Academy Awards 2013 - Final Predictions

Here’s a quick look at this year’s awards…

It’s a rare year when I can look at the nominees and get this excited about not knowing what’s going to happen. This is the year where anything goes outside of a couple of categories, and yes, that makes it fun.

Best Picture

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

SHOULD WIN: Argo

WILL WIN: Argo

I’m biased..I know. I named Argo my top film of 2012 (though I was torn between 4 films when I made the decision). I watched it a second time before I cast my voite for the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and was confident that I made the right decision. There are a number of the nominees that would disappoint me if they won. But I think this is pretty much a no brainer. Argo for the win.

Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

SHOULD WIN: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

WILL WIN: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

It’s amazing when an award is this locked up despite some of the best performances of the year all in one category. Once this year I said that it just isn’t fair to Bradley Cooper, Denzel Washington, Hugh Jackman and Joaquin Phoenix. Their great performances are just not enough this year, but make no mistake about it…they are still ALL AMAZING.

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

SHOULD WIN: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

WILL WIN: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

This one is a mystery to everyone and anyone who tells you they know who will win…is full of it. The oldest and youngest candidates ever in this category could surprise if folks are looking for a sleeper. Emmanuelle Riva’s performance from Amour is the one that I would look to as the possible sleeper. Quvenzhane Wallis’ turn in Beasts is really solid, but the Academy doesn’t usually go there for this category. Naomi Watts is wonderful in a film that few people saw and really didn’t steal the show. That leaves me with two … Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence. Both are young women with solid roles the last few years. Chastain’s turns in The Help and Take Shelter among other films really stood apart in 2011 and if you could award a body of work that year she’d be at the top of the list. The problem with her performance here is the classic backlash against the type of film that ZDT is, a gritty hard politically charged and controversial film. On the other side of the coin, Jennifer Lawrence has  been nominated for the second time (her first was for her stunning turn in Winter’s bone) and this time could be the charm. I think it’s a film that the members will want to honor, and this is where they will.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin, Argo

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

SHOULD WIN: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln or Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook`

WILL WIN: Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Robert De Niro hasn’t won an Oscar since Raging Bull? Really? Wow! Winners abound in this category and I could see it going any way imaginable. Will it be the chance for voters to give Argo another award in the form of Alan Arkin? What about the stunning turn from Philip Seymour Hoffman as the leader of a crazy group of followers in The Master. Tommy Lee Jones didn’t get a lot of traction with critics groups but some of that might be due to his surliness in interviews and at awards shows. And the Academy just recently showed their love for Christoph Waltz, too soon for another time? That’s why I think the award goes to De Niro for his performance.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook5

SHOULD WIN: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

WILL WIN: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

A short but truly spectacular time in the film, Hathaway looks to be the winner in this category. If I could pick an upset…maybe Helen Hunt’s courageous risk from The Sessions or Amy Adams in The Master. In fact Adams, I felt, stole most of the scenes she had in the film.

Animated Feature Film

Brave

Frankenweenie

ParaNorman

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

SHOULD WIN: Wreck-It Ralph

WILL WIN: Wreck It-Ralph or ParaNorman

I loved Wreck-It Ralph…but where will the Academy go? Not sure.

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And here’s all the rest…And the Winner Is….

Cinematography

Anna Karenina

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

SHOULD WIN: Skyfall

WILL WIN: Lincoln

Costume Design

Anna Karenina

Les Miserables

Lincoln

Mirror Mirror

Snow White and the Huntsman

SHOULD WIN: Les Miserables

WILL WIN: Lincoln

Directing

Amour

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

SHOULD WIN: Ben Affleck, Argo (BUT HE’S NOT NOMINATED!)  - Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

WILL WIN: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (Ang Lee for Life of Pi is my surprise)

Documentary Feature

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers

How to Survive a Plague

The Invisible War

Searching for Sugar Man

SHOULD WIN: Searching for Sugar Man

WILL WIN: Searching for Sugar Man

Film Editing

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

SHOULD WIN: Zero Dark Thirty

WILL WIN: Argo

Foreign Language Film

Amour

Kon-Tiki

No

A Royal Affair

War Witch

SHOULD WIN: Amour

WILL WIN: Amour

Makeup and Hairstyling

Hitchcock

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Les Miserables

 

SHOULD WIN: Hitchcock

WILL WIN: Hitchcock

Music – Score

Anna Karenina

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

SHOULD WIN: Lincoln

WILL WIN: Lincoln

Music – Original Song

Before My Time, Chasing Ice

Everybody Needs a Best Friend, Ted

Pi’s Lullaby, Life of Pi

Skyfall, Skyfall

Suddenly, Les Miserables

SHOULD WIN: Skyfall, Skyfall

WILL WIN: Suddenly, Les Miserables

Production Design

Anna Karenina

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

SHOULD WIN: Lincoln

WILL WIN: Lincoln

Sound Editing

Argo

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Skyfall

Zero Dark Thirty

SHOULD WIN: Zero Dark Thirty

WILL WIN: Zero Dark Thirty or Skyfall

Sound Mixing

Argo

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

SHOULD WIN: Skyfall

WILL WIN: Skyfall

Visual Effects

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Life of Pi

Marvel’s The Avengers

Prometheus

Snow White and the Huntsman

SHOULD WIN: Life of Pi

WILL WIN: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

 

SHOULD WIN: Argo

WILL WIN: Argo

Writing (Original Screnplay)

Amour

Django Unchained

Flight

Moonrise Kingdom

Zero Dark Thirty

SHOULD WIN: Zero Dark Thirty

WILL WIN: Zero Dark Thirty

 How right am I??? Well that's what we all want to know, but I'm on record now for ridicule or praise...let's sit back and enjoy Family Guy...err I mean the Oscars