The Academy Award nominations are due later today (UK time) and I kinda forgot about it a little, so this is very much a rushed job! I will come back in a few days to go over how right or wrong I was with my picks, but in the meantime have a gander and see if you agree or disagree with me! Let’s get straight into it! If you are reading this after the fact, let me know right away if I was right on or far off!
Best Picture
The Favourite
Vice
BlacKkKlansman
Roma
Green Book
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
Black Panther
A Quiet Place
Two or so big things to take away from my picks, the obvious ones are there, but I think Roma will get its nomination. It won’t win, but it will be nominated. I also think Blank Panther will be nominated, even though it was a standard Marvel film (it just had a lot of importance). My outside pick for a nomination is A Quiet Place, it has been a little forgotten, but it deserves its nomination. Just keep Can You Ever Forgive Me? Out of it for goodness sake.
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)
Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite)
Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman)
Adam McKay (Vice)
Sadly no female directors this year, but don’t be surprised if Debra Granik gets a nod over Adam McKay. I Know Peter Farrelly is missing from this list, but his past actions may have cost him on that one sadly. As I would have put him in instead of Cooper, but then again I would have put John Krasinski ahead of him too.
Best Actress
Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)
Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Glenn Close (The Wife)
Yalitza Aparicio (Roma)
Viola Davis (Widows)
The only real surprise for me was for Roma star Yalitza Aparicio to be added instead of Emily Blunt, it was tight, but I think she deserves some credit for making Roma the film that it was.
Best Actor
Christian Bale (Vice)
Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman)
Willem Defoe (At Eternity’s Gate)
Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)
Pretty easy list to make this year, all great performances, with only maybe Defoe being a surprise, I would have liked to see John C Reilly nominated, but I don’t think Stan & Ollie will get enough of a push to do it sadly.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams (Vice)
Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Emma Stone (The Favourite)
Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)
Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place)
I had to get Blunt in there somehow and they have been pushing for Blunt to be nominated for A Quiet Place as a Best Supporting Actress, as it is a bit daft for her to go against herself in two films and not get nominated as she has spread her votes out. If Mary Queen of Scots is as good as I have heard then I am sad that it won’t get any nominations for its two actresses, but it was another stacked year! In all honesty, I would have had Saoirse Ronan nominated instead of Gaga, but that’s just me!
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Richard E. Grant
Timothee Chalamet (A Beautiful Boy)
Sam Rockwell (Vice)
Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman)
Again the actor categories seem to be pretty easy to guess this year. I think Ali will take it as he did at the Golden Globes, but don’t be shocked if Michael B Jordan gets nominated either as he was the strongest part of Black Panther.
Best Foreign Language Picture
Shoplifters (Japan)
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Roma (Mexico)
Cold War (Poland)
Burning (South Korea)
No real surprises in my picks for this category, oh and yes I have chosen Roma to be in both categories, which I think is the first since Amour in 2012. A great list of films that you should check out!
Best Original Screenplay
Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara (The Favourite)
Adam McKay (Vice)
Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie & Peter Farrelly (Green Book)
Bryan Woods, Scott Beck & John Krasinski (A Quiet Place)
A very tough category even to break it down to 5 nominations. I could have easily have put in Destroyer, Isle of Dogs and Sorry to Bother You, but this is my five and I won’t dare to pick a winner (until next month)
Best Animated Feature
Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse
Incredibles 2
Mirai
Isle of Dogs
Ralph Breaks the Internet
All of the top films will get their nominations, but for me, it is between Spiderman and Isle of Dogs as they really did bring something unique in 2018. Who you got?
Best Adapted Screenplay
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini (Leave No Trace)
Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Spike Lee, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz & Kevin Willmott (BlacKkKlansman)
Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters (A Star Is Born)
Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin, Peter Fellows & Fabien Nury (The Death of Stalin)
A tough one to choose from, in all honesty, I would like to think that A Star Is Born does not have this wrapped up and that BlacKkKlansman can win it. It will be very close as to who will win and it will probably ruin my game with my friends on picking the highest amount of winners on awards night.
Best Original Score
Black Panther
First Man
If Beale Street Could Talk
Mary Poppins Returns
A Quiet Place
I am not one to question things too often, but I do not think any of the Marvel films or Crazy Rich Asians deserves its place in final 15 (It was in the Narrowed List released in December). Not when 2 members of Radiohead had fantastic scores this year. I swear if they have done Jonny Greenwood out again for something minor like they did “In There Will Be Blood” I will not be happy. Anyway…
Best Original Song
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,
“All The Stars” from Black Panther,
“Trip A Little Light Fantastic” from Mary Poppins Returns,
“Shallow” from A Star Is Born,
“Suspirium” from Suspiria
There was only going to be one winner from this and it has been nailed on since the day A Star Is Born was released. I will be shocked if it doesn’t win, I honestly will. I think “Trip A Little Light Fantastic will be nominated purely to keep everyone awake. All The Stars will be one of the few Black Panther nom’s too. But seriously it is Gaga’s.
Best Cinematography
Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
James Laxton (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Lukasz Zal (Cold War)
Robbie Ryan (The Favourite)
Linus Sandgren (First Man)
I have plucked for Zal for a nomination over James Libatique for A Star Is Born simply because I think it was better, the others have all been up for nominations in other awards and are expected. Who would think two foreign language pictures would be so prominent in my choices huh!? Also, I think Cuaron might be nominated for as many categories as Cooper at this point. Go check for me Please?
Best Documentary Feature
Dark Money
Free Solo
RBG
Three Identical Strangers
Won’t You Be My Neighbour?
I know I have opted for all of the big ones, but they were all so good and critically acclaimed that it became difficult not to go with them. Honestly, I wouldn’t even be able to pick a winner amongst these five either, that’s how stacked that category is this year, as it is every year nowadays.
Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Infinity War
Blank Panther
Ready Player One
First Man
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Where on Earth is Aquaman I hear you ask? Well, it didn’t get into the narrowed list, in fact, I am not sure if it was even on any list… A very harsh snub. This will be between Black Panther and Jurassic World. If Black Panther fails to get more nominations then it is taking this one home even though it and Ant-Man had the worst from the pre-nominees listed as they were just standard CGI fair. Otherwise, Jurassic World will be the winners.
Best Costume Design
Ruth Carter (Black Panther)
Sandy Powell (The Favourite)
Alexandra Byrne (Mary Queen of Scots)
Coleen Atwood (Fantastic Beasts: The Grimes of Grindelwald)
Andrea Flesch (Colette)
A few period dramas for sure, but I can’t see how A Star Is Born gets nominations for this category, it probably will, I just don’t think it should! Not a clue who will win it, Ruth Carter is my favourite from the list as the costume department was working in overtime to give everyone their own look in Black Panther.
Best Film Editing
The Favourite
Bohemian Rhapsody
A Star Is Born
First Man
Green Book
Music orientated films were always going to get chosen and I may have been harsh, but I don’t think the Academy are going to give Roma any more nominations than the one I have said as they will be upset at the whole Netflix scenario.
Best Sound Mixing
A Quiet Place
A Star Is Born
Bohemian Rhapsody
Mary Poppins Returns
First Man
As with editing, music based films will fare well here, but with a film based around people trying to make zero noises, A Quiet Place has to be leading the front on this one!
Best Sound Editing
A Quiet Place
A Star Is Born
Bohemian Rhapsody
Mary Poppins Returns
The Favourite
If you look at the Sound Mixing category, it is almost like for like, but I think The Favourite will get in instead of First Man here as I do not think they will pick the same 5 for both categories. It has probably happened, I would just like to see a little bit of a mix…
Best Production Design
Hannah Beachler (Black Panther)
Nathan Crowley (First Man)
Fiona Crumbie (The Favourite)
John Myhre (Mary Poppins Returns)
James Merifield (Mary Queen of Scots)
Depending on how the Academy feel, Eugenio Caballero could get a nomination, but it is tight this time as a lot of the films looked quite amazing. I am sure I have missed something, let me know if I have!
Best Makeup
Mary Queen of Scots
Stan & Ollie
Vice
I am pretty sure they are going to throw Bohemian Rhapsody a bone and give them a nomination, but I would really like it if they didn’t as it is just an 80’s film where people just stuck on some wigs. Hardly the same as the others. Though expect Blank Panther to maybe sneak in with a nom here in place of Mary Queen of Scots.
Phew! We made it!! This was a long one! Sorry about that… What do you think of my picks? Do you think others should be in those spots, please let me know below! Until next time!
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Scott H Gilliland 
Curious now to check out the ‘real’ nominations, mhm Roma will be interesting, one can just so see the Mexicans take to the stage and make some passionate speech (or someone else on their behalf), about walls and all that….
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