Watching the Red Carpet for The Oscars, enjoying all of Hollywood’s excellence glamming it up under umbrellas and tents as the rain trickles down, so what a better time to review all the Academy Awards nominees in the main categories. I’ll add my two cents of who I believe will likely be the winners, along with who I WISH would be winners. (Yes, sometimes I may differ from the Academy’s vote.)
Best Picture:
“American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper, and Peter Morgan, Producers
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
“Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
“The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, and Anthony McCarten, Producers
“Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, and David Lancaster, Producers
My Prediction: BIRDMAN
My personal pick: The Imitation Game
BEST ACTOR:
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”
My Prediction: Eddie Radmayne
My personal pick: Eddie Redmayne
BEST ACTRESS:
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”
My Prediction: Julianne Moore
My personal pick: Julianne Moore
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”
My Prediction: Patricia Arquette
My personal pick: Emma Stone
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”
My Prediction: J.K. Simmons
My personal pick: J.K. Simmons
BEST DIRECTOR:
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum
My Prediction: Alejandro G. Inarritu
My personal pick: Morten Tyldum
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
“Big Hero 6“ Don Hall, Chris Williams, and Roy Conli
“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable, and Travis Knight
“How to Train Your Dragon 2″ Dean DeBlois, and Bonnie Arnold
“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura
My Prediction: Big Hero 6
My Personal Pick: Song of the Sea (because I have a bias towards selkies- although many fans would pick The Lego Movie, which sadly wasn’t even Nominated)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, and David Rosier
“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
My Prediction: CitizenFour
My Personal pick: (I can’t say I’ve seen enough of these films to comment in all honesty.)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”
Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from “Selma”
Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again” Music and lyrics by Gregg Alexander
My Prediction: “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”
My Personal Pick: “Glory”
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (Original Score):
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson
My Prediction: “Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
My personal pick: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY:
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
“Unbroken” Roger Deakins
My Prediction: Ida
My personal pick: Unbroken
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN:
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran
My Prediction: The Grand Budapest Hotel
My personal pick: The Grand Budapest Hotel
ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING:
“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash” Tom Cross
My Prediction: American Sniper
My personal pick: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best foreign-language film of the year:
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina
My prediction: Ida
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling:
“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White
My Prediction: The Grand Budapest Hotel
My Personal Pick: Guardians of the Galaxy
Achievement in sound editing:
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro
My Prediction: American Sniper
My personal pick: Interstellar
Achievement in sound mixing:
“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker, and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, and David Lee
“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, and Thomas Curley
My prediction: American Sniper
My personal pick: Interstellar
Achievement in visual effects:
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer
My Prediction: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
My personal pick: X-Men: Days of Future Past
Adapted screenplay:
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle
My Prediction: Whiplash
My personal pick: Inherent Vice
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy
My prediction: Birdman
My personal pick: Birdman
I left off some categories but hey, I haven’t seen all the nominees so I tried to pick the most well-known. How did I do? How did you do??
…Kellee
Outspoken & Freckled 
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