Campbell MacKinnon
With the Oscars at the end of this month, I find it only appropriate to make predictions on which movies will bring home awards. 2017 is significant for the academy as this year features the most diverse list of nominees ever and after last years #OscarsSoWhite, this is a long time coming. This year features a wide variety of amazing films, each different in their own unique way. This list of predictions features my own opinions so if you disagree, let me know. Now onto the picks:
BEST PICTURE
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
This is a sight I suggest you get used to, La La Land has widely been praised as being the best movie of the year. In addition to this, it took home the top prize at both the producers and directors guild awards. While Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea are both in contention for the award, expect La La Land to come out on top.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences
The best actor race will be a closer one, while Casey Affleck’s performance in Manchester by the Sea was widely praised by critics and audiences alike, Denzel Washington has been generating more buzz recently after he won outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role at the SAG (screen actors guild awards). While all the actors in this category were outstanding in my opinion, and I still believe that Ryan Gosling could take this category as a long-shot contender, Denzel Washington is the most deserving of this award and his performance in Fences was absolutely fantastic.
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
Best actress is another category that La La Land hopes to capitalize in. This year Emma Stone showed once again her range of acting skill. In addition to Stone, Natalie Portman is another favourite to take the award this year. While Portman was a favourite leading up to the oscars, with the SAG awards giving outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role to Emma Stone, Portman is at a significant disadvantage.
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
The consensus has been for a long time that Mahershala Ali has this category locked up. Moonlight was an incredible compelling movie and Ali’s performance Juan was emotionally complex and interesting.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
Viola Davis takes this one, no contest.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
Personally I think this awards should go to Kubo and the Two Strings but leading up to the oscars all of the indicators have pointed to Zootopia winning.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence
This is another definite win for La La Land, almost everything about this movie is award worthy and cinematography is no exception. Arrival and Moonlight both were beautiful movies, but La La Land is truly a step above, the use of colour and form in La La Land is unlike any other film released this year.
COSTUME DESIGN
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land
Yet another category that La La Land is favoured to win in (there’s a reason this movie is tied for the most oscar nominations ever). As I mentioned in the previous category, the colours utilized in La La Land are breathtaking, and one of the places they are highlighted are in the costumes.
DIRECTING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Damien Damien Chazelle is the clear favourite to win this category for his work directing La La Land. Other contenders are Barry Jenkins, for Moonlight, and Kenneth Lonergan, for Manchester by the Sea, but expect Chazelle to win.
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
13th
A common theme this year in the Documentary Feature is the focus on the struggle of blacks in America, with I Am Not Your Negro, O.J: Made in America, and 13th all focusing on similar topics. The current favourite is O.J: Made in America, which examines the now infamous OJ Simpson case, as well as its effects on the rest of the United States.
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
Extremis
4.1 Miles
Joe’s Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets
A common theme this year in the short subject category is that of the Syrian refugee crisis, with three of the five films depicting it in some way. The White Helmets follows first responders in Aleppo, a war torn city in Syria. In addition to this, The White Helmets also features a director-producer combo that was nominated for a documentary feature award last year at the oscars, because of all this I give this category to The White Helmets.
FILM EDITING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight
This is another category La La Land should clean up in, Tom Cross did a fantastic job of editing La La Land and his hard work should bear rewards in the form of an oscar.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann
The Salesman is currently favoured to win best foreign language film as Elle was not eligible for a nomination.
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad
I’ll be honest, I don’t know a ton about makeup and hairstyling but I do know that Star Trek Beyond does it impressively.
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers
Another category to La La Land.
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from La La Land
Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” from Trolls
Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
“City Of Stars” from La La Land
Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story
Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana
Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
While the competition is closer in this category with big names like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Justin Timberlake, Justin Hurwitz is nominated not once, but twice for his work on La La Land, he deserves the award.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Passengers
Yet another category that La La Land should do well in, Arrival and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are also contenders but La La Land is favoured.
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper
Pixar is due for another oscar win considering their last golden statue came 15 years ago, and Piper is exactly the type of short film to do this. Blind Vaysha is probably next in line if Piper is snuffed, but the academy is generally one to like pixar, so Piper seems more likely at this point.
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ennemis Intérieurs
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode
This category will be a close one between Ennemis Intérieurs and Silent Nights. Both detail stories about immigration and the hardship that comes with it. I give Silent Night the edge because it’s producer, Kim Magnusson, who has been nominated in this category six times and won twice. Experience pays off.
SOUND EDITING
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully
SOUND MIXING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
VISUAL EFFECTS
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight
After being classified as an adapted screenplay by the academy, Moonlight was fortunate enough to be put in a category where it is the clear favourite. Arrival deserves mention too, as the movie was well reviewed and praised almost universally, but Moonlight is the strongest movie in this category.
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women
Another category where La La Land and Manchester by the Sea will butt heads and similarly to all other categories, I think La La Land will win again. The Lobster deserves mention though, it brings a quirky, sci-fci vibe that is interesting and could be a long shot winner in this category.
The Blue and White 