Somehow, I managed to see all of the Best Picture nominees from 2017, maybe for the first time ever (or at least since my glory days in high school). So here are my predictions for this year’s Oscars, and my votes for who should actually win.
I didn’t make predictions for every single category – only the categories I felt informed enough about to have an opinion on.
Best Picture
Nominees:
- Call Me By Your Name
- Darkest Hour
- Dunkirk
- Get Out
- Lady Bird
- The Post
- Phantom Thread
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
My Prediction: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Who I want to win: Call Me By Your Name, Dunkirk, or Phantom Thread
My least favorite of these nominees is Three Billboards, but I think it has a big shot at winning. I just didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. But it’s a popular movie, at least for awards ceremonies lately. I personally don’t think it’s better than any of the other nominees, but I guess I understand why it’s gained so much buzz and attention. The other contender that could win is The Shape of Water. I liked this a lot more than Three Billboards. And I would be fine with it winning. But in my opinion, there are a few standout films from 2017 that are a cut above the rest.
Call Me By Your Name was a surprise revelation. I didn’t really expect to like it that much. I was interested in the buzz it was getting, and interested in the music (one of my favorite musicians, Sufjan Stevens, provides original songs for the film – one of which received an Oscar nomination). I did not expect to have such a strong response to it. This movie has stuck with me ever since I saw it.
Dunkirk was my frontrunner for most of the year, until Call Me By Your Name took over late. But I still love Dunkirk. It’s an incredible piece of filmmaking – a masterpiece, even. It’s funny that these two are my favorites. Dunkirk is often completely devoid of emotion – focusing more on depicting a specific event as accurately and devastating as possible. Call Me By Your Name is the opposite. Both are great, and I’d love for either to win.
I am also rooting for Phantom Thread, which is kind of a mix of the two. It’s a masterwork of filmmaking, and it also has a strange emotional pull (very strange, as it turns out). I laughed the whole way home from seeing Phantom Thread, baffled by what I’d watched. It got me in a way that I didn’t expect (how can you ever expect anything with Paul Thomas Anderson). Those three movies were heads and shoulders above Three Billboards and The Shape of Water. But alas, that’s not always what matters in awards season. And with so many strong films in 2017, there are a bunch of movies that have a chance at taking home the big prize.
Best Director
Nominess
- Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk
- Jordan Peele – Get Out
- Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
- Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread
- Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
My Prediction: Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
Who I want to win: Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk
Best Actor
Nominees:
- Timothée Chalamet– Call Me by Your Name
- Daniel Day-Lewis– Phantom Thread
- Daniel Kaluuya– Get Out
- Gary Oldman– Darkest Hour
- Denzel Washington– Roman J. Israel, Esq.
My Prediction: Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
Who I want to win: Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name
Best Actress
Nominees:
- Sally Hawkins– The Shape of Water
- Frances McDormand– Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Margot Robbie– I, Tonya
- Saoirse Ronan– Lady Bird
- Meryl Streep– The Post
My Prediction: Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Who I want to win: Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
Best Supporting Actor
Nominess:
- Willem Dafoe– The Florida Project
- Woody Harrelson– Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Richard Jenkins– The Shape of Water
- Christopher Plummer– All the Money in the World
- Sam Rockwell– Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
My Prediction: Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Who I want to win: Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project
Best Supporting Actress
Nominess:
- Mary J. Blige– Mudbound
- Allison Janney– I, Tonya
- Lesley Manville– Phantom Thread
- Laurie Metcalf– Lady Bird
- Octavia Spencer– The Shape of Water
My Prediction: Allison Janney – I, Tonya
Who I want to win: Lesley Manville – Phantom Thread
Best Original Screenplay
Nominess:
- The Big Sick– Written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
- Get Out– Written by Jordan Peele
- Lady Bird– Written by Greta Gerwig
- The Shape of Water– Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor; Story by Guillermo del Toro
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri– Written by Martin McDonagh
My Prediction: The Shape of Water – Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor
Who I want to win: Lady Bird – Written by Greta Gerwig
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominess:
- Call Me by Your Name– James Ivory based on the novel by André Aciman
- The Disaster Artist– Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber based on the book by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell
- Logan– Screenplay by Scott Frank, James Mangoldand Michael Green; Story by James Mangold based on characters from the X-Men comic books and theatrical motion pictures
- Molly’s Game– Aaron Sorkin based on the memoir by Molly Bloom
- Mudbound– Virgil Williams and Dee Rees based on the novel by Hillary Jordan
My Prediction: Call Me By Your Name – James Ivory based on the novel by André Aciman
Who I want to win: Call Me By Your Name – James Ivory based on the novel by André Aciman
Best Animated Feature Film
Nominees:
- The Boss Baby
- The Breadwinner
- Coco
- Ferdinand
- Loving Vincent
My Prediction: Coco
Who I want to win: The Breadwinner
Best Original Score
Nominees:
- Dunkirk– Hans Zimmer
- Phantom Thread– Jonny Greenwood
- The Shape of Water– Alexandre Desplat
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi– John Williams
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri– Carter Burwell
My Prediction: The Shape of Water – Alexandre Desplat
Who I want to win: Phantom Thread – Jonny Greenwood
Best Original Song
Nominees:
- “Mighty River” from Mudbound – Music and Lyrics by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson
- “Mystery of Love” from Call Me by Your Name – Music and Lyrics by Sufjan Stevens
- “Remember Me” from Coco – Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
- “Stand Up for Something” from Marshall – Music by Diane Warren; Lyrics by Common and Diane Warren
- “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman – Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
My Prediction: “Remember Me” from Coco – Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Who I want to win: “Mystery of Love” from Call Me by Your Name – Music and Lyrics by Sufjan Stevens
Best Cinematography
Nominees:
- Blade Runner 2049– Roger Deakins
- Darkest Hour– Bruno Delbonnel
- Dunkirk– Hoyte van Hoytema
- Mudbound– Rachel Morrison
- The Shape of Water– Dan Laustsen
My Prediction: Blade Runner 2049 – Roger Deakins
Who I want to win: Dunkirk – Hoyte van Hoytema
Best Film Editing
Nominees:
- Baby Driver– Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos
- Dunkirk– Lee Smith
- I, Tonya– Tatiana S. Riegel
- The Shape of Water– Sidney Wolinsky
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri– Jon Gregory
My Prediction: Dunkirk – Lee Smith
Who I want to win: Dunkirk – Lee Smith
Best Visual Effects
Nominees:
- Blade Runner 2049– John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2– Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner and Dan Sudick
- Kong: Skull Island– Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza and Mike Meinardus
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi– Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould
- War for the Planet of the Apes– Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon and Joel Whist
My Prediction: War for the Planet of the Apes
Who I want to win: Blade Runner 2049
Best Costume Design
Nominees:
- Beauty and the Beast – Jacqueline Durran
- Darkest Hour – Jacqueline Durran
- Phantom Thread – Mark Bridges
- The Shape of Water – Luis Sequeira
- Victoria & Abdul – Consolata Boyle
My Prediction: Phantom Thread – Mark Bridges
Who I want to win: Phantom Thread – Mark Bridges
Who do you think will win?