Oscars 2019: My Predictions

Hollywood's night of nights is this Sunday, so I took a look at the list of nominees and used my crystal ball to pick some winners.

This awards season has been unpredictable to say the least, so going into this weekend's Oscars ceremony, I have next to no idea who will win what. There are only a couple of categories that seem signed, sealed and delivered, but others that are wide open. It seems like there are three frontrunners – Roma, The Favourite and Blackkklansman – but I wouldn't count out Green Book or Bohemian Rhapsody snagging a couple of the major awards.

Highlighted in orange is my prediction for who will win a particular category; those highlighted in purple are who I'd personally like to see win in an ideal world (if applicable). I've also put some comments on who and why below some of the categories. I've omitted the short film categories because, truth be told, I don't know enough to make an informed decision.

Best Picture

The Favourite did well at the BAFTAs - can it
build on that momentum at the Oscars?

Black Panther
Blackkklansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star Is Born
Vice

Four or five months ago, it seemed inconceivable that A Star Is Born would come away with anything less than Best Picture, but now it seems like a rank outsider. The Favourite could be in with a shot here, having won the BAFTA, while Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody both won Best Picture accolades at the Golden Globes.

However, it's Roma that has emerged as the favourite in this category, and it would be a very worthy winner. However, in my perfect world, Blackkklansman would scoop this award – its inflammatory critique of Trump would be a two-fingered salute from Hollywood to the White House.

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron on the set of Roma.

Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
Spike Lee (Blackkklansman)
Paweł Pawlikowski (Cold War)
Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite)
Adam McKay (Vice)

Another category where I'm siding with Blackkklansman over Roma, even though I'm likely going to be disappointed. Spike Lee has been ignored by the Academy for far too long, and Alfonso Cuaron already has his Oscar (for Gravity). But Cuaron won the DGA award, so it's almost assured he'll get the Oscar.

Best Actor

Christian Bale (Vice)

Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)

Willem Dafoe (At Eternity's Gate)

Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)

Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)

Rami Malek is destined to win here and it's a travesty. His performance is 90 per cent false teeth. Bradley Cooper poured his heart and soul into A Star Is Born and deserves to be rewarded.

Best Actress

Melissa McCarthy is now a two-time Oscar nominee. 

Yalitza Aparicio (Roma)
Glenn Close (The Wife)
Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)
Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

I haven't seen The Wife because it looks boring AF, but someone must've seen it because Glenn Close keeps winning all the precursor awards. As for who I'd like to see win, I'm torn between Lady Gaga and Olivia Colman. I'll go with the latter because she's British and I'm biased.

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali (Green Book)

Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman)
Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born)
Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Sam Rockwell (Vice)

Mahershala Ali has this one sewn up, which is okay because he's easily the best part of the mediocre Green Book. But Sam Elliott's performance in A Star Is Born is next-level brilliant.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams (Vice)
Maria de Tavira (Roma)
Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Emma Stone (The Favourite)
Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)

Now THIS is a category. I have no idea who is going to win here, but if I had to guess, it's probably between Regina King and Rachel Weisz. I'll barrack for the latter (again, because I'm biased towards the motherland).

Your acting category winners (if it were up to me): Bradley Cooper, Olivia Colman, Sam Elliott and Rachel Weisz.

Original Screenplay

Green Book has been a controversial nominee;
could it throw a couple of surprises into
the mix?

The Favourite
First Reformed
Green Book
Roma
Vice

The Favourite's screenplay was jam-packed with brilliant wordplay and one-liners. That plus the momentum it earned at the BAFTAs should see it squeak a win here. 

Adapted Screenplay

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Blackkklansman
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born

Another really solid bunch of nominees. If Beale Street Could Talk would be a popular winner. Bradley Cooper is destined to lose yet another statuette here. I'll say Blackkklansman for this category.

Animated Feature

The easiest pick of the bunch: Spider-man – Into
The Spider-Verse for Animated Feature.

Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Marai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

There is only one right choice in this category and it is called Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse.

Foreign Language Film

Capernaum
Cold War
Never Look Away
Roma
Shoplifters

If Roma wins Best Picture (becoming the first foreign language film to do so), it follows that it'll win here too.

Best Documentary

Free Solo
Hale County This Morning This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
RBG

I haven't seen any of these films (!) so I'm just going to spin a wheel and see where it lands. The wheel has spoken – it landed on Free Solo. 

Best Cinematography

Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
Roma
A Star Is Born

Oof, another difficult category. Roma will probably win (seeing a pattern here), so let's go against the grain and pick something else. The Favourite? 

Best Costume Design

Seriously though, how good were the costumes in Black Panther?

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Black Panther
Mary Poppins Returns
The Favourite
Mary Queen of Scots

Say what you want about Black Panther, but its Costume Design was excellent. The colours and textures melded traditional African patterns with the futuristic elements of Wakanda – and a win in this category would be a refreshing change from the usual period drama.

Film Editing

Blackkklansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Vice

I don't mind who wins here, as long as it isn't Bohemian Rhapsody.

Makeup and Hairstyling

Christian Bale address the crowd as Dick Cheney in Vice.

Border
Mary Queen of Scots
Vice

Fat Christian Bale is this year's fat Gary Oldman. This category has always confused me since Suicide Squad beat out Star Trek Beyond.

Original Score

Black Panther
Blackkklansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns

Some really great scores here; Mary Poppins seems like the obvious choice, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say Beale Street – the music in that film was key to how the film depicted its central doomed romance.

Original Song

'All the Stars' from Black Panther
'I’ll Fight from RBG
'The Place Where Lost Things Go' from Mary Poppins Returns
'Shallow' from A Star Is Born

'When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings' from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The one category that seems signed, sealed and delivered to A Star Is Born.

A Star Is Born deserves better than just one win.

Production Design

Black Panther

The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma

Another tough one. For the same reasons as Costume Design, I'm going to swing for Black Panther here – the fusion of traditional and futuristic was gorgeous. 

Sound Editing

Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man

A Quiet Place
Roma

First Man deserves to come away with something, and the sound editing in those launch sequences – with all the layered creaks and groans and hisses – is a perfect example of what made the film so compelling. 

My predictions for Sound Editing, Original Song and Production Design; First Man, A Star Is Born and Black Panther.

Sound Mixing

Black Panther
A Star Is Born
Bohemian Rhapsody
Roma
First Man

I have no idea what to go for in this field. Like I said above, First Man excelled in the sound department. Maybe it will take two from two? Or maybe A Star Is Born's booming concerts will inch ahead?

Visual Effects

Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story

Another category where I'm stabbing in the dark. I'll go for Solo's one and only nomination.

What would you like to win? Let me know in the comments section below!