This Sunday is the 89th Academy Awards ceremony, presented which will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. So who’s going to win?
BEST PICTURE
Arrival 10000
Fences 8000
Hacksaw Ridge 8000
Hell or High Water 10000
Hidden Figures 1200
La La Land -600
Lion 6600
Manchester by the Sea 2000
Moonlight 700
Choosing a winner for this category of the Academy Awards becomes so much harder when there’s so many great nominees. But let’s face it — the entire world probably feels that La La Land is going to come away with the Oscar. The odds are certainly in its favor because it took home seven , including Best Motion Picture, Best Performance by an Actor and Actress, Best Director, Screenplay, Original Song, and Score. It cleaned up at the BAFTA awards and has won a mess of other awards as well. It was a cute movie and it definitely is different than the superhero or shoot ’em up blockbusters that are out. Remember when The Artist came out in 2011? It took Hollywood by storm because it was different — it was a silent film in an era where they are rarely seen, nevermind making the big screen. The Artist was ah-friggin-mazing — but then again I’m a sucker for the golden oldie-style movies — and it won for Best Picture in the 2012 Academy Awards.
Back to La La Land. Like I said, it was good, but I don’t think it was amazing. SPOILER ALERT: To go old school, in my opinion, you need a happily-ever-after which it kinda had, but really didn’t. The soundtrack didn’t stick out at me as one I’d listen to over and over again, as opposed to many other musicals that I own the soundtracks too. Emma Stone was fantastic as Mia and Ryan Gosling did a nice job as Sebastian, but overall I didn’t feel the connection (I’m ducking and running for cover now because I don’t want to get hit by those who are absolutely in love with this movie).
Where am I going with this? Do I think it will win Best Picture? Probably. But I’m plunking my money on Hidden Figures to be a dark horse in this nine-movie horse race. I felt that the writing in Hidden Figures is so much stronger than in La La Land — even though it’s a true story compared to a fictional one — and the characters are immediately likable and story more emotional. I’m going with Hidden Figures to step out in the limelight and own this category.
PREDICTION: Hidden Figures
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea -175
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land 1400
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic 10000
Denzel Washington, Fences 137
Will it be Andrew Garfield’s year? It’s his first Academy Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Hacksaw Ridge, but can he beat out Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea? The oddsmakers say the chances are so slim that Garfield isn’t even mentioned on the odds. Affleck picked up the Golden Globe, which is said to be a good indication of who is going to win this Oscar. I think, however, that Affleck has this one locked up. His performance was solid. Denzel Washington, who is Affleck’s closest competition if you’re looking at odds, is throwing me off here because the Academy loves Denzel, but I think this time he’ll be sitting on the side of fence that doesn’t win.
PREDICTION: Casey Affleck
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Isabelle Huppert, Elle 1000
Ruth Negga, Loving 4000
Natalie Portman, Jackie 500
Emma Stone, La La Land -600
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins 5000
Isabelle Huppert won the Golden Globe for her portrayal of Michèle, the head of a video game company who was attacked in her home and resolves to track the man down. But the oddsmakers have Emma Stone locked in as the favorite for her role in La La Land. I’ll have to agree on this one. Emma is delightful and shows much more range of emotion in her roles. She’s against one of the legends in Meryl Streep, but while Meryl was great in her role of Jenkins (because we all know she really can sing) I don’t think it was an Oscar-worthy performance. It’s Stone’s second nomination with her last for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Birdman. Put your money on Emma — it’s her years and she’ll be in La La Land finally giving her acceptance speech.
PREDICTION: EMMA STONE
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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
William Hill didn’t have odds for this category, but I am voting for Mahershala Ali in Moonlight. Aaron Taylor-Johnson from Nocturnal Animals won the Golden Globe, but wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.
PREDICTION: Mahershala Ali
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ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Viola Davis, Fences 5000
Naomie Harris, Moonlight 2000
Nicole Kidman, Lion 4000
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures 8000
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea 1400
Boy I would love Octavia Spencer to be this category’s dark horse for her role in Hidden Figures, but Viola Davis — who won the Golden Globe — is a runaway favorite and a safe place for your money.
PREDICTION: Viola Davis
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ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Kubo and the Two Strings 350
Moana 2000
My Life as a Zucchini 5000
The Red Turtle 4000
Zootopia -600
Dang, I love animated feature films and Zootopia was absolutely fantastic — so much so that I’ve watched it more than once, don’t judge me. Moana is a strong contender to steal the Oscar, but again a safe bet is the one the oddsmakers have and that’s for Zootopia to take it home.
PREDICTION: Zootopia
DIRECTING
Arrival 6600
Hacksaw Ridge 4000
La La Land -2000
Manchester by the Sea 1400
Moonlight 1000
Last, but not least, is the category for best director and I’m going to go with Damien Chazelle for La La Land on this one. La La Land might have been lacking a little for me in some areas, but it was beautifully done from a director standpoint. The filming at the Observatory in Los Angeles and the scene at the beginning which was done on the parkways were brilliant. Congrats Damien.
PREDICTION: Damien Chazelle
The Academy Awards should be entertaining and a nice diversion from what’s going on in the rest of the country.
