90th Academy Award Predictions | The Source Weekly - Bend

90th Academy Award Predictions

2017 was an incredible year in film

I'm not a betting man, but if I were, the Oscars are the only thing I'd feel comfortable making predictions about. There are always the things that should win because they're heads and shoulders above the rest of the nominees, but they're usually defeated by the things that will win either because of popularity or Academy politics.

With that said, here's the list of the 90th Academy Awards nominees and my predictions for the winners and losers.

Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees

Timothée Chalamet

Call Me by Your Name

Daniel Day-Lewis

Phantom Thread

Daniel Kaluuya

Get Out

Gary Oldman

Darkest Hour

Denzel Washington

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Should Win 

Daniel Day-Lewis. He's retiring after this role and the Academy likes to award people for career swan songs. Also, he's incredible. 

Will Win 

Gary Oldman. The Academy likes it even more when a respected actor disappears into a role by wearing a ton of prosthetic makeup. 

Actor in a Supporting Role 

Nominees

Willem Dafoe

The Florida Project

Woody Harrelson

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Richard Jenkins

The Shape of Water

Christopher Plummer

All the Money in the World

Sam Rockwell

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Should Win 

Willem Dafoe. His work in "The Florida Project" is downright beautiful. 

Will Win

Sam Rockwell. He has the hype and the momentum right now. Plus, he made an irredeemable character somehow likable. 

Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees

Sally Hawkins

The Shape of Water

Frances McDormand

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Margot Robbie

I, Tonya

Saoirse Ronan

Lady Bird

Meryl Streep

The Post

Should Win

Frances McDormand. She's astounding in this role of a lifetime. 

Will Win

Frances McDormand. It's hers to lose. Sally Hawkins might sneak in there. 

Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees

Mary J. Blige

Mudbound

Allison Janney

I, Tonya

Lesley Manville

Phantom Thread

Laurie Metcalf

Lady Bird

Octavia Spencer

The Shape of Water

Should Win

Lesley Manville. You can watch her become a movie star before your very eyes. 

Will Win

Laurie Metcalf. The performance is too honest and heartbreaking to be ignored. 

Animated Feature Film

Nominees

The Boss Baby

Tom McGrath and Ramsey Naito

The Breadwinner

Nora Twomey and Anthony Leo

Coco

Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson

Ferdinand

Carlos Saldanha and Lori Forte

Loving Vincent

Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman and Ivan Mactaggart

Should Win

"Coco." Yeah, the craftsmanship behind "Loving Vincent" is remarkable, but "Coco" is an all-timer.

Will Win

"Coco." It's just too good not to take this award. 

Cinematography

Nominees

Blade Runner 2049

Roger A. Deakins

Darkest Hour

Bruno Delbonnel

Dunkirk

Hoyte van Hoytema

Mudbound

Rachel Morrison

The Shape Of Water

Dan Laustsen

Should Win

As much as I want Deakins to finally win, Dan Laustsen's work on "The Shape of Water" is timeless.

Will Win

Dan Laustsen. Every frame is a painting. 

Costume Design

Nominees

Beauty And The Beast

Jacqueline Durran

Darkest Hour

Jacqueline Durran

Phantom Thread

Mark Bridges

The Shape Of Water

Luis Sequeira

Victoria & Abdul

Consolata Boyle

Should Win

Mark Bridges. In a film about haute couture, Bridges' work is astonishing. 

Will Win

Mark Bridges. He finds the design through the eyes of a fictional character. That's incredible.

Directing

Nominees

Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan

Get Out

Jordan Peele

Lady Bird

Greta Gerwig

Phantom Thread

Paul Thomas Anderson

The Shape Of Water

Guillermo del Toro

Should Win

Jordan Peele. The layers upon layers of meaning Poole threaded throughout the film take multiple viewings to notice. 

Will Win

Guillermo del Toro. His work is so assured and nuanced. He's guaranteed this win. 

Documentary (Feature)

Nominees

Abacus: Small Enough To Jail

Steve James, Mark Mitten and Julie Goldman

Faces Places

Agnès Varda, JR and Rosalie Varda

Icarus

Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan

Last Men In Aleppo

Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed and Søren Steen Jespersen

Strong Island

Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes

Should Win

"Last Man in Aleppo." A true powerhouse. 

Will Win

"Faces Places." It has the momentum and marketing campaign. It's also a great film. 

Film Editing

Nominees

Baby Driver

Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos

Dunkirk

Lee Smith

I, Tonya

Tatiana S. Riegel

The Shape Of Water

Sidney Wolinsky

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Jon Gregory

Should Win

Lee Smith. The entire narrative of "Dunkirk" is built around the tricky chronological editing. 

Will Win

Lee Smith. "Dunkirk" is underrated and deserves this one. 

Foreign Language Film

Nominees

A Fantastic Woman

Chile

The Insult

Lebanon

Loveless

Russia

On Body And Soul

Hungary

The Square

Sweden

Should Win

"The Square." It hasn't left my mind since I screened it. 

Will Win

"The Square." Hollywood loves films that mock pretentiousness.

Makeup and Hairstyling

Nominees

Darkest Hour

Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick

Victoria & Abdul

Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard

Wonder

Arjen Tuiten

Should Win

"Darkest Hour." They made Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill. 

Will Win

"Darkest Hour." They made Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill!!

Music (Original Score)

Nominees

Dunkirk

Hans Zimmer

Phantom Thread

Jonny Greenwood

The Shape Of Water

Alexandre Desplat

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

John Williams

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Carter Burwell

Should Win

If Jonny Greenwood or Carter Burwell won, I would do a little dance for you. 

Will Win

Desplat will take this for "The Shape of Water." It's another bit of timelessness from the film. 

Music (Original Song)

Nominees

Mighty River

from Mudbound; Music and Lyric by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson

Mystery Of Love

from Call Me by Your Name; Music and Lyric by Sufjan Stevens

Remember Me

from Coco; Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

Stand Up For Something

from Marshall; Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Lonnie R. Lynn and Diane Warren

This Is Me

from The Greatest Showman; Music and Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Should Win

"Remember Me" is the only correct answer to this question. I'm not crying, you're crying.

Will Win

"Remember Me." It has to win. 

Production Design

Nominees

Beauty And The Beast

Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

Blade Runner 2049

Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Alessandra Querzola

Darkest Hour

Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

Dunkirk

Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis

The Shape Of Water

Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeffrey A. Melvin

Should Win

"Blade Runner" invents a seamless new world.

Will Win

"The Shape of Water" shows us new ways to look at our old world. 

Visual Effects

Nominees

Blade Runner 2049

John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner and Dan Sudick

Kong: Skull Island

Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza and Mike Meinardus

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould

War For The Planet Of The Apes

Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon and Joel Whist

Should Win

"War for the Planet of the Apes." Caesar and Bad Ape are living, breathing characters brought to life in full CGI. 

Will Win

"Blade Runner." It's genuinely breathtaking to look into its multi-layered world. 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Nominees

Call Me By Your Name

Screenplay by James Ivory

The Disaster Artist

Screenplay by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

Logan

Screenplay by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green; Story by James Mangold

Molly's Game

Written for the screen by Aaron Sorkin

Mudbound

Screenplay by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

Should Win

James Ivory. There's a monologue toward the end that's just so perfect. 

Will Win

James Ivory. This is the only one of the nominees with buzz. 

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Nominees

The Big Sick

Written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani

Get Out

Written by Jordan Peele

Lady Bird

Written by Greta Gerwig

The Shape Of Water

Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor; Story by Guillermo del Toro

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Written by Martin McDonagh

Should Win

Easily the hardest category. "Lady Bird" is so beautiful, but "Get Out" has profundity buried in its margins. 

Will Win

McDonagh will take it for "Three Billboards." It's too timely not to win. 

Best Picture

Nominees

Call Me By Your Name

Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges and Marco Morabito, Producers

Darkest Hour

Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten and Douglas Urbanski, Producers

Dunkirk

Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers

Get Out

Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele, Producers

Lady Bird

Scott Rudin, Eli Bush and Evelyn O'Neill, Producers

Phantom Thread

JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison and Daniel Lupi, Producers

The Post

Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers

The Shape Of Water

Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale, Producers

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers

Should Win

"Phantom Thread," "Lady Bird" or "Get Out" would all make me very happy.

Will Win

"Three Billboards" seems like the winner, although "The Shape of Water" could be a surprise upset.