Oscar Sunday is here and after a lot of movie watching and research, I’m ready to make my picks for nearly all of the categories.
I’ve already written prediction pieces for some of the other categories, such as acting and directing. However, there are plenty others I still need to pick.
Before getting underway, here are my other Academy Award prediction articles:
- My predictions for the acting categories.
- My predictions for director, cinematography and editing.
- My predictions for Best Picture, adapted screenplay and original screenplay.
Animated Feature:
- “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois
- “I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin
- “Klaus,” Sergio Pablos
- “Missing Link,” Chris Butler
- “Toy Story 4,” Josh Cooley
Who will win: This one’s real tough, as accolades have been spread around for the animated pictures. “Toy Story 4” won a Critics’ Choice and a Producers Guild of America award. Because of that, and the name recognition of Pixar/Disney, I’m leaning toward “Toy Story 4.”
Who could win: “Klaus” is neck-and-neck with “Toy Story.” It swept the International Animated Film Association’s Annie Awards and picked up a big win from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. It has a good chance at winning. This is nearly 50/50.
Who should win: I’ve only watched three of the five, but from what I’ve seen and read, all are really deserving here.
Snubbed: I didn’t think it surpassed the first, but I think the argument can be made that “Frozen II” could have been nominated.
Animated Short:
- “Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
- “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
- “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
- “Memorable,” Bruno Collet
- “Sister,” Siqi Song
Who will win: “Hair Love.”
Best Documentary Feature:
- “American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
- “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
- “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
- “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Who will win: “American Factory” has a lot of momentum. It earned a Director’s Guild of America Award and Saturday received a Spirit Award.
Who could win: “Honeyland” was very well received and could possibly pull an upset.
Who should win: I’d go with “The Cave,” “For Sama” or “Honeyland” over “American Factory.”
Best Documentary Short Subject:
- “In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
- “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
- “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
- “St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
- “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix
Who will win: “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone.”
Best Live Action Short Film:
- “Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
- “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
- “The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
- “Saria,” Bryan Buckley
- “A Sister,” Delphine Girard
Who will win: “The Neighbors’ Window.”
Best International Feature Film:
- “Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
- “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
- “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
- “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
- “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho
Who will win: “Parasite”
Sound Editing:
- “Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
- Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
- “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
- “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
- “Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord
Who will win: When it comes to the sound categories, always go with the war film. “1917” takes it.
Who could win: “Ford v Ferrari.”
Sound Mixing:
- “Ad Astra”
- “Ford v Ferrari”
- “Joker”
- “1917”
- “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Who will win: Again, going with “1917” here.
Who could win: “Ford v Ferrari.”
Who should win: “1917” is certainly deserving here, but because of how much I liked “Ad Astra,” I wouldn’t complain if it won something.
Production Design:
- “The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
- “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
- “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
- “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
- “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee
Who will win: Another close one here and all pretty deserving in my view. My pick here is “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Who could win: “Parasite” and “1917” could also take the statue in this three film race.
Original Score:
- “Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
- “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
- “Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
- “1917,” Thomas Newman
- “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams
Who will win: “Joker.”
Original Song:
- “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
- “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
- “I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
- “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
- “Stand Up,” “Harriet”
Who will win: “I’m Gonna Love Me Again.”
Who Could Win: “Stand Up.”
Makeup and Hair:
- “Bombshell”
- “Joker”
- “Judy”
- “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
- “1917”
Who will win: “Bombshell.”
Costume Design:
- ”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
- “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
- “Joker,” Mark Bridges
- “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
- “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips
Who will win: “Little Women.”
Who could win: “Jojo Rabbit” or “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Who should win: The three front-runners written above are all deserving in my view.
Visual Effects:
- “Avengers Endgame”
- “The Irishman”
- “1917”
- “The Lion King”
- “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
Who will win: Because of the momentum it has in other categories, I’m going with “1917” here.
Who could win: “The Irishman.”
Who should win: It’d be nice to see “Endgame” earn an Oscar, so this would be great to see.
Matthew Liedke on Film 