Last year I near enough nailed who would win every Oscar. Don’t believe me? Of course you don’t, which is why this year I’m putting my guesses out there for all to see. For each category, I’ll predict who will win, but also who I think should win from the nominees, and who I’d pick given free rein to choose from any film of 2016.
Some categories are omitted, because I’m sorry but I haven’t had chance to check out all of 2016’s documentary short films. Page one will cover the technical categories and on page two I’ll discuss the awards you actually care about.
Best Sound Mixing
Will Win: La La Land
Should Win: Arrival
My Pick: Don’t Breathe
There’s a recurring theme among the technical awards, and that’s that the Academy loves music. For this reason alone, I’m convinced La La Land will take this one. Don’t Breathe, however, was a master class in sound design with timing that generated and maintained edge-of-seat suspense for its entire runtime. But, it’s a horror film so it didn’t stand a chance.
Best Sound Editing
Will Win: Hacksaw Ridge
Should Win: Hacksaw Ridge
My Pick: Hacksaw Ridge
The use of sound in Hacksaw during its war scenes was potent, gritty, and immersive beyond measure. This is also a category where films in the war or action category have historic success so I think it’s a safe bet.
Best Production Design
Will Win: La La Land
Should Win: La La Land
My Pick: La La Land
La La Land was a dreamy experience harkening back to old Hollywood while embracing the modern, and it all looked great. Image source
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Will Win: Star Trek Beyond
Should Win: Star Trek Beyond
My Pick: The Neon Demon
What is up with this category this year? I think Beyond is an odd pick but it’s the best of the bunch since I’ll be damned if fucking Suicide Squad is going to become an Academy Award winning film. The only other nominee is A Man Called Ove, a film I haven’t even heard of, so it’s unlikely many in the Academy will have seen it. And if you think I’m being cynical then I long for your naiveté regarding the voting process!
Best Costume Design
Will Win: La La Land
Should Win: La La Land
My Pick: Captain Fantastic
The Academy loves music but it also loves historical stuff, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Jackie stole this one. I found the costumes in La La Land to be charming in their simplicity, but nothing was better than seeing Viggo Mortensen rock that suit. Image source
Best Original Song
Will Win: City of Stars (La La Land)
Should Win: How Far I’ll Go (Moana)
My Pick: How Far I’ll Go (Moana)
Noticing a trend here, aren’t you? Yeah, there’s just no way that La La Land will lose this one, being the first original musical written for film in years. I liked the song, but nothing made my heart swell like when How Far I’ll Go burst into my ears.
Best Original Score
Will Win: Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)
Should Win: Thomas Newman (Passengers)
My Pick: Cliff Martinez (The Neon Demon)
Yawn, La La Land, obviously. It’s a good score but something just tells me that people won’t look kindly on it a few years from now. Despite Passengers being a less-than-perfect film (which I still enjoyed), I always found myself thoroughly enjoying the music. I’ve been a huge fan of Thomas Newman for years. He’s been nominated fourteen times, let him win one already. But The Neon Demon is scored impeccably, creating a dark sense of dread that permeates the film. I mean, just listen to it!
Best Visual Effects
Will Win: The Jungle Book
Should Win: Doctor Strange
My Pick: Doctor Strange
I’ve already spoken at length about how much I hate The Jungle Book. One thing we can all agree on is that the CGI is brilliant. But in my opinion, not brilliant enough. The animals look real, but not quite real enough to have them populate a whole film bar one human child. I was more convinced by Caesar in 2013’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Just so long as Rogue One doesn’t win after what it did to Peter Cushing’s face, I’m happy. The real shame here is that Doctor Strange won’t win. My mouth fell open at some of the wildly hypnotic and kaleidoscopic magic that unfolded during its set pieces. Image source
Best Cinematography
Will Win: La La Land
Should Win: Silence
My Pick: American Honey
Getting tired of seeing La La Land in every category? Close this article now if you are! Sure, La La Land was pretty and its long takes demanded a lot of planning but I think the beauty and creativity behind the camerawork in Silence trumps it. Personally, I was taken aback by what was accomplished in American Honey, choosing exclusively handheld cam and a 4:3 aspect ratio that gave it all a low-fi, home movie feel. Not only did this a breathe an intimate feeling into the action, it was also staggering to see how comfortably the content was framed in this intuitively restrictive format.
Best Editing
Will Win: La La Land
Should Win: Arrival
My Pick: Nocturnal Animals
Again, the Academy loves music, and I’ve just got a hunch that La La Land will continue its run here. Another shame, given the delicately timed sequences of Arrival, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it took this one. Still, my pick would be Nocturnal Animals, an unconventional story told with an erratic structure only made great by its edit – cut by someone else it could have been nonsensical or boring.
Continue to the next page to see my picks for the acting and writing awards, as well as my prediction for best picture…
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