Too-Early Oscar Predictions

Every year at The Film Experience, Nathaniel Rogers predicts the Oscar contenders a year in advance - he calls them his April Foolish Predictions, and they are always exciting, thought-provoking, and fun. While I missed last year, I usually try to play along with Nathaniel, and the rest of the Oscar blogosphere, with some early bird predictions of my own. Mine may not be as thorough as Nathaniel's (he even predicts foreign film!), but I'd be disappointed if I didn't join in the fun!

The contenders for next year's Oscars may be....

Best Picture

Anywhere between five and ten films can be nominated in this category. If five there be:

Dunkirk

The Greatest Showman

The Post

Untouchable

Wonderstruck

Keeping in mind that Untouchable is currently slated for a 2018 release date - but since they've already been filming for some time, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved it to November/December. Remember when Crazy Heart was a Spring 2010 release, then suddenly became a late 2009 contender, and eventually, winner?

[the rest after the jump]

If more than five, add any or all of these titles:

The Current War

Darkest Hour

Downsizing

The Glass Castle

Mudbound

2015 prediction: 4/8 - I got Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Spotlight, and The Revenant

Best Director

Michael Gracey, The Greatest Showman

Todd Haynes, Wonderstruck

Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk

Steven Spielberg, The Post

Joe Wright, Darkest Hour

I'm not feeling too bullish on the Spielberg presence, but everyone else is either a new name to us (hi, Gracey) or a never-nominee that's past due for the honor.

2015 prediction: 1/5 - Thomas McCarthy for Spotlight

Best Actor

Chadwick Boseman, Marshall

Bryan Cranston, Untouchable

Jake Gyllenhaal, Stronger

Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Cranston, Gyllenhaal, and Andrew Garfield are all wheelchair-bound this year - Gyllenhaal gets a true story about a Boston marathon bombing victim, while Cranston's in an American remake of the French film The Intouchables, which made quite a bit of waves in 2011. Can that success repeat? Oldman's transforming, Jackman's singing again, and Boseman - surely they're going to nominate him at some point for all these biopics?

2015 prediction: 2/5 - Fassbender for Steve Jobs, Redmayne for Danish Girl

Best Actress

Annette Bening, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

Judi Dench, Victoria and Abdul

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri

Lois Smith, Marjorie Prime

Meryl Streep, The Post

Difficult, this one. No Best Actress category ever skews this...mature. Should I be more confident in the chances for Larson, Ronan, Claire Foy, etc.? Possibly. But this is how I see it for the moment.

2015 prediction: 2/5 - Rampling in 45 Years, Ronan in Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor

Sterling K. Brown, Marshall

Woody Harrelson, The Glass Castle

Kevin Hart, Untouchable

Jason Mitchell, Mudbound

Michael Shannon, The Current War

There's a chance that megastar Hart would campaign as co-lead with Cranston (who you know isn't going supporting), but we'll have to see.

2015 prediction: 1/5 - Rylance in Bridge of Spies

Best Supporting Actress

Kirsten Dunst, The Beguiled

Julianne Moore, Wonderstruck

Vanessa Redgrave, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

Kristin Scott Thomas, Darkest Hour

Naomi Watts, The Glass Castle

2015 prediction: 1/5 - Vikander in The Danish Girl

Best Original Screenplay

Darkest Hour - Anthony McCarten

Downsizing - Alexander Payne / Jim Taylor

Get Out - Jordan Peele

The Post - Liz Hannah

Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri - Martin McDonagh

2015 prediction: 3/5 - Bridges of Spies, Inside Out, Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay

Call Me By Your Name - Walter Fasano/Luca Guadagnino/James Ivory, from the novel by André Aciman

The Glass Castle - Destin Cretton/Andrew Lanham/Marti Noxon, from the memoir by Jeannette Walls

Mudbound - Dee Rees/Virgil Williams, from the novel by Hillary Jordan

Untouchable - Jon Hartmere, from the screenplay by Olivier Nakache/Eric Toledano

Wonderstruck - Brian Selznick, from his novel

2015 prediction: 1/5 - Brooklyn

You May Also Enjoy:

ZergNet

Like us on Facebook