Here are my thoughts and predictions on the major categories on tonight's big show!
"Winner" is my prediction on who will receive Oscar gold.
"My Pick" is my personal choice if I had a vote. And I should.
Best Animated Feature Film
Nominees:
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
The stunning omission of The Lego Movie here leaves the field wide open. But I'm going to go with the logical choice, a well received Disney film.
Winner: Big Hero 6
My Pick: No clue, haven't seen any of these yet
Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:
Birdman
the Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken
Winner: Birdman
My Pick: Birdman
Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:
the Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
Winner: Into the Woods
My Pick: Into the Woods
Achievement in Directing
Alejandro G. Inarritu - Birdman
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Bennett Miller - Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson - the Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum - the Imitation Game
Months ago it seemed a slam dunk that Boyhood was going to sweep the Best Picture and Best Director category, but there has been a lot of late momentum for Birdman, including a win by Inarritu at the Director's Guild Awards. So while I am not totally convinced of this, I'm going to stick by my original thought here.
Winner: Richard Linklater
My Pick: Linklater. Duh. It took 12 years to film. TWELVE YEARS. And it was brilliant.
Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
Winner: Interstellar
My Pick: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:
Captain America: the Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Winner: Interstellar
My Pick: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Seriously, those monkeys looked incredibly real.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees:
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Winner: American Sniper
My Pick: Whiplash
Achievement in Film Editing
Nominees:
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Winner: Boyhood
My Pick: Boyhood. Duh again. TWELVE YEARS of film to edit.
Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees:
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel (BARF)
My Pick: Guardians of the Galaxy
Original Score
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
The Theory of Everything
Mr. Turner
Winner: Interstellar
My pick: The Imitation Game
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 - Begin Again
Winner: Glory
My Pick: I'm Not Gonna Miss You. This would be a wonderful tribute to a legendary country artist, a heartbreaking song about his battle with Alzheimer's.
Achievement in Production Design
Nominees:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel (double BARF)
My Pick: Into the Woods
Original Screenplay
Nominees:
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Winner: Birdman
My Pick: Birdman
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Laura Dern - Wild
Keira Knightly - the Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman
Meryl Streep - Into the Woods
Winner: Arquette
My Pick: Emma Stone. Arquette is worthy and is a slam dunk, but I'm picking Stone by a hair.
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Marian Cotillard - Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones - the Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild
Winner: Moore
My Pick: I've only seen two of these (Jones and Pike), but I'll stick with Moore who is always good and has won everything under the sun, so I'm sure she is a worthy winner
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Robert Duvall - The Judge
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
JK Simmons - Whiplash
Winner: Simmons
My Pick: Simmons. This is my "BEST BET" of the night, and it's a worthy one; this always-reliable character actor turned in the performance of a lifetime here.
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
Winner: Redmayne
My Pick: Redmayne. Without his mesmerizing performance, this movie would have been completely unwatchable. Keaton is a very, very, very close second. Carell was also quite amazing.
Best Picture
Nominees:
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Winner: Boyhood. Despite the late momentum for Birdman, I just cannot believe the Academy could overlook this special film and the achievement that was making it.
My Pick: Boyhood. No question. A hearty tip of my cap to Birdman which probably wins this prize in many years, but not this time.
Dean's LOCK OF THE NIGHT: I already mentioned it, J.K. Simmons for Best Supporting Actor.
Dean's UPSET SPECIAL of the night: I didn't pick any, but if I were forced to choose a possible MAJOR upset, I'll pick American Sniper as Best Picture, in case the Academy picks with their patriotic heart, rather than their movie-loving heads.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the show!!!
