By this time tomorrow we will know which films will battle for some of the biggest awards in western cinema. One of my favorite days of the year is when the Academy announces the nominees. Cinephiles always have opinions about award snubs, and I’m always excited to take part in that conversation. This year it’ll probably end up being The Revenant versus Spotlight for the big awards, but don’t be surprised if the Academy shows a lot of love for either Mad Max: Fury Road or The Martian. Let’s try to predict the nominees!
When the big night arrives we’ll be debating whether this actress should have won that award, or if that guy should have finally been recognized. But until then we can only speculate, and, as cinephiles, speculate we must. Can The Revenant steal the three biggest awards like they did at this year’s Golden Globes? Is Steve Jobs a genuine contender for the big awards? Will Spotlight’s supposed ensemble cast strength prevent it from getting recognized in the actor/actress categories? 1) It’s possible. 2) It’s within the realm of possibility. 3) I think so.
These are three great questions for this year’s Academy Awards nomination announcement as well as the presentation itself. I answered them swiftly above, however, due to the fact that I care more about three other questions:
- How many Best Picture nominations will be granted this year?
- How much love will the Academy show for Star Wars: The Force Awakens?
- Will we hear Netflix’s first original film, Beasts of No Nation, named as a nominee in any category?
I’ve discussed the nomination limit at the Academy Awards to great length on this blog, so I won’t get into it that much in this post. It’s going to be between 5 and 10 nominations, but they haven’t chosen 10 films since the 83rd Award show. Ultimately, of course, it’ll depend on the quality of films released in 2015, and I think it’ll end up being at 7 or 8 nominees for Best Picture. Later on in this post, you’ll see which films I think will be nominated, but I do think that Steve Jobs, EX_MACHINA, and/or Inside Out could be added to that list (I definitely think the last film should get a nomination for ‘Best Picture’). Some people think that The Force Awakens could land a Best Picture nomination, but I really doubt they’ll do that.
Speaking of Star Wars: I think the franchise could land a good number of nominations for The Force Awakens, but not Best Picture (even if I really want it to be nominated in that category). I think there’s a good chance it could land 4 or 5 nominations. Specifically for ‘Best Original Score’, ‘Best Sound Editing’, ‘Best Sound Mixing’, ‘Best Production Design’, and ‘Best Visual Effects’.
Netflix films that meet certain requirements are considered for the Academy Awards. Beasts of No Nation is eligible for the big awards this year, and I do think you’ll hear the title mentioned once. However, while Idris Elba might get a nomination for his performance, I really doubt that you’ll hear Cary Joji Fukunaga’s name at any point. He probably won’t get a nomination for directing or for the cinematography, and I doubt you’ll see the film get any love in the ‘Adapted Screenplay’-category. Now that those questions have been taken care of, let’s see how I think the chips will fall in every Academy Awards-category not featuring short films or documentaries:
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
– Ant-Man.
– Jurassic World.
– Mad Max: Fury Road.
– Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
– The Revenant.
BEST FILM EDITING
– Creed.
– Mad Max: Fury Road.
– Sicario.
– Spotlight.
– The Revenant.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
– Brooklyn.
– Carol.
– Cinderella.
– Crimson Peak.
– The Danish Girl.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
– Mad Max: Fury Road.
– Mr. Holmes.
– The Revenant.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
– Carol.
– Mad Max: Fury Road.
– Sicario.
– The Martian.
– The Revenant.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
– Bridge of Spies.
– Brooklyn.
– Carol.
– Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
– The Hateful Eight.
BEST SOUND MIXING
– Mad Max: Fury Road.
– Sicario.
– SPECTRE.
– Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
– The Revenant.
BEST SOUND EDITING
– Mad Max: Fury Road.
– Sicario.
– Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
– The Martian.
– The Revenant.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
– “Love Me Like You Do”, Fifty Shades of Grey.
– “One Kind of Love”, Love & Mercy.
– “See You Again”, Furious 7.
– “So Long”, Concussion.
– “Writing’s On The Wall”, SPECTRE.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
– Alexandre Desplat, The Danish Girl.
– Carter Burwell, Carol.
– Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight.
– John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
– Thomas Newman, Bridge of Spies.
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE FILM
– A War (Denmark).
– Mustang (France).
– Son of Saul (Hungary).
– Theeb (Jordan).
– Viva (Ireland).
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
– Anomalisa.
– Inside Out.
– Shaun the Sheep Movie.
– The Peanuts Movie.
– The Good Dinosaur.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
– Brooklyn.
– Carol.
– Room.
– Steve Jobs.
– The Big Short.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
– Bridge of Spies.
– EX_MACHINA.
– Inside Out.
– Spotlight.
– The Hateful Eight.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
– Alicia Vikander, EX_MACHINA.
– Helen Mirren, Trumbo.
– Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight.
– Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs.
– Rooney Mara, Carol.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
– Benicio Del Toro, Sicario.
– Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation.
– Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies.
– Paul Dano, Love & Mercy.
– Sylvester Stallone, Creed.
BEST ACTRESS
– Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl.
– Brie Larson, Room.
– Cate Blanchett, Carol.
– Jennifer Lawrence, Joy.
– Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn.
BEST ACTOR
– Bryan Cranston, Trumbo.
– Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl.
– Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant.
– Matt Damon, The Martian.
– Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs.
BEST DIRECTOR
– Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant.
– George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road.
– Ridley Scott, The Martian.
– Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies.
– Tom McCarthy, Spotlight.
BEST PICTURE
– Bridge of Spies
– Carol
– Mad Max: Fury Road
– Room
– Spotlight
– The Big Short
– The Martian
– The Revenant
I’m Jeffrey Rex
I'm Jeffrey Rex 