2017 Oscar Predictions!

The 89th Academy Awards are just around the corner and on Sunday night, the Academy will reward some of the best films of the year on a glamorous stage. Like every year, many people are giving their thoughts and predictions for who will walk alway with some of Film's biggest prizes. For the second year running, my friends and I will be competing yet again to see who can get the most predictions right. Joining me again this year are Michael, Drew and last year's winner, Billy. We will be giving our picks on the main categories as we haven't seen the likes of the documentaries or short films. Now lets get onto the predictions!

We will be running through and talking briefly about thoughts considering some of the picks. We won't do this for every category but there will be a table at the end with the full list of our predictions.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees: Lucas Hedges (Manchester By The Sea), Dev Patel (Lion), Jeff Bridges (Hell Or High Water), Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

My Pick (Angus): Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Billy: Jeff Bridges (Hell Or High Water)

Drew: Lucas Hedges (Manchester By The Sea)

Michael: Dev Patel (Lion)

This category is the category I have most of a problem with. I was disappointed by the nominees in this list as I felt 2 of them should've been replaced with other actors in their respective films. I feel that Jeff Bridges and Michael Shannon should've been replaced by Ben Foster and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The performance that I enjoyed the most was Lucas Hedges in 'Manchester By The Sea' but my pick goes to Mahershala Ali considering his recent success at the SAG and Critic's Choice Awards. As you can see from the predictions, it is a fairly open race with all four of us choosing different actors from one another.

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees: Viola Davis (Fences), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), Michelle Williams (Manchester By The Sea)

My Pick (Angus): Michelle Williams (Manchester By The Sea)

Billy: Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Drew: Viola Davis (Fences)

Michael: Viola Davis (Fences)

Again this was a very tough category to choose from as there was a great amount of talent on show. Octavia Spencer and Nicole Kidman were both great in their roles in their respective roles but for me, I felt that Viola Davis, Naomie Harris and Michelle Williams were just a level above them. For my decision, I let it come down to who was the most memorable and for me Michelle Williams stuck the most with me. The scene where she tries to patch things up with Casey Affleck is one of the best moments of the year and showcased her talent very well. Williams was fantastic throughout the whole film and is my choice for Best Supporting Actress.

Best Director

Nominees: Denis Villeneuve (Arrival), Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

My Pick (Angus): Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Billy: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Drew: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Michael: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

As you can see, there seems to be a clear favourite within this category. Damien Chazelle should win the Oscar for Best Director as he created a marvellous and truly special film. The other directors in the category deserve to be in contention but Chazelle's work with 'La La Land' was above them. It is great to see Denis Villeneuve nominated for 'Arrival' nonetheless.

Best Actor

Nominees: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), Denzel Washington (Fences)

My Pick (Angus): Denzel Washington (Fences)

Billy: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)

Drew: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)

Michael: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)

I would absolutely love it if Ryan Gosling were to win after he gave one of my favourite performances in 'La La Land'. However, I have no problem with any of these actors winning but there seems to be two frontrunners in the Best Actor race. I would have went with Casey Affleck but his chances of winning have went down since the Oscars have drawn closer. The last 12 winners of the SAG awards have gone onto win the Oscar the same year. Denzel Washington won the award this year which may indicate that he will pick up the Best Actor award on Sunday.

Best Actress

Nominees: Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Emma Stone (La La Land), Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

My Pick (Angus): Emma Stone (La La Land)

Billy: Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Drew: Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Michael: Emma Stone (La La Land)

Again, this category seems to have two frontrunners with Natalie Portman and Emma Stone really standing out in this category. Amy Adams can feel hard done by as her exclusion is one of the biggest snubs, especially considering that Meryl Streep was nominated for 'Florence Foster Jenkins'. It is a close race but Emma Stone has been picking up awards along the way to the Oscars and I believe that the momentum is with her and that she will pick up the big prize.

Best Picture

Nominees: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell Or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester By The Sea, Moonlight

My Pick (Angus): La La Land

Billy: La La Land

Drew: La La Land

Michael: La La Land

First of all, there simply shouldn't be 9 nominees for a category, it should be kept to 5. Due to this, there are some films that have zero chance in winning this, despite being great in their own right. It's no surprise that we have all picked the frontrunner for Best Picture and I am glad to say that its my favourite out of all of the films in contention. 'La La Land' fully deserves the Best Picture award as I feel that it is the best film in the category.

The table below consists the rest of our predictions. For a full list of the nominees go to: http://oscar.go.com/news/nominations/oscar-nominations-2017-view-the-complete-list-of-nominees

Category	Angus	Billy	Drew	Michael
Best Picture	La La Land	La La Land	La La Land	La La Land
Best Actor	Denzel Washington (Fences)	Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)	Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)	Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)
Best Actress	Emma Stone (La La Land)	Natalie Portman (Jackie)	Natalie Portman (Jackie)	Emma Stone (La La Land)
Best Supporting Actor	Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)	Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)	Lucas Hedges (Manchester By The Sea)	Dev Patel (Lion)
Best Supporting Actress	Michelle Williams (Manchester By The Sea)	Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)	Viola Davis (Fences)	Viola Davis (Fences)
Best Director	Damien Chazelle (La La Land)	Damien Chazelle (La La Land)	Damien Chazelle (La La Land)	Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
Best Animated Movie	Kubo and The Two Strings	Kubo and the Two Strings	Kubo and the Two Strings	Zootopia
Best Cinematography	Bradford Young (Arrival)	Linus Sandgren (La La Land)	Bradford Young (Arrival)	Linus Sandgren (La La Land)
Best Costume Design	Mary Zophres (La La Land)	Madeline Fontaine (Jackie)	Mary Zophres (La La Land)	Madeline Fontaine (Jackie)
Best Film Editing	John Gilbert (Hacksaw Ridge)	Joe Walker (Arrival)	Jake Roberts (Hell or High Water)	Tom Cross (La La Land)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling	Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson (Suicide Squad)	Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson (Suicide Squad)	Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson (Suicide Squad)	Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson (Suicide Squad)
Best Music (Original Score)	Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)	Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)	Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)	Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)
Best Music (Original Song)	Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul: “City of Stars” (La La Land)	Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul: "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" (La La Land)	Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul: “City of Stars” (La La Land)	Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul: “City of Stars” (La La Land)
Best Production Design	Jess Gonchor and Nancy Haigh (Hail Caesar!)	David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (La La Land)	Patrice Vermette (Arrival)	David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (La La Land)
Best Visual Effects	Robert Legato, Dan Lemmon, Andrew R. Jones and Adam Valdez (The Jungle Book)	Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould (Doctor Strange)	Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould (Doctor Strange)	Robert Legato, Dan Lemmon, Andrew R. Jones and Adam Valdez  (The Jungle Book)
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)	August Wilson (Fences)	August Wilson (Fences)	Eric Heisserer (Arrival)	Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)	Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea)	Damien Chazelle (La La Land)	Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water)	Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By The Sea)

So who do you feel has made the best predictions and is most likely to get the most correct? I’d also like to hear or you think will win at this years Oscars and also, who you feel was snubbed this year! Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my blog, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor