The Oscars 2017

The Movie Super Bowl is upon us! Below you will find my predictions for the 2017 Academy Awards! 2016 had so many awesome movies and a ton of amazing performances! Last year I guessed 10 correct winners out of 24. Not too bad, but this year I'm hoping to maybe double that! It's tough to separate the picks you think will win and the picks you want to win. Had to use the head, not the heart. Here's to being optimistic!

The Oscars will be held Sunday February 26, so tune in and come back on Monday the day after to see how well I did!

*UPDATED 2/27/17 - This year's Oscars were pretty interesting, with an ending that will go down in history as one of the craziest! So, I've updated the list below. Selections that won will be highlighted in BLUE, my incorrect guesses will be STRUCK OUT IN RED, and the selections I thought would be cool to win or one's I wanted to win despite what I voted for are in GREEN. When all is said and done, 2016 had some amazing films. If there are some from this list you haven't seen, go check them out. You won't be sorry. Here's to another year of fantastic cinema!

BEST PICTURE:

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight
OPTIMIST'S PICK: La La Land

This was obviously the craziest part of the whole night. I for sure thought La La Land had it in the bag, and for a moment I was right. Moonlight is a fantastic film and I'm not too bummed it won. It would've been nice to see like Hacksaw Ridge or Lion win, but there was no chance.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Denis Villeneuve - Arrival
Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle - La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester By The Sea
Barry Jenkins - Moonlight
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Damien Chazelle - La La Land

Damien Chazelle is amazing, and this win only means he'll be able to do whatever he wants to artistically. With Whiplash and La La Land under his belt, that can only mean good things for the future. It would've been cool to see Mel Gibson win, I mean it's been long enough, Hollywood. Give the guy a break, he made an amazing film. Anyway, kudos for at least getting nominated.


BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling - La La Land
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington – Fences
OPTMIST'S PICK: Denzel Washington - Fences

Sure Casey Affleck had the momentum, but never count out Denzel. Both men gave powerful performances though so I figured it would be either one of them. Where's the love for Andrew Garfield? He wasn't going to win, but can we just give it up for this guy? Two great performances in Hacksaw Ridge and Silence. Oh well.

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Ruth Negga – Loving
Emma Stone – La La Land
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Emma Stone - La La Land

She earned it, no doubt.


BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester By The Sea
Dev Patel - Lion
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Mahershala Ali - Moonlight




BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Viola Davis – Fences
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Nicole Kidman - Lion
Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams - Manchester By The Sea
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Viola Davis - Fences



BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:



Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Zootopia

This was a given, no doubt. Kubo and the Two Strings, I feel, is a superior film than Zootopia, and I know I'm in the minority with that opinion, but I get why it won. It's a great film, and I voted for it, but my heart was with Kubo.


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:


Land of Mine - Denmark; Martin Zandvliet
A Man Called Ove - Sweden; Hannes Holm
The Salesman - Iran: Asghar Farhadi
Tanna - Australia; Bentley Dean, Martin Butler
Toni Erdmann - Germany; Maren Ade
OPTIMIST'S PICK: The Salesman - Iran; Asghar Farhadi




BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:


Hell or High Water - Taylor Sheridan
La La Land - Damien Chazelle
The Lobster - Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Manchester by the Sea - Kenneth Lonergan
20th Century Women - Mike Milis
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Manchester by the Sea - Kenneth Lonergan




BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:


Arrival - Eric Heisserer
Fences - August Wilson
Hidden Figures - Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi
Lion - Luke Davies
Moonlight - Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McRaney
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Moonlight - Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McRaney

Again, this was probably a given, but it would've been cool to see an underdog snag it.



BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

Allied - Joanna Johnston
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Colleen Atwood
Florence Foster Jenkins - Consolata Boyle
Jackie - Madeline Fontaine
La La Land - Mary Zophres
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Jackie - Madeline Fontaine

Did not see this one coming, but looking at it now, it totally makes sense.



BEST ORIGINAL SONG:


"Audition" - 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
OPTIMIST'S PICK - "City of Stars" - La La Land





BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:


Jackie - Micachu
La La Land - Justin Hurwitz
Lion - Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka
Moonlight - Nicholas Britell
Passengers - Thomas Newman
OPTIMIST'S PICK: La La Land - Justin Hurwitz




BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
The 13th
OPTIMIST'S PICK: O.J.: Made in America





BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:


4.1 Miles
Extremis
Joe's Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Extremis





BEST MAKE UP AND HAIR STYLING:


A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Star Trek Beyond

Yup. Say what you will about it, but Suicide Squad is an Oscar-winning film.




BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:


Arrival - Patrice Vermette
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Stuart Craig
Hail Caesar - Jess Gonchor
La La Land - Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, David Wasco
Passengers - Guy Hendrix Dyas
OPTIMIST'S PICK: La La Land - Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, David Wasco




BEST FILM EDITING:


Arrival - Joe Walker
Hacksaw Ridge - John Gilbert
Hell or High Water - Jake Roberts
La La Land - Tom Cross
Moonlight - Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders
OPTIMIST'S PICK: La La Land - Tom Cross

Pretty surprised, but I can't lie and say I'm not happy Hacksaw Ridge got some love!


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:



Arrival - Bradford Young
La La Land - Linus Sandgren
Lion - Grieg Fraser
Moonlight - James Laxton
Silence - Rodrigo Prieto
OPTIMIST'S PICK: La La Land - Linus Sandgren




BEST SOUND EDITING:


Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Hacksaw Ridge

Super surprised about this one, but well-deserved.

BEST SOUND MIXING:


Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
13 Hours
OPTIMIST'S PICK: La La Land

Again, can't hate on this movie getting some love. Best war film since Saving Private Ryan.





BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:


Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
OPTIMIST'S PICK: The Jungle Book






BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:


Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Piper






BEST SHORT FILM – LIVE ACTION:


Ennemis Interieurs
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode
OPTIMIST'S PICK: Ennemis Interieurs