Movie Talk: 89th Academy Awards Predictions

Welcome to another episode of moviemanMDG’s Movie Talk, where I talk about everything film-related.  It’s that time of year once again, ladies and gentlemen.  That’s right, we are just a few days away until the 89th Academy Awards starts invading our television screens everywhere.  The Oscars will be different this year, mostly because we don’t have to worry about that whole “Oscars So White” thing.  More importantly, there will be a lot of tough nominees going head-to-head with one another to get the gold statue, including the musical drama, La La Land, which received a record-tying 14 Academy Award nominations, and my number one film of 2016, Moonlight, which is nominated for eight Academy Awards.  As I do every year, I put out my predictions as to who will and who might win an Oscar in each category.  For this episode of Movie Talk, I will be showcasing my list of predictions for the 89th Academy Awards.  As always, my predictions are based on what I saw at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, and more personally, my gut.  I didn’t see every film that is nominated for an Oscar, so it would be interesting to see how my predictions fare this year.


Best Picture:
-Arrival
-Fences
-Hacksaw Ridge
-Hell or High Water
-Hidden Figures
-La La Land
-Lion
-Manchester by the Sea
-Moonlight

Will Win: Moonlight

Might Win: La La Land


Best Director:
-Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)
-Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge)
-Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
-Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
-Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Will Win: Damien Chazelle

Might Win: Kenneth Lonergan


Best Actor:
-Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
-Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
-Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
-Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
-Denzel Washington (Fences)

Will Win: Casey Affleck

Might Win: Denzel Washington


Best Actress:
-Isabelle Huppert (Elle)
-Ruth Negga (Loving)
-Natalie Portman (Jackie)
-Emma Stone (La La Land)
-Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Will Win: Emma Stone

Might Win: Meryl Streep


Best Supporting Actor:
-Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
-Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
-Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
-Dev Patel (Lion)
-Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Will Win: Mahershala Ali

Might Win: Dev Patel


Best Supporting Actress:
-Viola Davis (Fences)
-Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
-Nicole Kidman (Lion)
-Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
-Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Will Win: Viola Davis

Might Win: Michelle Williams


Best Original Screenplay:
-Hell or High Water
-La La Land
-The Lobster
-Manchester by the Sea
-20th Century Women

Will Win: La La Land

Might Win: Manchester by the Sea


Best Adapted Screenplay:
-Arrival
-Fences
-Hidden Figures
-Lion
-Moonlight

Will Win: Moonlight

Might Win: Fences


Best Animated Feature Film:
-Kubo and the Two Strings
-Moana
-My Life as a Zucchini
-The Red Turtle
-Zootopia

Will Win: Zootopia

Might Win: Kubo and the Two Strings


Best Foreign Language Film:
-Land of Mine (Denmark)
-A Man Called Ove (Sweden)
-The Salesman (Iran)
-Tanna (Australia)
-Toni Erdmann (Germany)

Will Win: Toni Erdmann

Might Win: The Salesman


Best Documentary - Feature:
-Fire at Sea
-I Am Not Your Negro
-Life, Animated
-O.J.: Made in America
-13th

Will Win: 13th

Might Win: I Am Not Your Negro


Best Documentary - Short Subject:
-Extremis
-4.1 Miles
-Joe’s Violin
-Watani: My Homeland
-The White Helmets

Will Win: The White Helmets

Might Win: Extremis


Best Live Action Short Film:
-Ennemis intérieurs
-La Femme et le TGV
-Silent Nights
-Sing
-Timecode

Will Win: Sing

Might Win: Silent Nights


Best Animated Short Film:
-Blind Vaysha
-Borrowed Time
-Pear Cider and Cigarettes
-Pearl
-Piper

Will Win: Piper

Might Win: Borrowed Time


Best Original Score:
-Jackie
-La La Land
-Lion
-Moonlight
-Passengers

Will Win: La La Land

Might Win: Moonlight


Best Original Song:
-“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” (La La Land)
-“Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (Trolls)
-“City of Stars” (La La Land)
-“The Empty Chair” (Jim: The James Foley Story)
-“How Far I’ll Go” (Moana)

Will Win: “City of Stars”

Might Win: “How Far I’ll Go”


Best Sound Editing:
-Arrival
-Deepwater Horizon
-Hacksaw Ridge
-La La Land
-Sully

Will Win: Hacksaw Ridge

Might Win: Deepwater Horizon


Best Sound Mixing:
-Arrival
-Hacksaw Ridge
-La La Land
-Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
-13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Will Win: Hacksaw Ridge

Might Win: La La Land


Best Production Design:
-Arrival
-Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
-Hail, Caesar!
-La La Land
-Passengers

Will Win: La La Land

Might Win: Arrival


Best Cinematography:
-Arrival
-La La Land
-Lion
-Moonlight
-Silence

Will Win: La La Land

Might Win: Arrival


Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
-A Man Called Ove
-Star Trek Beyond
-Suicide Squad

Will Win: Suicide Squad

Might Win: Star Trek Beyond


Best Costume Design:
-Allied
-Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
-Florence Foster Jenkins
-Jackie
-La La Land

Will Win: La La Land

Might Win: Jackie


Best Film Editing:
-Arrival
-Hacksaw Ridge
-Hell or High Water
-La La Land
-Moonlight

Will Win: La La Land

Might Win: Moonlight


Best Visual Effects:
-Deepwater Horizon
-Doctor Strange
-The Jungle Book
-Kubo and the Two Strings
-Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Will Win: The Jungle Book

Might Win: Doctor Strange






I think La La Land might have a good chance at winning most of the small awards except the ones for sound editing and sound mixing.  Those two awards should go to Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge for making the audience actually feel like they’re in the war themselves.  The Best Animated Feature Oscar has to go to Zootopia for combining its relatable themes about discrimination and race with a fun, family-friendly story that has creative animation and great characters.  As for Best Picture, most people believe that La La Land will take home the top prize, but to be honest, I believe that the Best Picture Oscar should go to a film that properly displays cinematic realism, which is Moonlight.  Sure, La La Land is marvelous due to its music, the love story, and its sense of wonder, but watching Moonlight made me feel like I was watching real people going through some problems in life.  Same goes to Manchester by the Sea, which is also nominated for Best Picture.  While La La Land used its technical qualities, such as the cinematography and the production design, to amaze its audience, Moonlight used them to tell an interesting story about the life of a homosexual boy.  That’s pretty much my reason why I think Moonlight should win Best Picture instead of La La Land.  So, there you have it, those are my predictions for this year’s Oscars.  Some of them may be different than everyone else’s, but as always, everyone has their different tastes in film.  The 89th Academy Awards will air on Sunday February 26th on ABC, and it will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.