Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Oscars 2014: Predictions/Picks

Hello, Bloggers, today I figured I'd give an early in-depth look as to who I think will win at the Oscars this year in the major categories, who I think should win, as well as who I think could win and possible pull off an upset. I'll start off small by going with Best Supporting Actress:

Best Supporting Actress:

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

Should/Will Win: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave: She won the Critics' Choice and the SAG Award, and when I saw her performance, I can see why there is a lot of praise over her performance as she was just a revelation. I hope that she goes places after this movie as Lupita is a talent treasure that should just really be opened. Some predict that Jennifer Lawrence will win her 2nd consecutive Oscar, but I don't think the Academy will be just aching to give her a 2nd anytime soon. If she won a 2nd Oscar at some point, it would be neat, but I wouldn't want to see it happen right away.

Could Win: Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine OR June Squibb, Nebraska: I feel Hawkins could have a shot at scoring the Oscar since she is in a Woody Allen movie and the Academy loves Woody Allen's ladies as much as he does, and she has been doing the acting thing longer than Nyong'o and Lawrence have. Plus, I would definitely NOT be upset if Hawkins won since I was rooting for throughout this awards season. However, June Squibb, a much older player could pull off a win and benefit from the Academy's tendency to give older veterans an Oscar in case it is their last chance and this could be Squibb's last chance.

Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Jonah Hill, Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Should Win: Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave: Fassbender delivers a very haunting and complex performance as slave owner Edwin Epps and I would love to see Fassbender score a win for his portrayal. Although, because he has so much work lined up, he'll more than likely have more chances to win the gold, and I do hope he wins one at some point. But, he could win the BAFTA since the category's frontrunner got snubbed.

Will Win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club: Despite not getting nominated by the BAFTAs, it seems Leto has this category sewn up as he won the Critics' Choice, Globe, and SAG Award. But Leto is amazing in Dallas Buyers Club, and makes you forget you're watching Jared Leto on screen. So, I wouldn't be crushed if he did win.

Could Win: Bradley Cooper, American Hustle OR Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips: Since Hustle is nominated in every acting category, the Academy may reward at least one nominated performance and in case Lawrence or Amy Adams don't win, I feel they could give it to Bradley Cooper since Christian Bale, who is nominated for Best Actor, already won before. They could also give it to Barkhad Abdi, who is nominated for his debut performance and has a solid narrative behind his campaign, as he was previously a limo driver with no acting experience and he delivers an outstanding performance where he holds his own against Tom Hanks of all people.

Best Actress:

Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity'
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Will Win: Amy Adams: I seriously think that this is Adams' year. This is her 5th nomination, and she is the only nominee that hasn't won yet. I feel this is finally the year that Adams could take home the gold. So, I think she should start preparing her speech. 

Should Win: Amy Adams OR Cate Blanchett: As astounding as Adams was, Cate Blanchett was equally as astounding as the modern-day Blanche DuBois in Blue Jasmine. Either one of these performances winning is perfectly cool with me.

Could Win: Judi Dench: This is Dench's 7th nomination and even though she's won before, she won for Best Supporting Actress, and who knows how many opportunities she'll have to win Best Lead Actress. So, to play it safe, they could give her the prize.

Best Actor:

Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Will Win: Matthew McConaughey: Alright! Alright! Alright! McConaughey is on fire this awards season and I would not be surprised to see him win this thing. He is certainly deserving like the other nominees in this category that I've seen.

Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio: It seems a bit ironic that DiCaprio's co-star in Wall Street who has about a few scenes has a better shot at winning the golden man, but DiCaprio is definitely as deserving as McConaughey is. But DiCaprio might have a shot at winning this thing since this is his 4th nomination and it is pretty obvious how badly he wants to win an Oscar with the type of projects he does and directors he works with, so they could give him the win to terminate the suspense.

Could Win: Bruce Dern: If there is anybody that has an outside chance, it is Bruce Dern. Similar reasons as June Squibb, whereas he could benefit from voters thinking "It's time".

Best Original Screenplay:

American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
Nebraska

Should/Will Win: Her: Writer Spike Jonze is cleaning up pretty good in this Oscar race, since he won the Critics' Choice, Globe, and the WGA.

Could Win: American Hustle: Because Hustle, along with Gravity, has 10 nominations, the most nominations of any film, it could be bound to win at least one or two. If it is, then I could see it winning an acting Oscar and Best Screenplay.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

12 Years A Slave
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
Wolf of Wall Street

Should Win: 12 Years A Slave: This would definitely be my pick out of all the nominees that I've seen.

Will Win: 12 Years A Slave OR Captain Phillips: Despite not getting nominated at the WGA Awards, 12 Years still has a potential shot at winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay since it won at the Critics' Choice Awards. But Captain Phillips did win at the WGA Awards which gives it plenty of momentum to win on Oscar night.

Could Win: Before Midnight: It is the last in a trilogy of films, with the first two being Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. So, that could mean a win since it would be their last opportunity to award that trilogy.

Best Director:

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Alexander Payne, NebraskaMartin Scorsese, Wolf of Wall Street

Should/Will Win: Alfonso Cuaron: Won the Globe, Critics' Choice, and DGA. He deservingly has this race sewn up.

Could Win: Steve McQueen: If there is anybody that Cuaron should watch out for, it is McQueen, and they have the misfortune of going up against each other in the same year because they both did phenomenal jobs in their respective films. Either way, we could see the second year in a row where a non-Caucasian director wins Best Director and the 4th year in a row where a non-American director wins.

Now onto the granddaddy of all the categories.....

Best Picture:

12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
Wolf of Wall Street

Should Win: 12 Years A Slave: Hands down, one of the best movies I've seen all year and does for slavery what Schindler's List does for the Holocaust. This is such a powerful film and if you saw it and got teary, so did I. If it won, it would be one of the best films to win Best Picture ever.

Will Win: 12 Years A Slave, Gravity, OR American Hustle: Since the Best Picture race is a three way battle between these three films, it could be any of one these three that wins the grand prize. All great films, without a doubt, and equally deserving. Even though as much as I loved it, I found Hustle to be a tad overhyped, I wouldn't lose sleep over it winning Best Picture, since it's entertaining and has a profound message about how we all live in a world of gray. Since Gravity tied with 12 Years at the PGA, and could potentially win Best Director, it is definitely not a long shot to win Best Picture.

Could Win: Her: If the other three films were to butt heads and fall down, I feel Her would be the film that would step over them and pull off an upset. Not too sure why, but something tells me that if any film will pull an upset, it will be Her. But if it doesn't, then it could still more than likely win Best Original Screenplay. Either way, it looks like I might just be enjoying the ceremony, no matter who wins.

So, those are my picks for who will win, who should win, and who could win in the major categories. Please feel free to write down who you think should or will win in the comments section below. Thanks for reading and until March 2nd, I will continue my Oscar coverage!



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