OPINION: Picks and Predictions for the 95th Academy Awards

Courtesy of A.frame
Courtesy of A.frame

The 95th Academy Awards will acknowledge the nominated films released in 2022 on Sunday, Mar. 12. A24’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once” leads the nominees with 11 nominations, including Best Picture. Although it is nominated for the most awards, will it prevail over the rest of the films? As a film major, here are my picks and predictions for what I want to win and what is likely to win each category in the upcoming awards show.  I will also discuss which films have a chance to beat, or upset the predicted winner. 


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Courtesy of IMDB

Actor in a Leading Role:

Pick: Brendan Fraser in “The Whale”

Prediction: Austin Butler in “Elvis”

Upset: Brendan Fraser in “The Whale”

Although Fraser has an amazing career narrative, Butler is likely to win due to the major financial success of the film and the Academy’s love for biopic performances. 


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Actor in a Supporting Role:

Pick: Ke Huy Quan in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Prediction: Ke Huy Quan in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Upset: Barry Keoghan in “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Ke Huy Quan has a great comeback narrative and his film is likely to be beloved by the Oscars. With how good Quan’s speeches have been already, I have a hard time seeing the Academy denying him an opportunity to make a wonderful speech.

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Courtesy of IMDB

Actress in a Leading Role:

Pick: Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Prediction: Cate Blanchett in “Tar”

Upset: Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

With Tar’s big haul of nominations and Blanchett’s performance being called her best, it is hard to argue against the fact that Blanchett will win the category. Yeoh has a great narrative, but the Oscars are likely to go with a seasoned actor rather than a newcomer.

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Actress in a Supporting Role:

Pick: Stephanie Hsu in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Prediction: Angela Bassett in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Upset: Kerry Condon in “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Although Bassett is the first actress to be nominated for a Marvel performance, her role has found praise from the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. Condon has an opportunity due to her film being in Best Picture.

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Animated Feature Film:

Pick: “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”

Prediction: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Upset: “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”

Having the Netflix label and a high caliber director like Del Toro attached to a project makes this movie a lay-up for the award. With “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” performing well at the box office, it has a small chance, but it is very likely to go with “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.”


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Courtesy of IMDB

Cinematography:

Pick: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Prediction: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Upset: “Elvis”

The technical achievement in cinematography in “All Quiet on the Western Front” is undeniable and makes the film as good as it is. It also has the The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) award for cinematography, making it a likely winner. “Elvis” has a chance mainly because it is a Best Picture contender, but it is quite clear that “All Quiet on the Western Front" is “out front”.


Costume Design:

Pick: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Prediction: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Upset: “Elvis”

The easy answer to why “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is winning costumes is because the first film won this same award. This film also won Costume Design at the Critics Choice Awards, which is highly correlative to what wins the Oscar. The downside is that “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is not a Best Picture contender, and “Elvis”, which is a Best Picture Contender, won the BAFTA award. 


Director:

Pick: Daniels for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Prediction: Daniels for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Upset: Steven Spielberg for “The Fablemans” 

The fact that Spielberg, one of the most successful filmmakers of all time, made a film about his childhood and love for movies sounds like he should be a shoe-in for the award, but Daniels' innovative style and storytelling puts them over Spielberg. Daniels also has the Director’s Guild Award and the Critics Choice Awards.


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Documentary Feature Film:

Pick: “Fire of Love”

Prediction: “Navalny”

Upset: “Fire of Love”

The timeliness of “Navalny" makes the film stand out above the other documentaries, but it also has won the Producers Guild Award and the BAFTA award for Best Documentary Feature. Winning both of these awards highly correlate to the film that wins the Academy award. “Fire of Love” has a good shot due to the accessibility of the story and the colorful visuals

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Courtesy of IMDB

Documentary Short Film: 

Pick: “The Elephant Whisperers”

Prediction: “The Elephant Whisperers”

Upset: “How Do You Measure a Year?”

Netflix has done a lot of advertising for this film, which gives it a good chance of winning. The Oscars have not loved foreign language films in the past, but as long as the Academy gets past the subtitles, then this film stands a good chance of winning. “How Do You Measure a Year” has received love from websites such as Letterboxd, which shows there is passion for other films in the category.

Editing:

Pick: “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Prediction: “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Upset: “Top Gun: Maverick”

This is a very tough category to predict. Although “Everything Everywhere All At Once" has the most cuts out of the five films, the Best Editing winner usually goes to a film that is nominated or winning Best Sound. I think "Everything Everywhere All At Once" has the passion to win the award, but "Top Gun: Maverick” can easily upset.


International Feature Film:

Pick: “Close”

Prediction: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Upset: “Argentina, 1985”

Being the only film in the list nominated for the Best Picture award, "All Quiet on the Western Front” has this award in the bag. “Argentina, 1985” won the Golden Globe award, but “All Quiet on the Western Front” has only gained momentum, winning the Best Feature Film and International Film at the BAFTAs.


Make-Up and Hairstyling:

Pick: “The Whale”

Prediction: “Elvis”

Upset: “The Whale”

The Academy likes to give this award to the film with the most prosthetic work, and this year, “The Batman,” “Elvis,” and “The Whale,” have the most. With “Elvis” being a Best Picture contender and Butler likely winning the Best Actor award, the Make-Up and Hairstyling award bodes well with the acting win.

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Courtesy of IMDB

Music (Original Score):

Pick: “Babylon”

Prediction: “Babylon”

Upset: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

This is a tricky category. Although “Babylon" has a catchy and maximalist soundtrack, the film has little support in the other categories. The fact that the four other films are nominated for Best Picture makes this race very up-in-the-air. “All Quiet on the Western Front” has the best shot to upset due to the BAFTA win for Original Score.

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Music (Original Song):

Pick: “Naatu Naatu” from RRR

Prediction: “Naatu Naatu” from RRR

Upset: “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

The passion for “Naatu Naatu” not only got it this nomination, but is likely pushing it towards a win. The upbeat nature of the song and its absurdity makes it stand out above the rest of the songs in the nominations. The fact that it is the only nomination that “RRR” received shows how strong this song is. “Lift Me Up” has a good chance to upset since the song is dedicated to the late Chadwick Boseman and has the starpower of Rihanna, one of the top streaming artists of this generation.


Best Picture:

Pick: “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Prediction:“Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Upset: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Although “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is not a traditional Oscar contender, the film has unanimous praise from critics and audiences. It has won the Producers Guild, The Critic’s Choice, the Director’s Guild, and the Screen Actors Guild for Best Ensemble, where it broke a record for the most wins. It also has one of the highest ratings on Letterboxd and iMDB, averaging a 4.4/5 and an 8/10 on the websites. The only film with a chance to upset is “All Quiet on the Western Front", which swept the BAFTA awards with seven wins, including Best Film. The original “All Quiet on the Western Front” won Best Picture in 1930, meaning that the Academy is a previous enjoyer of the source material. Although there are cases to make about all the ten features in the category, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has the most support from critics and the general public.


Production Design:

Pick: Avatar: The Way of Water

Prediction: Babylon

Upset: Elvis

Throughout the years, the Academy loves to give the Production Design award to the movie about Hollywood, and “Babylon” fits that description perfectly. Not only is it a film that takes place only in Hollywood, but it has many awards to back up why this is very likely to win the Oscar. It has the Critic’s Choice, BAFTA, and Production Designer’s Guild. The only thing keeping this film locked in from winning is the fact that it is not nominated for Best Picture, which gives “Elvis” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” a chance. 


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Courtesy of IMDB

Short Film (Animated):

Pick: “Ice Merchants”

Prediction: “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse”

Upset: “My Year of Dicks”

The nominees in the category are overall great, but “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse” has an edge due to the film’s universal themes of love and self-doubt. Each line of dialogue is a new lesson that the protagonist learns and it is easy to get wrapped up in the story.  only downside is that the animation is not groundbreaking, which gives “My Year of Dicks” an edge. “My Year of Dicks” has the most unique story of the nominees with the most innovative animation. 

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Short Film: (Live Action):

Pick: “An Irish Goodbye”

Prediction: “Le Pupille”

Upset: “An Irish Goodbye”

“Le Pupille” has an advantage by having both the Disney and Alfonso Cuaron label on the film, which brings lots of eyes to the project. Unlike a lot of these projects, this film can be easily accessed on Disney+. “An Irish Goodbye” has a good shot, but not because of the accessibility of the project, but the critical acclaim. 

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Sound:

Pick: “Top Gun: Maverick”

Prediction: “Top Gun: Maverick”

Upset: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

“Top Gun Maverick” was one of the biggest successes of 2022, so it is difficult to see this movie come home without a win. This is the best shot this movie has at a win due to the quality of the sound and how it added to the immersive experience of the movie, winning awards such as the Sound Editors Guild. “Top Gun: Maverick” faces a fierce competitor with “All Quiet on the Western Front.” With films like “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Dunkirk,” and “1917”, The Academy loves giving the Best Sound award to a war film. “All Quiet on the Western Front” also has the BAFTA award for Best Sound, which makes this category one of the hardest to predict.

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Courtesy of IMDB

Visual Effects:

Pick: “Avatar: The Way of Water”

Prediction: “Avatar: The Way of Water”

Upset: “Top Gun: Maverick”

“Avatar: The Way of Water” has this award in the bag. This film has won nearly every critics group possible. From the Critics Choice Award, The Visual Effect Society, and the BAFTA, this film has swept the visual effect awards and will go on to win the Oscar easily


Writing (Adapted Screenplay):

Pick: “Women Talking”

Prediction: “Women Talking”

Upset: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

The screenplay award always goes to a movie that is nominated for Best Picture, and “Women Talking” is the most dialogue driven film out of the three Best Picture nominees in the category. “Women Talking” also has an edge due to director Sarah Polley being a previous nominee, making her more familiar with the members of the Academy. This film has also won the Critics Choice award, The Writers Guild, and the USC scripter award for Adapted Screenplay. “All Quiet on the Western Front” has a good chance to win due to the film having a solid chance of winning Best Picture and winning the Adapted Screenplay award at the BAFTA. This is another category that is up-in-the-air. 


Writing (Original Screenplay):

Pick: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Prediction: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Upset: “The Banshees of Inisherin”

This could be yet another award for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” due to the high likelihood of the film winning Best Picture and the originality of the script. This film also has the Critics Choice award and the Writers Guild award, which highly correlates with the Oscar winner. With films like “Get Out” and “Promising Young Woman”, it proves that The Academy likes to give the award to genre bending films, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” blends nearly every genre in film. The award could be taken by “The Banshees of Inisherin” since it has the Golden Globe and BAFTA award.


Trevor Stucker (he/him) is a freshman majoring in Applied Film and Journalism. This is his first year writing for The Campus Citizen.

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