And, tonight is Oscar night – which means it’s prediction time!
I only comment on categories for which I have seen every nominee.
BEST FILM
- 12 Years a Slave
- American Hustle
- Captain Phillips
- Gravity
- Philomena
- Dallas Buyers Club
- Her
- Nebraska
- The Wolf of Wall Street
Hope: Philomena
Prediction: American Hustle
DIRECTOR
- 12 Years A Slave
- American Hustle
- Nebraska
- Gravity
- The Wolf Of Wall Street
Hope: The Wolf Of Wall Street
Prediction: American Hustle
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- American Hustle
- Blue Jasmine
- Her
- Dallas Buyers Club
- Nebraska
Hope: Dallas Buyers Club
Prediction: American Hustle
LEADING ACTOR
- Bruce Dern, Nebraska
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
- Christian Bale, American Hustle
- Leonardo Dicaprio, The Wolf Of Wall Street
- Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Hope: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Prediction: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
LEADING ACTRESS
- Amy Adams, American Hustle
- Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
- Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
- Judi Dench, Philomena
- Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Hope: Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Prediction: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
- Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
- Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
- Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
- Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Hope: Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Prediction: Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
- Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
- Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years A Slave
- June Squibb, Nebraska
- Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Hope: Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
ORIGINAL MUSIC
- Her
- The Book Thief
- Philomena
- Gravity
- Saving Mr Banks
Hope: Saving Mr Banks
Prediction: Her
EDITING
- 12 Years A Slave
- American Hustle
- Gravity
- Captain Phillips
- Dallas Buyers Club
Hope: Gravity
Prediction: American Hustle
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- 12 Years A Slave
- American Hustle
- Her
- Gravity
- The Great Gatsby
Hope: The Great Gatsby
Prediction: American Hustle
You’ll see that I didn’t manage to see as many of the contenders for the Oscars, but that my overriding prediction is that American Hustle will sweep the board. Gravity is going to have been the British choice, and American Hustle the US choice.
My thoughts on each of the contenders are on my previous posting, with the exception of:
Dallas Buyers Club
A wonderful film, brilliantly acted and so well written. It surprised me how much I enjoyed the piece, with the subject matter one that everybody seems to have tried one way or another. The film isn’t perfect, and it needed better direction in moments, but overall I really liked this one.
Her
A fascinating concept that never quite got off the ground. The technological scripting/plotting is flawless, but some of the human aspects are skimmed over. A tiny bit more attention to detail would have hugely improved the piece. As it stands, it left me a little cold. Such a shame, because it could have been astonishing.
Chris Snow, 2nd March 2014