With the prestigious Academy Awards airing on February 26, there are some surprise nominations and surprise exclusions being buzzed about. What else is being buzzed about? Who will win the awards, of course! So, not wanting to be left out, we here at the Talon wanted to submit our predictions for six major categories, including who will and should win, along with who we think should have been nominated, or were just our favorites from last year.
Best Picture
Arrival
Manchester by the Sea
Hacksaw Ridge
Hidden Figures
Fences
La La Land
Hell or High Water
Lion
Moonlight
Will: La La Land
Should: Hacksaw Ridge, Lion
Should Have Been Nominated: Hail Caesar!, The Nice Guys, The Invitation, The Neon Demon, Barry (double vote from Maddie and Aya!), Pete’s Dragon, Deadpool, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Bad Moms, Suicide Squad, Passengers
Though Fences, Hidden Figures, and Moonlight have a shot at actually winning, due to Fences’ likely wins for two acting categories (more on that later), Hidden Figures’ wild popularity, and Moonlight’s numerous heavy wins throughout the award season (including Best Drama at the Golden Globes), La La Land seems to be the clear winner here. It’s a moderate box office hit (which is rare for Oscar nominees), a movie about Hollywood itself, and has a record fourteen nominations, including Best Actor and Best Actress. But, here at the Talon, we personally loved Hacksaw Ridge and Lion, and think that they deserve a shoutout.
Best Actor
Casey Affleck- Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield- Hacksaw Ridge
Viggo Mortensen- Captain Fantastic
Ryan Gosling- La La Land
Denzel Washington- Fences
Will:Casey Affleck
Should: Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling
Should Have Been Nominated: Mark Wahlberg (Deepwater Horizon), Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys), Devon Terrell (Barry), Logan Marshall-Green (The Invitation), Josh Brolin (Hail Caesar!)
Casey Affleck looks to be the clear winner here, since he’s gotten the most awards attention out of all of these five. Denzel might have a shot, though, because of his dual director nomination for Fences, and win at the SAG Awards. We think that Garfield and Gosling should be recognized, though, due to their superb work in Hacksaw Ridge and La La Land, respectively.
Best Actress
Emma Stone- La La Land
Isabelle Huppert- Elle
Natalie Portman- Jackie
Meryl Streep- Florence Foster Jenkins
Ruth Negga- Loving
Will: Emma Stone
Should: Emma Stone
Should Have Been Nominated: Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures), Emily Blunt (The Girl on the Train), Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon), Molly Shannon (Other People), Lily Rabe (Miss Stevens)
Emma Stone will probably come out on top here, considering that she’s the more talked about of the two leads in La La Land, has won many, many awards (including Best Actress at the Golden Globes), and her movie has those fourteen nominations under its belt. Although, Natalie Portman might have a slight chance, because her performance in Jackie has been arguably the most talked-about performance of the season, only being weighed down by Jackie’s lack of nominations in other categories.
Best Supporting Actor
Jeff Bridges- Hell or High Water
Mahershala Ali- Moonlight
Michael Shannon- Nocturnal Animals
Lucas Hedges- Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel- Lion
Will: Mahershala Ali
Should: Dev Patel
Should Have Been Nominated: John Legend (La La Land), Michiel Huisman (The Invitation), Jason Mitchell (Barry), Mark McKenna (Sing Street)
Mahershala has been receiving most of the awards for supporting actor this season, and rightfully so, despite an upset by another actor in Nocturnal Animals at the Golden Globes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. That’s why we’re doubtful that Mahershala is a lock, because the Academy might go for the actor that they nominated for Nocturnal Animals, Michael Shannon. Here at the Talon, though, we were big fans of Dev Patel in Lion, and would be delighted to see him possibly pull through.
Best Supporting Actress
Michelle Williams- Manchester by the Sea
Viola Davis- Fences
Octavia Spencer- Hidden Figures
Naomie Harris- Moonlight
Nicole Kidman- Lion
Will: Viola Davis
Should: Octavia Spencer
Should Have Been Nominated: Tammy Blanchard (The Invitation), Lucy Boynton (Sing Street), Anya Taylor-Joy (Barry), Angourie Rice (The Nice Guys), Janelle Monáe (Hidden Figures or Moonlight)
To be honest, all these actresses deserve Oscars, but it looks to be Viola’s year. This is her third nomination, and she’s been winning ALL the awards for performance, and deservedly so. But it would be cool to see Octavia Spencer receive her second win for Hidden Figures, even if it doesn’t seem too likely.
Best Animated Feature
Moana
Zootopia
Kubo and the Two Strings
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Will: Zootopia
Should: Moana
Should Have Been Nominated: The Secret Life of Pets, Finding Dory, Sausage Party
All season, Zootopia has been receiving praise for its political relevance and fantastic visuals, and has been receiving awards to display that praise. At the Talon, we all loved Zootopia, but we think it would be nice for Moana to get more attention, and were surprised by Finding Dory’s snub.
Picture Credits: Blurred Mag