My 2014-2015 Oscar Predictions – Part 4: The Majors

Now I finish my predictions with the “big 6”: the acting categories, director and of course Best Picture.

BEST PICTURE:
American Sniper (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Boyhood (IFC Films)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
The Imitation Game (The Weinstein Company)
Selma (Paramount Pictures)
The Theory of Everything (Focus Features)
Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics)

For a long time, I thought Boyhood had this wrapped up.  But lately the momentum is with Birdman, so I’m going with the flow this year.

Prediction: Birdman

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DIRECTING:
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

The last two years there has been a split, which is really rare.  Is this the start of a trend? Will we see another with Linklater taking the directing home while Birdman takes home BP?  …. Maybe, but I dont think so. I’ll go with Inarritu.

Prediction: Birdman

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ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

This might be the toughest category to choose for me this year.  On one hand, Eddie Redmayne won the SAG, and has that whole “impersonating someone famous” that the voters love so much.  On the other hand, Birdman has Michael Keaton, a veteran actor overdue for an award, which the voters love so much.  I really don’t know… Most people are choosing Redmayne, I’m going out on the other limb and choosing Keaton.

Prediction: Birdman

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ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Witherspoon has gotten a lot of buzz for Wild, and same with newcomer Felicity Jones.  But many are saying Julianne more in a movie no one saw, so I suppose I’ll stick with the grain.

Prediction: Still Alice

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ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

I really liked Ethan Hawke in Boyhood, but I’m heard great things about Simmons , J. Jonah Jameson himself, in Whiplash.

Prediction: Whiplash

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ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

This is another tough one to choose.  First off, I’ll repeat what many others are saying; Streep being nominated is straight up ridiculous.  They just give her the nomination for anything now apparently.  Anyway, I think its between Emma Stone and Patricia Arquette.  Since Arquette won the SAG, it’ll likely be her.

Prediction: Boyhood