The 91st annual Academy Awards takes place Sunday, February 24th at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. ABC will air the awards beginning 8:00pm EST. This year’s ceremony will not have an official host.
Here are all the nominations, and who I think should win and who will win. I won’t give long explanations on my choices. Just offering my predictions with minimal, if any, commentary.
During the telecast, I will be live tweeting my oh-so accurate predictions beginning at 8:00 EST!!
PICTURE:
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star is Born
Vice
Should win: Black Panther. Will win: Roma or Green Book. Roma is also nominated in the Best Foreign Film category too. It could win both. If not, the big prize goes to Green Book. However, Black Panther was easily the best movie I saw in 2018.
DIRECTOR:
Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
Pawel Pawlikowski – Cold War
Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite
Alfonso Cuaron – Roma
Adam McKay – Vice
Should win and will win: Alfonso Cuaron. Roma is a vision.
ACTOR:
Christian Bale – Vice
Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born
Willem Dafoe – At Eternity’s Gate
Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen – Green Book
Should win and will win: Rami Malek. He channeled Freddy Mercury.
ACTRESS:
Yalitza Aparicio – Roma
Glenn Close – The Wife
Oliva Colman – The Favourite
Lady Gaga – A Star is Born
Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Should win and will win: Glenn Close. Six Oscar nominations + Never won+ Forty-five years in the business = “It’s about damn time!!”
SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Mahershala Ali – Green Book
Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott – A Star is Born
Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell – Vice
Should win: Mahershala Ali. Will win: Sam Elliott. Elliot wins, like Glenn Close, for time spent in the business.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Amy Adams – Vice
Marina de Tavira – Roma
Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone – The Favourite
Rachel Weisz – The Favourite
Should and will win: Regina King. She gave an unforgettable performance in this movie.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
The Favourite – Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
First Reformed – Paul Schrader
Green Book – Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
Vice – Adam McKay
Should and will win: Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Joel & Ethan Coen
BlacKkKlansman – Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins
A Star is Born – Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters
Should and will win: If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins
ANIMATED FEATURE:
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Should and will win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Again, one of the best of 2018 that I saw. Spider-Man is one of a kind. The animation alone makes this movie a winner. An Afro-Latino teenage Spider Man gave me the feels. A must-see.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Should and will win: Roma (Mexico)
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Cold War – Lukasz Zal
The Favourite – Robbie Ryan
Never Look Away – Caleb Deschanel
Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
A Star is Born – Matthew Libatique
Should and will win: Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Free Solo
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
RBG
Should win and will win: RBG. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is getting her due.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
A Night at the Garden
Period. End of Sentence.
Should and will win: Period. End of Sentence. In a rural village outside Delhi, India, women lead a quiet revolution. They fight against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation.
ANIMATED SHORT:
Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends
Should and will win: Bao. A woman who is suffering from empty nest syndrome gets a second shot at motherhood when one of her handmade dumplings springs to life. This is a touching silent film. And it’s a Pixar short film. Pixar rarely goes wrong in it’s storytelling. This film is no exception.
LIVE-ACTION SHORT:
Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin
Should and will win: Detainment. Two 10-year-old boys are detained by police under suspicion of abducting and murdering a toddler.
VISUAL EFFECTS:
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Should win and will win: First Man.
PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Black Panther
The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
Should win: Black Panther. Will win: Roma.
COSTUME DESIGN:
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Mary Zophres
Black Panther – Ruth Carter
The Favourite – Sandy Powell
Mary Poppins Returns – Sandy Powell
Mary Queen of Scots – Alexandra Byrne
Should win and will win: Black Panther – Ruth Carter. The costumes in Black Panther have never been seen before in film. The costumes are a mix of original and historic rooted in ancient African cultures. This is an easy one. If Ruth Carter doesn’t win, I’ll be ticked off.
MAKE-UP & HAIR:
Border
Mary Queen of Scots
Vice.
Should and will win: Border.
FILM EDITING:
BlacKkKlansman – Barry Alexander Brown
Bohemian Rhapsody – John Ottman
The Favourite – Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Green Book – Patrick J. Don Vito
Vice – Hank Corwin
Should win: Bohemian Rhapsody – John Ottman. Will win:
Green Book – Patrick J. Don Vito
SOUND MIXING:
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Roma
A Star is Born
Should and will win: Bohemian Rhapsody
SOUND EDITING:
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
A Quiet Place
Roma
Should and will win: Bohemian Rhapsody (First Man might sneak up and win.)
ORIGINAL SCORE:
Black Panther – Ludwig Goransson
BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard
If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
Isle of Dogs – Alexandre Desplat
Mary Poppin Returns – Marc Shaiman
Should and will win: If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
ORIGINAL SONG:
“All the Stars” from Black Panther
“I’ll Fight” from RBG
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns
“Shallow” from A Star is Born
“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Should and will win: “Shallow” from A Star is Born. It’s Lady Gaga’s year.
Thank you for reading! Follow me Sunday night on Twitter @MochaAngels during the ceremony.
Up next: This is Us (NBC): Strong Black Woman Syndrome.
Ms. Mocha Angel 