What to expect and the predictions for the winners

Sunday is the accelerated date for the awarding of the Academy Awards for films released in 2019. In past years the Academy has loudly been touting how as a body it was pursuing greater opportunities for people of color, and then more recently for women. As those activist pleas have softened this year what is the result?

It seems as if the past awards for ‘’The Green Book’’, and ‘’Black Panther’’ have been considered enough. Out of 20 acting nominations, this year exactly one goes to a black performer, Cynthia Erivo for portraying Harriet Tubman. And for all of the Me-Too talk, the lynchpin award for recognition is Best Director. No females appear in that category.

Just some fodder to justify ignoring their lectures from the stage. Below are the lists of nominations,in ascending order of importance, and my predictions for the winners on Sunday night.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
South Korea, “Parasite”
Spain, “Pain and Glory”
France, “Les Misérables”
North Macedonia, “Honeyland”
Poland, “Corpus Christi”
–Winner – ‘’Parasite’’ We begin with the bet-the-rent category winner here. No way this does not take the trophy, especially since it is up also for Best Film

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”
–Winner – ‘’Bombshell’’ While ‘’Maleficent’’ is just the type that wins I’m leaning on a bit of an upset and suggesting is credited for transforming A-list actresses into Fox News talent.

FILM EDITING
“The Irishman”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Parasite”
“Joker”
“Jojo Rabbit”
–Winner – ‘’Parasite’’ The action of ‘’F v F’’ seems primed for this, but the groundswell of love among members for the Korean drama will tip this.

VISUAL EFFECTS
“Avengers: Endgame”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
–Winner – ‘’Lion King’’ For whatever reason the Academy hates ‘’Star Wars’’ and Marvel in this category, and prefers films that have the story served by the CGI. I think two dramas may split things, so Disney may win by default.

ORIGINAL SCORE
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams
–Winner – ‘’1917’’  While John Williams is the big name the favored war epic should draw enough votes.

SOUND EDITING
“1917”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”
“Joker”

—Winner – ‘’1917”

SOUND MIXING
“1917”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”
“Ad Astra”
“Joker”
–Winner – ‘’1917” A war epic, especially a beloved one, is a natural in this category.

COSTUME DESIGN
“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”
“Little Women”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
–Winner – ‘’Jojo Rabbit’’ In a jumble of films that were all period pieces I’m leaning on the title the Academy is looking for a reason to support.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“The Lighthouse”
–Winner – ‘’1917’’ Seems one of the easier choices for Roger Deakins to win, as this film is generating so much interest in its ‘’2-shot’’ filming technique.

PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Parasite”
–Winner – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Filled with very equal choices I am leaning towards the flashier Hollywood sets here, but really the war film has a true shot.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
“I Lost My Body”
“Klaus”
“Missing Link”
“Toy Story 4”
– Winner – ‘’Toy Story 4’’ A number of big surprises appear (as is ‘’Frozen 2’’ not nominated) but the standby Pixar hit should be a layup.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Little Women”
“The Two Popes”
“Joker”
–Winner – ‘’Jojo Rabbit’’ This is just the type of flashy script the Academy usually favors.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Marriage Story”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
“Knives Out”
“1917”
–Winner – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Might be another splitting of the votes, so Hollywood may be tempted to go with the story about itself by Quentin Tarantino.

DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
–Winner – Sam Mendes A very tough category choked with quality, there is not a bad selection here. Mendes appears to have created enough of a spectacle on screen to win out.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
–Winner – Laura Dern She seems the standout with earlier wins at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
–Winner – Brad Pitt Like Dern, all the advance love has been heaped on him.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Renée Zellweger, “Judy”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
  – Winner – Rene Zellweger Months ago it felt like Theron was the easy winner, but her film did not ignite and she has fallen back in favor.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
– Winner – Joaquin Phoenix The easy winner.

BEST PICTURE
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
“Marriage Story”
“Parasite”
“1917”
     – Winner – ‘’1917’’ Feels like a 3 horse race. ‘’Once Upon…’’ has its love, and ‘’Parasite’’ getting attention will be mitigated by Best Foreign Film. This looks like the prototypical Oscar-Winning war movie.