Bright and early tomorrow morning, the nominations for the 2014 Academy Awards will be announced in Hollywood. Predicting who will find themselves on the prestigious list is more or less a guessing game, but I figured I might as well get in on the fun, despite not following the Oscar race quite as closely as I have in the past. Here are my picks for some of the major categories, ranked alphabetically
Picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Oddly, I’d say 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, and American Hustle are the only sure things. There are plenty of quality movies in the running this year, but not a lot of showy, “prestige” pictures that have gained much traction. Lots of more quirky and/or low-key fare. Other movies like Her, Dallas Buyers Club, or Blue Jasmine could easily sneak onto the list.
Actor
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All Is Lost
To predict Leo or not to predict Leo. That is the question. His Golden Globe win gives me hope, and maybe this year will end the Academy’s streak of snubbing him. Then again, I’m not sure how much they’re going to take to The Wolf of Wall Street. If anyone were to get bumped, it would likely be Redford, but I’m going to stick with the “safe” lineup for my predictions in this case.
Actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
The Academy does look David O. Russell movies (and especially his actors) and they love Amy Adams, so I had to find a spot for her. While I’m a little doubtful that they’ll deny Streep, she does seem to be on the shakiest ground of all the nominees.
Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
I’m going out on a limb and guessing that Bruhl is this year’s “sure thing” snub, though I could be way off-base.
Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler
Again, it’s a safe lineup, but I don’t feel like Hawkins has gained enough traction to bump someone out.
Director
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Original Screenplay
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Adapted Screenplay
12 Years a Slave
August: Osage County
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
Animated Feature
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
Monster’s University
The Wind Rises
Documentary Feature
20 Feet From Stardom
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
The Square
Stories We Tell
Foreign Language Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
Omar
Times Like Those 