feature: Nicola-T’s Oscar Predictions 2013
No Comment
Again I have left it massively late to do my Oscar predictions. Jury duty for the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards has meant that all I can do lately is watch films. So many films. That’s a good thing, obviously, but it’s meant I haven’t had any time to get this done. In fact I’m skipping a movie right now to do it.
Predictions-wise I did a little better last year than I did in 2011 but still well down from 2010. Last year I got 11 out of the 18 predictions that I made, compared to 8 out of 14 in 2011 and 10 out of 14 in 2010. Last year’s failure was mainly due to my underestimating the Academy’s love for Hugo. I actually loved Hugo myself, I just didn’t think it would pick up awards.
Anyway, as I often say, quit living in the past. This year and stepping up to the challenge and doing predictions for all 21 categories. So expect a fall in my hit rate again!
As usual I will be predicting who I think will win rather than who I think should win. Mostly.
By the way, if you want to play along on the night you can download my handy Oscar predictions ballot form 2013 in PDF or Word doc format.
BEST SOUND EDITING
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Zero Dark Thirty
Skyfall
Sound editing, one I’m always a little confused by. I feel like there’s a chance that the minor buzz around Skyfall could lead to an award… and this might be it. I think Cinematography would make more sense but I can’t see it competing for such a prestigious one, even with Deakins on the duty.
PREDICTED WINNER: Skyfall
BEST SOUND MIXING
Les Misérables
Skyfall
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Argo
Les Misérables? With the live singing thing and everything it really has to win some kind of sound awards doesn’t it?
PREDICTED WINNER: Les Misérables
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Avengers
Life of Pi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
I’ll go for Life of Pi for this. I mean, it is probably the best in category. Even though I love the idea of a Joss Whedon film winning an Oscar.
PREDICTED WINNER: Life of Pi
BEST FILM EDITING
Life of Pi
Silver Linings Playbook
Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Lincoln
I think it’s sad and shameful that Cloud Atlas has been completely overlooked for the Oscars. It’s a phenomenal piece of work that I can only really hope will live on as a cult classic. This is definitely a category I think it should be competing in but… in the absence of strong competition, I’ll go for Argo.
PREDICTED WINNER: Argo
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Before My Time” from Chasing Ice – J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from Ted – Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi – Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from Skyfall – Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
“Suddenly” from Les Misérables – Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer, and Alain Boublil
This might be where they take the chance to award Les Misérables, as there doesn’t seem to be much of a gap for it to sneak into between the forerunners like Silver Linings Playbook and Argo. That said, it’s the weakest song in the film, so I’m going for “Skyfall”, everybody loved Adele right?
PREDICTED WINNER: “Skyfall” from Skyfall
BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIRSTYLING
Hitchcock
Les Misérables
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Another category where Cloud Atlas has been criminally overlooked. And after giving it to The Iron Lady last year? Come on. In any case, this might be the second chance to give Les Misérables an award and I think it’s probably likely they’ll take this one over Original Song.
PREDICTED WINNER: Les Misérables
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Lincoln
Anna Karenina
Snow White and the Huntsman
Les Misérables
Mirror Mirror
A toughie this year, all excellent contenders. Well, except maybe Snow White and the Huntsman but that does have Colleen Atwood behind it.. There’s another slot that could have gone to Cloud Atlas (I’m not bitter). I’m going to hope that the best one will win here and that somehow Anna Karenina will make it through but Lincoln is a frontrunner which is only a little less deserving. And certainly more deserving than The Artist was last year.
PREDICTED WINNER: Anna Karenina
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Argo
Skyfall
Anna Karenina
I’m not great on scores but I feel like I remember Life of Pi having a good one. Cloud Atlas did as well. Just sayin’ like.
PREDICTED WINNER: Life of Pi
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Anna Karenina
Life of Pi
Les Misérables
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Lincoln
They changed Art Directon to Production Design this year, in case you’re wondering where this category came from. For me, Anna Karenina should be the clear winner. No questions asked. It was an incredible production. Lincoln could be a contender as well but the fact that it’s mostly in darkened room may make it difficult for people to recall… Sadly for Anna Karenina though, I think it’s just got too little support around it and that on the night, the award will be winging it’s way to Life of Pi
PREDICTED WINNER: Life of Pi
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Skyfall
Anna Karenina
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Django Unchained
Will they finally get sick of passing Roger Deakins over? Will this finally be his year? Probably not. I imagine Life of Pi will get this… but you’d never know, like I said earlier, there’s a minor buzz around Skyfall… and I’m going to call it Skyfall
PREDICTED WINNER: Skyfall
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
Wreck-It Ralph
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists
ParaNorman
I wasn’t mad pushed on any of the animated feature this year, but I think Wreck-It Ralph is most likely.
PREDICTED WINNER: Wreck-It Ralph
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty
Moonrise Kingdom
Amour
Flight
I’d love Wes Anderson to win an Oscar, but it’s just not going to happen is it? Maybe they’ll give it to QT. Django Unchained it is.
PREDICTED WINNER: Django Unchained
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Silver Linings Playbook
Lincoln
Argo
Life of Pi
I think Argo is too hot to be toppled here.
PREDICTED WINNER: Argo
And now we come to the biggies…
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Field – Lincoln
Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Amy Adams – The Master
Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
Ehh… it has to be Anne Hathaway right?
PREDICTED WINNER: Anne Hathaway
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained
Phillip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Alan Arkin – Argo
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Robert De Niro I think has this in the bag, but all of these are excellent performances. I’d be happy to see any of them take it home. Christoph Waltz and Tommy Lee Jones seem to have buzz behind them as well and I loved Alan Arkin but smart money says De Niro. Silver Linings Playbook seems to have dropped up the radar but somewhat but I think it’ll scrape in here.
PREDICTED WINNER: Robert De Niro
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Naomi Watts – The Impossible
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Jessica and Jennifer are the favourites here but Emmanuelle Riva for me was clearly the best. So I’m picking Emmanuelle Riva.
PREDICTED WINNER: Emmanuelle Riva
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Denzel Washington – Flight
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Daniel Day-Lewis, though if Joaquin Phoenix wasn’t so outspoken he’d be right up there. I was quite surprised as well after Les Mis as well, Hugh Jackman is a contender too… All I really have to say though is that it better not be Bradley Cooper. Are you all listening? It better not be Bradley Cooper.
PREDICTED WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis
BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Spielberg – Lincoln
Michael Haneke – Amour
Behn Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
I was really shocked when the Best Directors nominee list came out because the only one I had really expected out of them was Spielberg. I would have liked to see Tarantino on the list in place of David O. Russell and I’d like to see Haneke win, but I think Stephen Spielberg has it… and not undeservedly so.
PREDICTED WINNER: Stephen Spielberg
BEST FILM
Argo
Lincoln
Les Misérables
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Amour
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Beasts of the Southern Wild
If you’d asked me 3-4 weeks ago I would have said Lincoln for sure… but the road to the Oscars is a long one and you’d have to be living under a rock to miss the buzz behind Argo these days. Argo is it but I would have been happy with Amour or Lincoln.
To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about Argo emerging as such a favourite. No doubt it was a very entertaining film and all the films in the category deserve to be there, except for Silver Linings Playbook, but it doesn’t feel like an Oscar film to me. I feel like in 5 years we’ll all be looking back going “Really?”
PREDICTED WINNER: Argo
Anyway, that’s it for another year. Let me know what you think in the comments.
No Comments