My Oscar 2016 Predictions

Hey everyone, if you haven't heard yet the 2016 Oscar nominations were announced Thursday morning. There were definitely some things that surprised me as well as things that did not surprise me.  So for the past couple of weeks I have received many emails asking me what my Oscar predictions were and I wanted to wait until the nominations were announced until I did so (mainly because my actual choices for the categories would have never been nominated due to their story and content). However I can say that I am very pleased with the nominations even though for me they may not be my favorites.  For this blog I will post who I think will win and I will also post who I think should win. They may be the same or they may be different, once again it is just my opinion. Also I will not be going into as much detail into some of the more technical categories, I will simply state my prediction. Last year there were a few surprises, so my predictions weren't entirely correct, but I hope this year will be different. Anyways lets begin with my 2016 Oscar predictions.......

Best Picture

The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Will Win - Spotlight
Should Win - The Big Short
Out of all the categories this year, this is probably the toughest one for me to pick.  I personally enjoyed all of these films and would be happy with any of them winning.  However, I think Spotlight will win.  Even though it hasn't won many awards so far this year, I still think the Academy will honor its great performances as well as its subject material.  With that said, I personally would love to see The Big Short win since I was so captivated throughout the film and it had some spectacular performances by all of its cast.  Also, with it being a comedy, I would love for the Academy to honor that genre once in a while.

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Will Win - Brie Larson, Room
Should Win - Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
So personally, I haven't seen Room, but it is on my list.  I am just waiting for it to come to Texas. However, I hear Brie Larson is spectacular and definitely deserves all the praise that she is getting. With that said, I loved Joy and Jennifer Lawrence's performance in it.  She definitely shows off all that she has to offer and it is amazing.  All the success that Joy has is because of her and she deserves to be recognized for that.

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Will Win/Should Win - Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
This is definitely Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar to lose.  His performance in The Revenant is outstanding and it is finally time for him to win.  This is probably is best performance and just hearing about all the things that he had to go through will filming this movie definitely makes me like it better.  In my opinion, it is finally Leonardo DiCaprio's time to win.

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Will Win/Should Win - Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
So I was personally quite surprised when Kate Winslet won the Golden Globes for her performance in Steve Jobs.  I honestly thought that she didn't stand a chance.  However, now that she has won, I am more confident in thinking that she will win again.  Her performance is so great and important that Steve Jobs wouldn't be the same without it.  I just hope that the Academy can recognize that as well.

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Will Win - Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Should Win - Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Though he won at the Golden Globes, I don't think the Academy will honor him.  He is definitely deserving though.  His performance as an aging Rocky Balboa is haunting and breathtaking. However, the Academy will go with another good choice in Mark Rylance, who plays a Russian spy. The Academy loves true stories and they will jump at the chance of honoring this performance.

Best Director

The Big Short, Adam McKay
Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller
The Revenant, Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Room, Lenny Abrahamson
Spotlight, Tom McCarthy

Will Win - The Revenant, Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Should Win - Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller
The Academy is going to have a repeat in their director's award this year.  After winning last year for Birdman, Alejandro G. Iñárritu's follow up is even better.  However, the amount of work and detail that George Miller put into his film is spectacular and should be honored here.  His film was definitely a sight to see and won over fans of the franchise as well as brought new fans to the franchise.  That is pretty impressive with how unique the franchise is.

 Best Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short, Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
Brooklyn, Nick Hornby
Carol, Phyllis Nagy
The Martian, Drew Goddard
Room, Emma Donoghue

Will Win/Should Win - The Big Short, Charles Randolph and Adam McKay

Best Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies, Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Ex Machina, Alex Garland
Inside Out, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
Spotlight, Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy
Straight Outta Compton, Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

Will Win - Bridge of Spies, Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Should Win - Inside Out, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original Story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen

Best Animated Feature

Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There

Will Win/Should Win - Inside Out

Best Documentary Feature

Amy
Cartel Land
Look of Silence
What Happened Miss Simone
Winter on Fire

Will Win - Cartel Land
Should Win - Amy

Best Foreign Language Film

Embrace of the Serpent, Colombia
Mustang, France
Son of Saul, Hungary
Theeb, Jordan
A War, Denmark

Will Win/Should Win - Son of Saul, Hungary

Best Original Score

Bridge of Spies, Thomas Newman
Carol, Carter Burwell
The Hateful Eight, Ennio Morricone
Sicario, Jóhann Jóhannsson
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, John Williams

Will Win - The Hateful Eight, Ennio Morricone
Should Win - Star Wars: The Force Awakens, John Williams

Best Original Song

“Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Grey (Music and Lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio)
“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction (Music by J. Ralph and Lyric by Antony Hegarty)
“Simple Song #3,” Youth (Music and Lyric by David Lang)
“Til it Happens to You,” The Hunting Ground (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga)
“Writing’s on the Wall,” Spectre (Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith)

Will Win/Should Win - Writing on the Wall, Spectre (Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith)

Best Cinematography

Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario

Will Win/Should Win - Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Film Editing

The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Will Win - The Revenant
Should Win - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Production Design

Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Will Win/Should Win - Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

Will Win/Should Win - Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Costume Design

Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

Will Win/Should Win - Cinderella

Best Animated Short

Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow

Will Win/Should Win - Sanjay's Super Team

Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Will Win/Should Win - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Will Win/Should Win - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Sound Mixing

Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Will Win/Should Win - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Documentary Short

Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom

Will Win/Should Win - Last Day of Freedom

Best Live Action Short

Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok

Stutterer

Will Win/Should Win - Ave Maria

Well everyone there you go.  These are my predictions for the 2016 Oscars.  Be sure to watch February 28 on ABC to see who actually wins.


Thanks again for reading!! If you have any other questions, comments, or ideas just let me know!!