The 86th Annual Academy Awards are Finally Here

It's finally time for the 86th Academy Awards, after what has felt like years between the start of the awards season in September through the nominations announcement in January to today (thanks Olympics!). While the long slog to this point could have produced yet another year of runaway frontrunners, we instead have what appears to be a three-way race in Best Picture, and close contests in several other categories. It's so rare to see this happen anymore, so revel in it while you can! It also means I can make some very bold, very foolish predictions that could really make me look stupid, but hey, fortune favors the bold right?


Bold prediction #1: 12 Years a Slave will only end up winning two Oscars on its nine nominations, but both will be in major categories.

Bold prediction #2: Despite the Best Picture race being a three-way photo finish at the moment, Gravity will ultimately end up dominating the night, winning far more than any other film with a likely eight wins.

Bold prediction #3: Though the Academy has been good about spreading the love in recent years, this year will be a different story. Four of the nine Best Picture nominees will win an Oscar…

Bold prediction #4: …but American Hustle - with 10 nominations - will not be one of them.

I'll gladly bite the bullet on that last one. I just don't think there's enough passion for the film anymore, and while it will probably finish in second place on a lot of ballots, second place doesn't win you an Oscar.

Anyway, for your reading pleasure, I've assembled a list of links to all of The Entertainment Junkie's Oscar coverage for this year, as well as a few other articles that will, at the very least, help you impress people at your Oscar party. Also below are my full predictions for who will win each category. Feel free to chime in on who you think should/will win too. Happy Oscars!

THE NOMINEES

Check them out at The Entertainment Junkie's Academy Awards page.

REVIEWS FOR BEST PICTURE NOMINEES


FYC POSTS

The sound editing of All is Lost elevated the film's function as a modern parable.

The visual effects of Iron Man 3 (mostly) assisted the story, rather than the other way around.

The costumes of 12 Years a Slave codify antebellum Southern society.

The production design of Her believably blends the past with the future.

The cinematography of Prisoners was the work of another master waiting for his first Oscar win.

ABOVE-THE-LINE CATEGORY COVERAGE

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay & Best Original Screenplay

BELOW-THE-LINE CATEGORY COVERAGE

Best Original Song (and the disqualification of "Alone Yet Not Alone")
Best Documentary Feature
Best Animated Short Film
Best Live-Action Short Film
Best Film Editing
Best Original Score

OTHER ARTICLES

Entertainment Weekly has profiles for the Best Documentary Short nominees:


I also wrote a little more in-depth about Best Director nominee Alexander Payne (Nebraska) for The Large Association of Movie Blogs.

Click the page jump for predictions in every category.


 FEARLESS PREDICTIONS BY CATEGORY

 Best Picture: Gravity

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave

Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave; screenplay by John Ridley

Best Original Screenplay: Her; written by Spike Jonze

Best Animated Feature: Frozen

Best Cinematography: Gravity; Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby; Catherine Martin

Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom

Best Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

Best Film Editing: Gravity; Alfonso Cuaron and Mark Sanger

Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (Italy)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club; Adruitha Lee and Robin Matthews

Best Original Score: Gravity; Steven Price

Best Original Song: Frozen, "Let It Go"; music and lyric by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez

Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby; production design by Catherine Martin, set decoration by Beverley Dunn

Best Animated Short Film: Get a Horse!

Best Live-Action Short: Helium

Best Sound Editing: Gravity; Glenn Freemantle

Best Sound Mixing: Gravity; Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro

Best Visual Effects: Gravity; Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould

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