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyer’s Club
Gravity
12 Years a Slave
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – Word of mouth, and I like Italy
The Broken Circle Breakdown – Belgium
The Great Beauty – Italy
The Hunt – Denmark
The Missing Picture – Cambodia
Omar – Palestine
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Dallas Buyer’s Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger
ORIGINAL SCORE
The Book Thief
Gravity
Her
Philomena
Saving Mr. Banks
ORIGINAL SONG
“Happy” from Despicable Me 2
“Let it Go” from Frozen
“The Moon Song” from Her
“Ordinary Love” from Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom
PRODUCTION DESIGN
American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years a Slave
ANIMATED SHORT FILM – I only saw ‘Get a Horse!’ but I loved it
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM – I just like the title of this one
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)
Avant Que De Trout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Helium
Pitääkö mun kaikki hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem
SOUND EDITING
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor
SOUND MIXING
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor
VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyer’s Club
Her
Nebraska
BOOM. There you have it. These are my predictions, bold or not bold as they may be. Hopefully I’m right, but knowing the academy I won’t be because they are incredibly unpredictable and often questionable. Like how did Argo (2012) win last year? Whatever it’s all a matter of opinion. Enjoy the Oscars tonight, and keep my post open if you care to look on with me!
-Reed
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