FINAL 2018 Oscar Winner Predictions
At last!
It feels like an eternity ago that I was predicting the likes of Beautiful Boy, The Front Runner and Peterloo for Oscar nominations. Now, here we are, with that trio long out of the picture and Roma riding high as Black Panther and Green Book lurk around the corner, hoping to score the big upset for the top prize.
There is no shortage of uncertainty lingering over this year’s races. While a handful of contenders, including Alfonso Cuaron in Best Director and “Shallow” in Best Original Song (perhaps the lone prize A Star Is Born goes home with), seem like the surest of bets, there are far more toss-ups at hand than runaway victories. Even Mahershala Ali and Rami Malek, who have all but steamrolled the major precursors of late, shouldn’t feel entirely secure.
Films like Black Panther, BlackKklansman and The Favourite, all entering the big night with a plethora of nominations, could find themselves basking in Oscar glory or shut out altogether. Should The Favourite fall short in all 10 of its bids (which I am predicting to be the case), it will join the unfortunate likes of American Hustle, Gangs of New York and True Grit, all of which conked out 0-for-10 at their respective ceremonies.
As for the technical categories, they could go in so many different directions, with plausible cases to even be made for First Man and Mary Poppins Returns, both of which spent much of the awards season stumbling.
With that said, here's my hunch on how the evening goes down…
BEST PICTURE
Roma
Green Book
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
A Star Is Born
The Favourite
Vice
BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
Adam McKay, Vice
BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, The Wife
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
BEST ACTOR
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Amy Adams, Vice
Marina de Tavira, Roma
Emma Stone, The Favourite
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
Sam Rockwell, Vice
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Roma
Green Book
The Favourite
First Reformed
Vice
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BlacKkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
A Star Is Born
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Mary Poppins Returns
Isle of Dogs
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Shallow,” A Star Is Born
“All the Stars,” Black Panther
“I’ll Fight,” RBG
“The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns
“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BEST FILM EDITING
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
Vice
The Favourite
Green Book
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Roma (Mexico)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Shoplifters (Japan)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Isle of Dogs
Incredibles 2
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
RBG
Free Solo
Minding the Gap
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Of Fathers and Sons
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roma
Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
A Star Is Born
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Black Panther
The Favourite
Roma
Mary Poppins Returns
First Man
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
First Man
Avengers: Infinity War
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Christopher Robin
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Black Panther
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
Mary Queen of Scots
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Vice
Mary Queen of Scots
Border
BEST SOUND MIXING
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Black Panther
Roma
A Star Is Born
BEST SOUND EDITING
Black Panther
First Man
Bohemian Rhapsody
Roma
A Quiet Place
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
A Night at the Garden
Lifeboat
Black Sheep
End Game
Period. End of Sentence
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Animal Behavior
Weekends
Bao
One Small Step
Late Afternoon
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Detainment
Mother
Fauve
Marguerite
Skin