2019 Oscars Predictions
What will take home the top awards for movies this year?
2018 was a fantastic year for movies, and the 2019 Oscars will be a chance to celebrate these successes and greatest moments in film of the past year again. The nominations for the 91st Academy Awards were released bright and early on Tuesday morning, and the show airs live on February 24 on ABC.
Most of the nominations were as expected, following the lead of other award shows, but they are also causing a bit of controversy surrounding what did not receive a nomination at all. Although Bradley Cooper received a best actor nomination for A Star is Born, he was kept out of the best director category entirely. This is shocking because prior to The Golden Globes, many predicted he would win in both the best actor and best director category. Another snub was Timothée Chalamet in the best supporting actor category. Beautiful Boy was an average movie, but Chalamet’s performance was spectacular and deserving of at least a nomination. Additionally, in the Documentary (Feature) category, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, was snubbed. This heartwarming documentary about Fred Rogers was well received by viewers and critics alike. I find it shocking that the Academy left this off the nomination list.
Now on to my predictions. Below are all of the nominees for each category, with the predicted winner bolded. Reminder that these predictions are based on my own opinions on the screenings as well as the typical types of winners that the Academy has chosen in recent years, so take these with a grain of salt.
Best Picture
“Black Panther”
“A Star Is Born”
“Roma”
“The Favourite”
“Vice”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Green Book”
“BlacKkKlansman”
Although other foreign films have been nominated for best picture, none have ever won before. I think Roma could be the first film to achieve this. Alfonso Cuarón’s tender black and white film follows the life of a housekeeper in Mexico in the 1970s. Other films in this category to watch out for though are A Star is Born and The Favourite. The best picture race is very close between many of these nominees, but I find it very hard to believe that Bohemian Rhapsody or Green Book, which won best picture at the Golden Globes, could also win at The Oscars.
Best Actress
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
This is one of the strongest best actress categories I’ve seen in a few years, but the race is mostly between Glenn Close and Lady Gaga. Glenn Close won the Golden Globe award and has never won an Academy Award for this category. The Academy often awards actors and actresses who have been nominated for many spectacular performances over the years and still have not won. Despite these points, I predict that the Academy will take a bigger risk with this category and award Lady Gaga for her stunning delivery of Ally and her journey to stardom in A Star is Born.
Best Actor
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Rami Malek’s transformation into Freddie Mercury won him a Golden Globe Award, and I believe it will earn him his first Academy Award win as well.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”
Another hard to call category, all nominated women gave wonderful performances, but Regina King seems to be pulling ahead. She has won at mostly all of the other awards shows and will likely win at the Oscars as well. The ladies of The Favourite are ones to watch out for though as either one of them could cause an upset in this category.
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”
Although I would personally choose Adam Driver to win this award because BlackkKlansman was my favorite film of the year, I think Mahershala Ali will earn his second Academy Award win in this category this year. Ali’s performance was the strongest part of Green Book, and he has won at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards already.
Best Director
Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”
By far the category with some of the strangest nominee choices, Alfonso Cuarón is almost guaranteed a win for his directorial work on Roma if the previous award shows are any indication.
Below are my predictions for the winners of the rest of the categories.
Best Original Screenplay
“First Reformed”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“The Favourite”
“Vice”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“A Star Is Born”
Best Cinematography
“Cold War”
“The Favourite”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
Best Animated Film
“Incredibles 2”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”
“Isle Of Dogs”
Best Animated Short Film
“Animal Behaviour”
“Bao”
“Late Afternoon”
“Weekends”
Best Live Action Short Film
“Detainment”
“Fauve”
“Marguerite”
“Mother”
“Skin”
Best Foreign Language Film
“Capernaum”
“Cold War”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma”
“Shoplifters”
Best Documentary Feature
“Free Solo”
“Minding The Gap”
“Of Fathers and Sons”
“RBG”
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
Best Documentary Short Subject
“Black Sheep”
“End Game”
“Lifeboat”
“A Night at the Garden”
“Period. End of Sentence.”
Best Production Design
“Black Panther”
“First Man”
“The Favourite”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Roma”
Best Film Editing
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Green Book”
“The Favourite”
“Vice”
Best Sound Editing
“A Quiet Place”
“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
Best Sound Mixing
“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
Best Original Score
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
Best Original Song
“All The Stars” ― “Black Panther”
“I’ll Fight” ― “RBG”
“Shallow” ― “A Star Is Born”
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” ― “Mary Poppins Returns”
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” ― “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
Best Costume Design
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“Black Panther”
“The Favourite”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Mary Queen of Scots”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“Border”
“Mary Queen of Scots”
“Vice”
Best Visual Effects
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Christopher Robin”
“First Man”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”
Overall, all of the films nominated are deserving of their spot on this list, and it will be interesting to see how the show plays out on February 24.
