Oscars 2015: Winners Predictions

Hello, Bloggers, here are my predictions of who will, could, and should win in all the categories at the Oscars. Let's take a look:

Best Picture:

Should/Will Win: Birdman. It won the guild trifecta: DGA, SAG, and PGA. Not only that, but like previous Best Picture winners such as Argo, Shakespeare in Love, Chicago, and The Artist, it is a film about show business. It has characters trashing critics, deals with an actor trying to achieve a comeback, and makes references to Hollywood, so it pushes the right kind of buttons. Although it is neck-and-neck with Boyhood. 

Could Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel. It did win at the Globes and could serve as an alternative for those that can't decide between the two frontrunners.

Best Director:

Should Win: Richard Linklater, Boyhood. This is a close one between Linklater and Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu. But while I greatly admire both directorial efforts, I would award Linklater because of how his effort really paid off after the billion things that could've gone wrong.

Will Win: Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, Birdman. He did win the DGA and judging by the guild wins, people have responded to it.

Best Actor:

Should/Will Win: Michael Keaton, Birdman: He gave the performance of his career and what could be the performance of a lifetime. He does have veteran/comeback status and what looks to be a Best Picture frontrunner. Originally, I was going to say Redmayne will win, but I am just not feeling it no matter what the precursors tell me. He is already so young and he unfortunately received terrible reviews for Jupiter Ascending, so they might be like "Eh, maybe next time".

Could Win: Bradley Cooper, American Sniper: The film is making a killing at the box office and this is his 3rd acting nomination in a row. If anybody is breathing down Redmayne and Cooper's necks, it is Cooper.

Best Actress:

Should/Could Win: Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl: In my opinion, she gave the female performance of the year. Her co-star Neil Patrick Harris is hosting the show, which could be a small omen of hope and more of us have seen Gone Girl than the film the frontrunner will win for.

Will Win: Julianne Moore, Still Alice: One of the safest bets in the entire race. She is overdue, playing a woman with Alzheimer's, and won everything else. Moving on.

Best Supporting Actor:

Should/Will Win: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash: Another potential safe bet. If anyone else wins, fans of Whiplash will say "Not quite my tempo". But the person likely to steal his thunder might be...

Could Win: Edward Norton, Birdman: This is his 3rd nomination and at every critics award that Simmons won and had a runner-up had Norton as a runner-up to Simmons. So, he is pressing Simmons' shoulders. Plus, there is quite a consensus of how he got robbed for American History X, so there could be this feeling of making up for it.

Best Supporting Actress:

Should/Could Win: Emma Stone, Birdman: She checks a lot of boxes: Weight loss, big monologue scene, Funny actress going serious. But the performance is amazing and easily her best work since Easy A.

Will Win: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood: Like J.K. Simmons, she has been around for quite a while and is finally getting recognition in the film industry.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Should/Will Win: Whiplash. Despite being a slight victim of category fraud because it was only adapted from a short film director Damien Chazelle made to get the funding to make Whiplash, it is seen by plenty as a favorite to deservingly win.

Could Win: The Imitation Game: If they decide to throw the movie a bone, since it has 8 nominations, this is where they are going to throw it.

Best Original Screenplay:

Should/Will Win: Birdman. It is between this and The Grand Budapest Hotel, but because Birdman is likely to win Best Picture, they'll have to reward it somewhere and this is one place. Plus, Budapest might already be taken care of with the tech Oscars it is likely to win.

Could Win: Boyhood. Depends on how much they love the film.

Best Editing:

Should Win: Boyhood. It did win at the Editors Guild and would also be my choice to win.

Will Win: Whiplash. Something tells me it'll be more than likely to win. Maybe it is the BAFTA win, but who knows.

Best Cinematography:

Should/Will Win: Birdman. Emmanuel Lubezki might easily pull off a repeat win.

Best Animated Feature:

Will Win: How To Train Your Dragon 2. 

I don't a pick for who should win because The Lego Movie isn't nominated and I haven't seen any of the nominees.

Best Documentary:

Will Win: Citizenfour. Easy. No contest. Moving on.

Best Score:

Should Win: Interstellar. The most harmonious score this year that tugs at the heartstrings.

Will Win: The Theory of Everything. It did win the Globe and depending on how in love they are with Theory of Everything, it could easily win.

Could Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel. Composer Alexandre Desplat is a double nominee for this and The Imitation Game, so we'll see.

Best Song:

Should/Could Win: "Everything Is Awesome" from The Lego Movie. This one is no contest. It would be so 'awesome' if it won. Last year, they did pick catchy (Let It Go) over sentiment (Ordinary Love), so the same thing could happen here.

Will Win: "Glory" from Selma. A more political choice, but the frontrunner nevertheless. I have a feeling that people will start tweeting and commenting about how Common and John Legend have Oscars while Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't. Mark my words.

Best Production Design:

Should/Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel. Moving on.

Best Costume Design:

Should/Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel. Again. Moving on.

Best Makeup:

Should Win: Guardians of the Galaxy. It would be awesome if a Marvel movie won an Oscar.

Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel. It does have the most nominations.

Best Visual Effects:

Should Win: Guardians of the Galaxy or X-Men: Days of Future Past. While I would be satisfied with whoever wins, either one of these two would be my pick.

Will Win: Interstellar. Despite not winning at the Effects guild, this outcome still looks most likely in my opinion.

Best Sound Editing:

Should Win: Interstellar.

Will Win: American Sniper. Movies about war seem to have good look in these categories.

Best Sound Mixing:

Should/Will Win: Whiplash. It is a movie about music, so...

Could Win: American Sniper. Like I said, war movies do well in these categories.

I'm only skipping the short categories because I don't know much about those (I never do).

So those are my predictions as to who should win, will win, and who could win at the Oscars on February 22nd. Whether you agree or disagree, please feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section. My Oscar coverage will continue until Oscar night and until then, thanks for reading!