By Yep, it’s that time of year again – the 98th Academy Awards ceremony will go down Sunday evening at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, and here I am again with my predictions, which I’ve been doing since the late 2000s. So it seems a dead heat between SINNERS and ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, and I could be wrong (and often am) but I’m sensing a SINNERS sweep, even though I prefer Paul Thomas Anderson’s work there.
That’s the tricky part about making these predictions – trying not to pick the ones you want to win, and I’ve had good scores (my best score was 22 out of 24) with that in mind, but this year seems set to have some upsets. This year was a weird but really good one for film so the only thing I actually feel sure about is that Conan O’Brien as host will be funny AF.
So here goes my predicts:
BEST PICTURE: SINNERS
BEST DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Yeah, I think SINNERS will win Best Picture, but PTA will finally get his Director due. Like I said, I want ONE BATTLE to get the gold, but this is what I’m feeling right now.
BEST ACTOR: Michael B. Jordan (SINNERS)
It’s just too much fun to not give Timothy Chamalet this award (I so wanted him to win for his Dylan last year, but not pulling for his this time – MARTY SUPREME was decent, but didn’t really resonate with me). Jordan’s confident performance (performances?) as twin brothers Smoke and Stack I’m betting will get the gold.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
BEST ACTRESS: Jessie Buckley, HAMNET
Her anti-cat comments aside, no other actress moved me more than Buckley in HAMNET.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Madigan, WEAPONS
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: BUTTERFLY
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: FRANKENSTEIIN
BEST DOCUMENTARY: MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS
BEST FILM EDITING: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM: SENTIMENTAL VALUE, Norway
BEST CASTING: SINNERS, Francine Maisler
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: FRANKENSTEIN, Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: SINNERS, Ludwig Goransson
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: “Golden” from KPOP DEMON HUNTERS, music and lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: FRANKENSTEIN
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT: TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA
BEST SOUND: F1
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, written by Paul Thomas Anderson
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Ryan Coogler, SINNERS
Like I say every year – tune in Monday to see how many I got wrong.
