ACADEMY AWARDS: An amateur film reviewer’s predictions in every category for the 88th annual Academy Awards.
By Franklin Racobs, Staff Writer
Best Picture: The Big Short
Adam McKay took the story of the housing market crash and made it interesting, heartbreaking, and comical. Spotlight and The Revenant are both strong contenders, but I doubt the Academy will award another one of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s films for the second year in a row.
Actor in a Leading Role: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant
DiCaprio is the sure bet to win the award. He’s already won multiple “Best Actor” awards during this year’s award season including the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Best Actor, which has predicted the Best Actor winner for the Oscars every year. The Academy is also known for using performances like DiCaprio’s in The Revenant to honor an actor’s or actress’ entire career, and DiCaprio has been nominated plenty of times. This breathtaking and incredible performance will be what finally gets Leo that Oscar gold.
Actress in a Leading Role: Brie Larson for Room
Larson is just as much of a lock for this category as DiCaprio is. She delivered a beautiful performance as the mother in the film Room, which relied on her to carry it through its emotional roller coaster.
Actor in a Supporting Role: Sylvester Stallone for Creed
Most probably think that this award will be given to Stallone simply as a correction for Stallone not winning the 1977 Best Actor award for his role as Rocky Balboa in Rocky, but don’t let that idea take away from the performance that Sylvester Stallone gave as Rocky in Creed. The performance was a return to form that showed why he is an Oscar nominated and deserving actor.
Actress in a Supporting Role: Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl
After winning the SAG award for this category, Vikander is a safe bet for the award. She had the difficult task of playing a wife to a husband who feels his true gender is female, and Vikander played it beautifully. Rooney Mara and Kate Winslet are both potential spoilers.
Directing: Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The Revenant
Iñárritu may have won the award last year, but I wouldn’t rule out another win this year. The way he shot The Revenant made it tense from start to finish. George Miller could be a potential spoiler, as Mad Max: Fury Road was a film that relied on visuals and camera work more than on dialogue and story.
Animated Feature Film: Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera for Inside Out
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki for The Revenant
Costume Design: Jenny Beavan for Mad Max: Fury Road
Documentary (Feature): Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees for Amy
Documentary (Short Subject): Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy for A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Film Editing: Margaret Sixel for Mad Max: Fury Road
Foreign Language Film: Hungary; Directed by László Nemes for Son of Saul
Makeup and Hairstyling: Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin for Mad Max: Fury Road
Music (Original Score): Ennio Morricone for The Hateful Eight
Music (Original Song): “Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground, music and lyrics by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
Production Design: Arthur Max (Production Design); Celia Bobak (Set Decoration) for The Martian
Short Film (Animated): Don Hertzfeldt for World of Tomorrow
Short Film (Live Action): Jamie Donoughue for Shok
Sound Editing: Mark Mangini and David White for Mad Max: Fury Road
Sound Mixing: Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Visual Effects: Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams for Mad Max: Fury Road
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Charles Randolph and Adam McKay for The Big Short
Writing (Original Screenplay): Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy for Spotlight