It’s that time of the year again to give out the film industry’s highest honors in Hollywood, and I have a feeling that there’ll be a bit of a surprise in what most assumed were already ‘locked’ categories.
Best Picture: This is going to be an easy pick for me. As much as I’d love for The Shape of Water to win this award, I have to give it to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. From a technical perspective and in terms of the story, The Shape of Water hands down wins this one, but it feels like, based on the most recent winners from this category, the voters tend to lean towards something that has a stronger and more in-your-face social impact. Three Billboards doesn’t have the subtlety that Del Toro’s film has, so that alone hurts The Shape of Water’s chances.
Most Likely to Upset: The Shape of Water
Best Director: This should go to Guillermo Del Toro. He may not win Best Picture, but The Shape of Water is arguably his best work to date, and it would be an injustice not to give him this nod.
Most Likely to Upset: I want to say that this is already locked for him, but for shock value, I’m going to say Greta Gerwig for her directorial debut in Lady Bird. This scenario is highly unlikely, but I won’t be that mad if she steals this one from Del Toro.
Best Actress: (Locked)
I’ve seen all of the films of the actresses nominated in this category, so it’s kind of difficult for me to regard anyone as THE BEST. With that being said, I feel like Frances McDormand is already locked in to win this. Sally Hawkins is a good second choice, but McDormand just happened to sweep all of the precursor awards, so there’s that.
Best Actor: I’d be in the minority right here predicting an upset by Timothée Chalamet over the season’s frontrunner Gary Oldman. I initially pegged Oldman as locked to win this, but I have this nagging feeling that this would be the biggest upset of the night. Chalamet’s performance in Call Me By Your Name does seem like a once-in-a-blue-moon performance from such a very young and promising actor. In comparison to Oldman’s stunning portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, Chalamet didn’t need the help of prosthetics to actually translate something extraordinary onto the screen.
Most Likely to Upset: Timothee Chalamet to Gary Oldman’s frontrunner position.
Best Supporting Actress: (Locked)
I don’t even know what to say about Allison Janney. She’s just simply sublime in I, Tonya.
Best Supporting Actor: (Locked)
Sam Rockwell’s portrayal of a racist police officer is entirely believable; it’s so easy to get angry at both the actor and the character he’s playing. That’s how effective he was. This is a solid performance, and no one even comes close.
Best Original Screenplay:
The Shape of Water – Guillermo Del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Call Me By Your Name – James Ivory
Best Animated Feature Film:
Coco – Lee Unkrich & Darla K. Anderson
Best Original Score:
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – John Williams
Best Original Song:
Remember Me from Coco by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Best Cinematography:
Blade Runner 2049 – Roger Deakins
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Victoria & Abdul – Lou Sheppard
Best Production Design:
Blade Runner 2049 – Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
Most Likely to Upset: Victoria & Abdul
Best Costume Design:
For something about Costume, this should be locked for Phantom Thread.
Most Likely to Upset: Victoria & Abdul
Best Film Editing:
Dunkirk – Lee Smith (Locked)
Best Sound Editing: (Locked)
Dunkirk
Best Sound Mixing: (Locked)
Dunkirk
Best Foreign Language Film:
Una Mujer Fantastic a (A Fantastic Woman) from Chile by Sebastian Lelio
Most Likely To Upset: Sweden’s The Square by Ruben Ostlund.
Beat Visual Effects:
Blade Runner 2049
I don’t have any basis for the documentary features, so I won’t make any predictions for those categories.
PADDYLAST INC. 