The 88th Academy Awards aren’t until February 28, 2016, but it’s never too early for a few predictions. Actually, this is ridiculously early, but here are my 2016 Oscar predictions.
Best Picture
Current Favourite: Bridge Of Spies – Directed by Stephen Spielberg
The Following Pack: The Revenant, Spotlight, Steve Jobs, Carol
It’s looking good for Stephen Spielberg to return to the front of the Best Picture race for the first time since 2012. The Cold War thriller, ‘Bridge Of Spies’, starring Tom Hanks has recently opened to rave reviews from all who have seen it in advance screenings, putting it right at the head of the pack for the battle for Best Picture.
However, this early on, nobody can really tell who’s the real frontrunner. There are still loads of other potential winners out there, but with the Academy suggesting they’ll reduce the number of Best Picture nominees back to 5 again, these four look the most likely.
Following his wins for Birdman last year, Alejandro G. Iñárritu is returning with ‘The Revenant’, another seemingly brilliantly-directed and acted piece. ‘Spotlight’, starring Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams, which follows the true story of Boston Globe journalists who uncovered and exposed the Catholic Church’s paedophilia scandal, is also highly tipped as a great story filled with stunning performances.
‘Steve Jobs’ is also likely to be nominated for two reasons. On the one hand, it’s a timely biopic of a revered man across the world, however it’s also been praised for being as thrilling and dark as the similar tech biography, The Social Network, also written by Aaron Sorkin and also nominated for Best Picture in 2010.
‘Carol’, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as two women in 1950s New York who fall in love is also a likely possibility. The subject matter does fall into the Oscar-bait category, however it’s received strong enough reviews for its visual style, screenplay and performances anyway, so it’s likely to be put in the running regardless, unlike fellow Oscar-baiters ‘The Danish Girl’ and ‘Suffragette’, which don’t appear to have done as well with the critics.
Best Director
Current Favourite: Danny Boyle – ‘Steve Jobs’
The Following Pack: Alejandro G. Iñárritu – ‘The Revenant’, Steven Spielberg – ‘Bridge Of Spies’
The Best Director race looks to be a closely-fought battle for the umpteenth year in a row. Currently, Danny Boyle is favourite for his direction of ‘Steve Jobs’, as it’s been suggested that his style here really works well with Aaron Sorkin’s portrayal of Jobs, in a similar fashion to David Fincher’s Oscar-nominated effort for The Social Network in 2010.
Following Boyle is once again Iñárritu, who directs ‘The Revenant’, a grizzly survival drama that’s tipped for huge praise for its visuals just like Birdman was last year. Also, Steven Spielberg looks like he’ll get his eighth Best Director nomination for ‘Bridge Of Spies’ too, whilst titan of directing Quentin Tarantino looks to be a good bet for ‘The Hateful Eight’.
Watch this space, this should be a good battle.
Best Actor
Current Favourite: Michael Fassbender – ‘Steve Jobs’
The Following Pack: Leonardo DiCaprio – ‘The Revenant’, Eddie Redmayne – ‘The Danish Girl’
Michael Fassbender is having a stellar 2015 as it goes. His performances in Slow West and Macbeth were hugely impressive, and now it looks like he’s going to cap it all off with a Best Actor win for his portrayal of Steve Jobs, which has been praised as one of the most brilliant performances of the decade by some.
Before Steve Jobs was screened, it was actually looking likely that Leonardo DiCaprio might FINALLY get a Best Actor Oscar. But alas, it’s not likely to be. He’ll easily get a sixth nomination for his intense performance in The Revenant, but it won’t be enough to sway the Academy from Fassbender…
Eddie Redmayne, last year’s Best Actor winner, looks set to get another nomination this year for playing the transgender woman Lili Elbe. However, due to the film’s average reception, it’s unlikely he’ll get the win, but, knowing the Academy’s track record with this sort of subject, he’ll surely get at least a nod.
Other likely contenders include Tom Hanks for ‘Bridge Of Spies’, Johnny Depp for ‘Black Mass’, and Bryan Cranston for ‘Trumbo’.
Best Actress
Current Favourite: Brie Larson – ‘Room’
The Following Pack: Cate Blanchett – ‘Carol’, Jennifer Lawrence – ‘Joy’
The Best Actress race this year is still wide open. Currently, it’s looking like Brie Larson will take the top prize for her performance in the mysterious drama: ‘Room’, about a woman and a young boy who discover the outside world after being locked in a room all their lives.
However, previous winner Cate Blanchett looks like she’ll definitely get a nomination for her performance in ‘Carol’, whilst Jennifer Lawrence, after an Oscar hiatus in 2014, looks set for a nod for her turn in David O. Russell’s comedy-drama: ‘Joy’, about a single mother who became a multi-millionaire after creating ‘The Miracle Mop’.
Other potential nominees here include Carey Mulligan for the feminist drama ‘Suffragette’, Meryl Streep (again) for ‘Ricki And The Flash’ (just because she’s Meryl Streep), and who knows, maybe even Charlize Theron for ‘Mad Max: Fury Road‘.
OTHER CATEGORIES – Current Favourites
Best Supporting Actor – Michael Keaton – ‘Spotlight’
Best Supporting Actress – Rooney Mara – ‘Carol’
Best Original Screenplay – Quentin Tarantino – ‘The Hateful Eight’
Best Adapted Screenplay – Aaron Sorkin – ‘Steve Jobs’
Best Animated Feature – ‘Inside Out’
Best Foreign Language Film – ‘Son Of Saul’
Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki (for the third year in a row) – ‘The Revenant’
Best Visual Effects – ‘The Martian‘
Best Score – Thomas Newman – ‘Bridge Of Spies’
Best Costume Design – ‘Carol’
Best Production Design – ‘Carol’
Best Editing – ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
Best Sound Editing – ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
Best Sound Mixing – ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
Best Makeup And Hairstyling – ‘The Danish Girl’
So, I’ll do some proper predictions next February, but be sure to check back here then to see how wrong I was!
