2017 Oscar Predictions: Early February Update
We’re just under three weeks away from the Academy Awards, and I think it’s high time I give my two cents as far as what I think will go down Awards night. We’ll take a look at the feature film categories here, including the big categories and all those technical categories. I’ll list who I think will win and any film or performance that can take it down.
Best Visual Effects
The winner will be: The Jungle Book
This should be an easy category to predict. The achievement that director Jon Favreau and his crew met with the film is something that should and I think will be awarded.
Best Sound Editing
The winner will be: Hacksaw Ridge
This one will really be a coin-toss. Either the loud war movie, Hacksaw, wins, or Best Picture behemoth La La Land takes this one. Arrival also has a dog in the fight, so don’t count that one out either.
Best Sound Mixing
The winner will be: La La Land
Musicals usually win this category, or the big war movies, so once again I’ll list Hacksaw Ridge or Arrival as possible winners here.
Best Film Editing
The winner will be: La La Land
Film editor Tom Cross did a tremendous job with the film, and while he did win with Whiplash (2014), another Damien Chazelle film, I think he’s got this one, too.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
The winner will be: Star Trek Beyond
This category always frustrates me, and sometimes it’s one of the hardest categories to predict. I think Star Trek will take it, but Suicide Squad also stands a good chance.
Best Production Design
The winner will be: La La Land
If La La is the biggest Oscar winning musical in decades, this should easily be an award it wins.
Best Costume Design
The winner will be: La La Land
Another case where it’s an award La La will pick up in its predicted sweep. There is an outside chance that Jackie takes it down, but that’s growing ever slimmer as we approach the ceremony.
Best Cinematography
The winner will be: La La Land
With all those long takes and musical number stagings, this should be an easy win, but Lion would the Cinematographers guild this past weekend, so there is a possibility of an upset.
Best Original Song
The winner will be: “City of Stars” from La La Land
This one could actually be tough since “Audition”, also from La La Land, has a fighting chance. Also “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana could win if the voting splits between the two La La songs.
Best Original Score
The winner will be: La La Land
Since it’s rare for original music scores to be nominated anymore, this should be an easy win for the film.
Best Animated Feature
The winner will be: Zootopia
After its big wins this past weekend at the Annie Awards, this should be a no-brainer for Oscar night.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The winner will be: Moonlight
This actually will be a pretty tough category. While Moonlight is the favorite, Hidden Figures has been doing exceptionally well the past couple of weeks, both at the box office and with awards shows, so if it does goes home with something, this will be it.
Best Original Screenplay
The winner will be: Manchester by the Sea
This is one of the three big films at this year’s Oscars where it got in everywhere else, so it should take something home. However, if La La Land does start a big sweep, this one will go along for the ride.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
The winner will be: Viola Davis for Fences
This one has been the one lock in the big categories since late November. Really I don’t see anybody taking her down.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
The winner will be: Mahershala Ali for Moonlight
While he did lose the Golden Globe, Ali’s speech at the SAG Awards pulled him ahead in my opinion. While he’s still got stiff competition from Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water and Dev Patel in Lion.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
The winner will be: Emma Stone for La La Land
Traditionally the Best Picture winner also wins an acting award, and between Emma and Ryan, Emma’s got the better chance. But in the last couple of years, that hasn’t been true. Some competition for Emma includes Natalie Portman for Jackie and Isabelle Huppert for Elle.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
The winner will be: Denzel Washington for Fences
With his big win at SAG, Denzel might become another entry on the growing list of actors with 3 Oscars, including Daniel Day-Lewis and Jack Nicholson. His competitor, though, will be Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea, who has won just about everywhere else.
Best Director
The winner will be: Damien Chazelle for La La Land
There was a chance Barry Jenkins, director of Moonlight, was going to take him down, but after the DGA win for Chazelle, he’s got the Oscar in hand, too.
Best Picture
The winner will be: La La Land
After PGA, Globes, and a few other awards along the way, this should be the easy pick for Best Picture.
So if you kept count, La La Land has ten wins by estimations, and that number could grow or shrink depending on how the Academy is thinking. Anyways, this should still be an interesting ceremony with some big mysteries left in a couple of those bigger categories, and I’ll be letting you know if there are any changes in my predictions later on this month.
