Lepard: Oscar predictions 2015

This weekend, the Oscars will be airing and with so many different, but good, nominations this year, everyone is asking the same question: who and what will win?

Best Picture
Nominees: American Sniper; Birdman, Boyhood; The Imitation Game; The Grand Budapest Hotel; Selma; The Theory of Everything; Whiplash
Who Will Win: The Academy has probably had a hard time deciding which film should win Best Picture this year since they are all such good movies. I saw every Best Picture nominee except for Selma, and my bet would be on Boyhood for winning Best Picture. Boyhood is highly critically acclaimed, and people everywhere have been amazed at how this film was made and takes place over 12 years following the life of a boy.
Who Should Win: Whiplash was the best movie of 2014, and I think that it deserves the Best Picture award. While Boyhood was very good, Whiplash was emotionally captivating. The audience watches as a college student strives to be his best at playing drums, while his teacher is constantly putting him down. Whiplash will also make you think about your own life and how much you would be willing to practice to be good at something.

Best Actor
Nominees: Steve Carell (Foxcatcher); Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game); Bradley Cooper (American Sniper); Michael Keaton (Birdman); Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Who Will Win: I saw all five of these performances and the two I was most impressed with were Michael Keaton in Birdman as a failed actor who is putting on a Broadway play, while trying to be a better father, and Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything as Steven Hawking who is given a fatal illness at the age of 21 that causes him to be paralyzed and in a wheelchair, while also being a renowned scientist. I have a good feeling that the Academy will lean toward Redmayne.

Best Actress
Nominees: Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night); Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything); Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl); Julianne Moore (Still Alice); Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Who Will Win: I recently saw Still Alice, and there is no doubt in my mind that Julianne Moore will Best Actress. Her performance as a happily married mother of three kids who ends up getting Alzheimer’s is convincing and a truly emotional story. Moore definitely deserves the award.

Best Supporting Actor
Nominees: Robert Duvall (The Judge); Ethan Hawke (Boyhood); Edward Norton (Birdman); Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher); J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Who Will Win: I saw all of these performances except for Robert Duvall in The Judge, and the only performance that I was truly impressed with is J.K. Simmons as the intimidating band teacher in Whiplash. Simmons has already won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor this year, and I don’t see any reason the Academy wouldn’t give him the award too.

Best Supporting Actress
Nominees: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood); Laura Dern (Wild); Keira Knightly (The Imitation Game); Emma Stone (Birdman); Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
Who Will Win: This was hard to decide on, but Meryl Streep has the best chance of winning for her performance as the Witch from Into the Woods. The Witch is frightening, creepy, and even proves to be caring at times. Streep’s performance is interesting and compelling.

Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees: Richard Linklater (Boyhood); Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman); Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher); Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel); Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
Who Will Win: All of these films were phenomenal, and I can imagine the Academy had a hard time deciding which director behind the films did the best job, but I can definitely see the Academy going with Richard Linklater’s work on Boyhood. Linklater did an incredible job coming up with the idea to make a movie filmed over 12 years using the same actors and having them age over a 12-year story, and I definitely think he will win Best Director.

Best Cinematography
Nominees: Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman); Robert D. Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel); Lukasz Zal/Ryszard Lenczewski (Ida); Dick Pope (Mr. Turner); Roger Deakins (Unbroken)
Who Will Win: To me, the choice is obvious. Birdman was creative, and director Alejandro González Iñárritu had the idea to film the entire movie so that it would appear as one long take. Impressively, they did just that and the movie appears to be one take. They did an amazing job of it and if Birdman doesn’t win best cinematography, then I don’t know what would.

Best Original Screenplay
Nominees: Boyhood by Richard Linklater; Birdman by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, & Armando Bo; Foxcatcher by E. Max Frye & Dan Futterman; The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness; Nightcrawler by Dan Gilroy
Who Will Win: There were a lot of interesting films in 2014 with good and creative storylines, and the most creative film would have to be Nightcrawler. Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a man who films and sells footage of local news stories to earn money, and over time, the audience learns he would be willing to do anything to get footage of breaking stories. The storyline, while sometimes disturbing, is still original and deserves to win.

Best Animated Feature Film
Nominees: The Boxtrolls; Big Hero 6; How to Train Your Dragon 2; Song of the Sea; The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Who Will Win: Big Hero 6 was packed with a great story, fun visuals, and funny characters that keeps the audience entertained and will keep them watching up until the end. I’d be surprised if Big Hero 6 didn’t win Best Animated Feature Film.
Who Should’ve Been Nominated and Won: Something that has caused a stir is that The Lego Movie should win Best Animated Feature Film, but the fact that it wasn’t even nominated is also surprising. The movie was visually exciting and highly entertaining. I wish that The Lego Movie had been nominated because I think it deserves the award.

Best Costume Design
Nominees: The Grand Budapest Hotel; Inherent Vice; Into the Woods; Maleficent; Mr. Turner
Who Will Win: I think the movie that stands out the most here and has the best chance of winning would have to be Into the Woods. This fairytale musical was full of characters with elaborate costumes that were appealing, and it would be a hard movie to beat when it comes to costumes.

Best Original Song
Nominees: “Everything is AWESOME!!!” (The Lego Movie); “Glory” (Selma); “Grateful” (Beyond the Lights); “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” (Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me); “Lost Stars” (Being Again)
Who Will Win: “Everything is AWESOME!!!” is energetic, positive, fun, and entertaining to listen to. The other nominees aren’t nearly as good.