2014 OSCARS • 86th Academy Awards • EARLY PREDICTIONS • CONTENDERS!!
In contention for nomination at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014!
2013 is a year of great films, so I have high hopes for this year's Oscars. Categories may seem a tad crowded, but that's just because there's so much to choose from this year!
N.B. This list is always being updated so it's relevant :)
KEY
Text in red is most likely to win Text in purple is second to win
At this moment in time, the most likely top five are:
Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Best Actress
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Best Supporting Actor
Jake Gyllenhaal, Prisoners
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Best Supporting Actress
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
June Squibb, Nebraska
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave
2013 is a year of great films, so I have high hopes for this year's Oscars. Categories may seem a tad crowded, but that's just because there's so much to choose from this year!
N.B. This list is always being updated so it's relevant :)
KEY
Text in red is most likely to win Text in purple is second to win
At this moment in time, the most likely top five are:
Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Best Actress
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Best Supporting Actor
Jake Gyllenhaal, Prisoners
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Best Supporting Actress
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
June Squibb, Nebraska
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave
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- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsSandra BullockGeorge ClooneyEd HarrisDr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first time on a space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.Why is it a contender?
Alfonso Cuaron always makes great films, and Gravity is meant to be his most emotional and raw yet. He wasn't nominated for Children of Men, and it's been a long time since the Academy has honored a good science fiction film.
Best Picture
Best Director - Alfonso Cuaron
Best Actress - Sandra Bullock
Best Actor/Best Supporting Actor - George Clooney (unclear whether his role is a lead or a supporting one)
Best Original Screenplay - Alfonso and Jonas Cuaron
Best Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Film Editing - Alfonso Cuaron & Mark Sanger
Best Production Design - Andy Nicholson
Best Sound Mixing - Andy Stallabrass
Best Sound Editing - Niv Adiri - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJonah HillMargot RobbieBased on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.Why is it a contender?
It's never really been the right time for, Leonardo diCaprio - but now seems quite appropriate. The Academy also love Scorsese and Schoonmaker, and Wolf of Wall Street is one of the first period pieces set in the 80s. Also, expect a fiery performance from Cristin Milloti (think Lorraine Bracco in GoodFellas).
Best Picture
Best Director - Martin Scorsese
Best Actor - Leonardo diCaprio
Best Supporting Actor - Jonah Hill; Matthew McConaughey
Best Supporting Actress - Cristin Milloti
Best Adapted Screenplay - Terence Winter
Best Film Editing - Thelma Schoonmaker - DirectorJohn WellsStarsMeryl StreepDermot MulroneyJulia RobertsA look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.Why is it a contender?
Shouty stage plays don't translate well to screen a lot of the time (just look at Carnage), but it seems as though anything Meryl Streep touches turns to gold (and the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch's career is about to explode); so it seems hard to go wrong with such a knockout cast and the fact that every character is so complex and has a very meaty role.
Best Picture
Best Actress - Meryl Streep
Best Actress/Best Supporting Actress (unclear whether her role is lead or supporting) - Julia Roberts
Best Supporting Actor - Benedict Cumberbatch
Best Supporting Actress - Margo Martindale; Abigail Breslin
Best Adapted Screenplay - Tracy Letts
Best Cinematography - Adriano Goldman - DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsChristian BaleAmy AdamsBradley CooperA con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild F.B.I. Agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the Mafia.Why is it a contender?
If done right, this movie could be the fourth winner of the Big Five (and the first in 22 years)! O. Russell's last two films received lots of Academy love and expect the same from this one, especially since the casts from those two have been jumbled together in this film - so expect great chemistry! This film could also be the Best Actor nom Christian Bale has been looking for.
Best Picture
Best Director - David O. Russell
Best Actor - Christian Bale
Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams
Best Supporting Actor - Bradley Cooper; Jeremy Renner
Best Original Screenplay - Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell
Best Cinematography - Linus Sandgren
Best Film Editing
Best Costume Design - Michael Wilkinson
Best Sound Editing - DirectorSteve McQueenStarsChiwetel EjioforMichael Kenneth WilliamsMichael FassbenderIn the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.Why is it a contender?
A slavery epic based on one of the most influential books of all time, made with a great cast and directed by an indie film maker whose past films have been about hard hitting topics. Where can you go wrong?
Best Picture
Best Director - Steve McQueen
Best Actor - Chiwetel Ejiofor
Best Supporting Actor - Michael Fassbender
Best Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong'o
Best Adapted Screenplay - Steve McQueen & John Rigley
Best Cinematography - Sean Bobbitt
Best Production Design - Adam Stockhausen
Best Makeup - Ma Kalaadevi Ananda
Best Costume Design - Andree Fortier - DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichael FassbenderPenélope CruzCameron DiazA lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.Why is it a contender?
Cameron Diaz is the female Jim Carrey. The public and the rest of the award shows love them, but the Academy never nominates them even when they have the chance (Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky, anyone?). If Cormac McCarthy's original script is anything as brilliant as his books, expect an instant win.
Best Picture
Best Director - Ridley Scott
Best Actor - Michael Fassbender
Best Supporting Actress - Cameron Diaz
Best Original Screenplay - Cormac McCarthy - DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsColin FirthReese WitherspoonAlessandro NivolaThe savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a Satanic ritual.Why is it a contender?
The third in the Paradise Lost documentary series about the same topic as this film was nominated for an Oscar two years ago, and critics are saying this dramatization of the true story of the West Memphis Three is Atom Egoyan's best film since the masterpiece that is The Sweet Hereafter.
Best Director - Atom Egoyan
Best Supporting Actress - Reese Witherspoon
Best Adapted Screenplay - Paul Harris Boardman & Scott Derrickson - DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpySeamus Davey-FitzpatrickWe meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna.Why is it a contender?
The final piece to the Before.. puzzle, '..Midnight' is supposed to be the most mature film of all three. It is also likely to garner the trio team of Linklater, Delpy and Hawke a second Adapted Screenplay nomination.
Best Picture
Best Actress - Julie Delpy
Best Adapted Screenplay - Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke - DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanMelonie DiazOctavia SpencerThe story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.Why is it a contender?
Sundance's favourite about the current issues of racism and the very current issues of gun control. Michael B Jordan is one of three African-American actors in the race for Best Actor (alongside Chiwetel Ejifor for Twelve Years A Slave and Idris Elba for Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom).
Best Actor - Michael B Jordan
Best Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer; Melonie Diaz
Best Film Editing - Claudia Castello & Michael P Shawver - DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsGeorge ClooneyMatt DamonBill MurrayAn unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from German thieves and return them to their owners.Why is it a contender?
George Clooney! Nazis! Matt Damon! A race against time! Cate Blanchett! Stolen art! Yet another supporting role from John Goodman! Bill Murray! Jean Dujardin! Nazis! Everything about this films screams Oscar.
Best Picture
Best Director - George Clooney
Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett
Best Supporting Actor - Matt Damon
Best Film Editing - James D. Bissell
Best Adapted Screenplay - George Clooney & Grant Heslov - DirectorBennett MillerStarsSteve CarellChanning TatumMark RuffaloU.S. Olympic wrestling champions and brothers Mark Schultz and Dave Schultz join "Team Foxcatcher", led by eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont, as they train for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, but John's self-destructive behavior threatens to consume them all.Why is it a contender?
Steve Carrell in a straight role? Unbelievable! He will probably really deliver in Bennett Miller's followup to Moneyball, but might not be up there with the other Best Actor performances - especially in a year when Best Actor is so strong. Mark Ruffalo seems to be this film's best bet, and Oscar vet Vanessa Redgrave is only in 2 scenes in the movie but apparently steals the show.
Best Picture
Best Actor - Steve Carrell
Best Supporting Actor - Mark Ruffalo
Best Supporting Actress - Vanessa Redgrave - DirectorJason ReitmanStarsKate WinsletJosh BrolinGattlin GriffithDepressed single mom Adele and her son Henry offer a wounded, fearsome man a ride. As police search town for the escaped convict, the mother and son gradually learn his true story as their options become increasingly limited.Why is it a contender?
Kate Winslet hasn't had a good lead role for a couple of years, and playing a depressed single mother in Labor Day sounds like a role she can do a lot with. This film also seems like Josh Brolin's best bet for a second Oscar nomination if his other two films this year Oldboy and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For are a bit too gritty and intense for the Academy.
Best Actress - Kate Winslet
Best Supporting Actor - Josh Brolin - DirectorNat FaxonJim RashStarsSteve CarellToni ColletteAllison JanneyShy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.Why is it a contender?
Oscar winners Nat Faxton & Jim Rash's have once again teamed up, only this time sitting in the director's chair. Their screenplay is sure to live up to that of The Descendants, and Toni Collette hasn't been nominated for an Oscar in ages; and Sam Rockwell has never even been nominated! Could this year change that for them? On the contrary, this indie dramedy could fly over our heads as quickly as you can say Towelhead!
Best Supporting Actor - Sam Rockwell
Best Original Screenplay - Nat Faxton & Jim Rash - DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsTom HanksBarkhad AbdiBarkhad AbdirahmanThe true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.Why is it a contender?
Paul Greengrass's Somalian pirates thriller is one half of Tom Hanks' return to lead roles (the other being Saving Mr. Banks). A Best Actor nod for Hanks seems unlikely, but this film's best chance lies with the always great Catherine Keener who serves as the film's emotional side as Hanks' wife.
Best Director - Paul Greengrass
Best Actor - Tom Hanks
Best Supporting Actress - Catherine Keener - DirectorAlexander PayneStarsBruce DernWill ForteJune SquibbAn aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.Why is it a contender?
Alexander Payne's first film since The Descendants, shot in black and white against the producer's wishes, this film about a father and son is the kind of indie-style flick that may give its aging lead a nomination or even a win (think Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart).
Best Actor - Bruce Dern
Best Original Screenplay - Bob Nelson - DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsBérénice BejoTahar RahimAli MosaffaAn Iranian man deserts his French wife and her two children to return to his homeland. Meanwhile, his wife starts up a new relationship, a reality her husband confronts upon his wife's request for a divorce.Why is it a contender?
If the Academy will nominate Berenice Bejo for a silent performance in 'The Artist', wait until they see her in this. What is being called one of the strongest female performances of the year needs to get the sort of 'Amour' attention that gets foreign language films acting nominations.
Best Actress - Berenice Bejo - DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsEmma ThompsonTom HanksAnnie Rose BuckleyAuthor P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.Why is it a contender?
Like Kate Winslet, Tom Hanks has ventured more into more supporting roles in recent years but is coming back this year playing Academy sweetheart Walt Disney. A period piece like this could really be a hit or miss (anyone remember when everyone thought Hyde Park on Hudson would be the BIG winner last year?!). Director John Lee Hancock triumphed a few years ago with The Blind Side though, so who knows?
Best Actor - Tom Hanks
Best Actress/Supporting Actress - Emma Thompson (unsure whether her role is Lead or Supporting)
Best Supporting Actor - Colin Farrell - DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsNaomi WattsNaveen AndrewsCas AnvarDuring the last two years of her life, Princess Diana embarks on a final rite of passage: a secret love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan.Why is it a contender?
If Meryl can win Best Actress for The Iron Lady, and Helen Mirren for The Queen, surely Naomi Watts has a shot playing another respected female British monarch?
Best Actress - Naomi Watts - DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsOscar IsaacCarey MulliganJohn GoodmanA week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.Why is it a contender?
Joel and Ethan Coen's film about country singers in the 1960s may not be their best, but this sweet saga is sure to shoot Oscar Isaac into stardom and may be the surprise Picture-Director nominee that's been on everyone's radar since the beginning (think Amour or Beasts of the Southern Wild last year, and The Tree of Life the year before that). John Goodman's gotta get nominated someday, why not now?
Best Director - Joel and Ethan Coen
Best Actor - Oscar Isaac
Best Actress - Carey Mulligan
Best Supporting Actor - John Goodman
Best Adapted Screenplay - Joel and Ethan Coen - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsHugh JackmanJake GyllenhaalViola DavisWhen Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.Why is it a contender?
A stellar cast and great director, this film may be shunned from the spotlight due to crowded categories, but Maria Bello has been giving Oscar-worthy performances for years and has always nearly been nominated but never actually has. Could this year be hers? Also, it's uncertain whether this film will be the hard-hitting drama it's trailers make it out to be, or just another version of 'Taken'.
Best Actor - Hugh Jackman
Best Supporting Actress - Maria Bello
Best Original Screenplay - Aaron Guzikowski - DirectorWoody AllenStarsCate BlanchettAlec BaldwinPeter SarsgaardA New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives in San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks like a million dollars but isn't bringing money, peace or love.Why is it a contender?
Woody Allen's return to drama, something that has suited him well in the past. 'Blue Jasmine' is also set in New York, another thing that has suited him well in the past. Like Jonze, Allen seems to be going back to his roots which (again, like Jonze) received lots of Academy love.
Best Actress - Cate Blanchett
Best Original Screenplay - Woody Allen - DirectorJustin ChadwickStarsIdris ElbaNaomie HarrisTerry PhetoA chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.Why is it a contender?
Taking on Mandela is a big task, and I'm interested to see how Idris Elba's portrayal of the iconic figure will turn out.
Best Actor - Idris Elba - DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCarey MulliganJoel EdgertonA writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age.Why is it a contender?
Even if the movie doesn't live up to the spectacular book, there's no denying The Great Gatsby will be a lavish feast for the eyes, and sure to win many technical awards. The Academy still owes Baz Luhrmann a makeup nomination for Moulin Rouge! and this years seems his best bet.
Best Cinematography - Simon Duggan
Best Costume Design - Catherine Martin
Best Makeup - Catherine Biggs
Best Production Design - Catherine Martin
Best Film Editing - Jason Ballantine
Best Sound Mixing - Phil Heywood - DirectorJ.C. ChandorStarsRobert RedfordAfter a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face.Why is it a contender?
This unusual survival epic about an old man and the sea contains almost no dialogue. This could be a good chance for Robert Redford to earn an acting nomination as well as JC Chandor his second screenplay nom.
Best Actor - Robert Redford
Best Original Screenplay - JC Chandor - DirectorJames GrayStarsMarion CotillardJoaquin PhoenixJeremy RennerIn 1921, an innocent immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.Why is it a contender?
Set in the world of 1930s cabaret, Marion Cotillard wasn't nominated last year for Rust and Bone, and Jeremy Renner plays the manipulate magician who saves Cotillard's character - and the Academy love rewarding villainous roles - so expect nominations for the pair. James Gray always gets great performances out of actors and is long overdue a Best Director nod.
Best Picture
Best Director - James Gray
Best Actress - Marion Cotillard
Best Actor - Joaquin Phoenix
Best Supporting Actor - Jeremy Renner
Best Costume Design - Meghan Corea