Oscars 2014 Predictions: Best Actress (Updated)

Hello, Bloggers, as we are getting close to the Oscar race, I figured I'd update my predictions for some of the major categories, and hopefully make my predictions for Best Picture as I said I would. But for this post, I will update my predictions for Best Actress:


Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine: Blanchett seems to be the surest thing in this category to be nominated so far. After having seen the movie, I can honestly see why and I am rooting for her to go for the gold. Surely, delivering a magnificent performance is like a walk in the park for Blanchett, but in this film, she packs plenty of emotion into one performance: humorous, vulnerable, angry, paranoid, and sad. Plus, the Academy does really love Cate Blanchett as she already has 5 nominations with 1 win for Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator, and Blue Jasmine is a Woody Allen movie, so that's another plus.

Sandra Bullock, Gravity: So far, in the Best Actress race, it seems to be a battle between Cate Blanchett and Sandra Bullock. I had recently seen Gravity and I think she will get nominated but unsure if she will win because she had recently won Best Actress back in 2010 for The Blind Side. Although I think she'll get nominated because even though Gravity is known for being a visual spectacle, like Avatar and Life of Pi and normally films like those are mostly recognized for their technical achievements, the Academy might want to recognize them for their performances this time around, so that could easily benefit Bullock at her shot at getting nominated.

Judi Dench, Philomena: Much like Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench is another Academy favorite, with six nominations under her belt and 1 win for Best Supporting Actress for Shakespeare in Love. I think not only that will benefit Dench but because she has Harvey Weinstein behind her and he is a staple at the Academy Awards. Plus, the film itself started to pick up steam when it was being screened at the Venice and Toronto Film Festival.

Julia Roberts/Meryl Streep, August: Osage County: I couldn't decide between the two because I have a feeling at least one of them will be entered into this category. Although it was announced a while ago that Meryl Streep will be campaigned for Best Supporting Actress to give Roberts a shot at Best Actress but sometimes there are supporting performances that get put into the lead category and vice versa. Either way, I think Meryl is pretty much a lock to get nominated because she is Meryl Streep, one of our greatest actresses with 17 nominations under her belt with 3 wins. Now onto Julia Roberts. I heard she is getting some of the best reviews of her career for her performance in August: Osage County and this seems to be a role out of her comfort zone. In the case of movie stars being nominated, they love rewarding movie stars who take on roles outside of their comfort zone with a nomination.

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks: With the steam that Saving Mr. Banks is picking up, Thompson could be like Mary Poppins use a magic umbrella to fly her way to the Oscars on Oscar night with a 4th Best Actress nomination under her belt. It would also be her 6th nomination overall, and she has won in the past twice for Best Actress for Howard's End and Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility. As I said before, the Academy does love to give veteran performers who have won for been nominated before in the past another shot at the gold, so that could very easily benefit Thompson. Not only that, but the fact that Saving Mr. Banks is a biopic and she is playing the real-life author of Mary Poppins named P.L. Travers and the Academy does love when actors portray real people.

Now onto the dark horse contenders that could "trot" their way into the Final Five:

Kate Winslet (Labor Day): Despite mixed reviews, critics said her performance was great. Plus, Winslet's another Academy darling.

Berenice Bejo (The Past): Won the Cannes Award for Best Actress, like other past nominees and winners for Best Actress (Holly Hunter, Meryl Streep, Brenda Blethyn, etc.)

Amy Adams (American Hustle): Depending on which category she'll be campaigned for and how big her part is. Would receive her 1st Best Actress nod and 5th overall.

Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color): There's plenty of buzz around Blue is the Warmest Color, but her chances at getting nominated depend on the controversy surrounding the film's NC-17 rating.

So, those are my picks for who I think will be nominated for Best Actress and who could be a possible dark horse contender thus far. If you agree or disagree or if there's any other possible contender you'd like to add, please feel free to write in the comments section. Thanks for reading!