2019 Oscar Nomination Predictions (September)
You may or may not have noticed - I am, after all, constantly on Twitter, more often than not preaching on some Best Supporting Actress race from half a century ago - but I haven’t done a whole lot on my blog this year. Much as I’d love to embark on another Oscar Flashback and/or pen my usual reviews, I’m afraid I simply haven’t had the time in recent months.
I am, however, trying my best to keep up with the Oscar race and that means (at last!) compiling my first set of predictions for the year. In the past, I’ve started off with a list of summer predictions, around July or August, but this time around it’ll have to be September - and I shall try to update these bad boys once a month, from here ‘til nominations morning.
One year ago, I was still predicting Steve McQueen (Widows), Robert Redford (The Old Man and the Gun) and Nicole Kidman (Boy Erased) for nominations, not to mention the likes of Colette and Peterloo, so know for sure that at least a handful of the following are destined to fall flat.
The main mystery of the coming awards season remains, of course, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, which seems destined for critical and commercial success…but, for all we know, could also wind up with a Casino-level reception. Uncertainty also lingers over Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and Sam Mendes’ 1917, plus Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters, Jay Roach’s Bombshell and yes..sigh…Tom Hooper’s Cats. Less of a question mark is Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, perhaps on the verge of being the first film since American Hustle to score in all four acting categories.
Charlize Theron and Renee Zellweger are on the hunt for their second golden guys, while the likes of veterans Julie Hagerty and Jonathan Pryce seek first career nominations. And then, of course, there is Annette Bening, who this year could land career Oscar nom #5.
With all that said, here is my current hunch on how the race goes down, with predictions ranked from most to least likely to be nominated. I plan to update everything sometime in mid-October and perhaps at that time will take a shot at Best Original Song. Also, sorry to any names I’ve neglected to include on the techs end!
Enjoy… :)
Best Picture
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Irishman
1917
Waves
The Farewell
Ford v. Ferrari
Little Women
Bombshell
—The Two Popes
Dark Waters
The Report
Cats
Dolemite Is My Name
Just Mercy
Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Sam Mendes, 1917
Pedro Almodovar, Pain and Glory
—Joon-Ho Bong, Parasite
Trey Edward Schults, Waves
Lulu Wang, The Farewell
Jay Roach, Bombshell
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Best Actress
Renee Zellweger, Judy
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Alfre Woodard, Clemency
—Awkwafina, The Farewell
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Helen Mirren, The Good Liar
Lupita Nyong’o, Us
Jodie Turner-Smith, Queen & Slim
Best Actor
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Christian Bale, Ford v. Ferrari
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name
—Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Robert De Niro, The Irishman
Mark Ruffalo, Dark Waters
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Ian McKellen, The Good Liar
Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Annette Bening, The Report
Margot Robbie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Jennifer Hudson, Cats
Anna Paquin, The Irishman
—Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
Julie Hagerty, Marriage Story
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Meryl Streep, Little Women
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Alan Alda, Marriage Story
John Lithgow, Bombshell
Sterling K. Brown, Waves
—Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy
Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Waves
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Ian McKellen, Cats
Best Original Screenplay
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Trey Edward Schults, Waves
Lulu Wang, The Farewell
Pedro Almodovar, Pain and Glory
—Joon-Ho Bong and Jin Won Han, Parasite
Scott Z. Burns, The Report
Charles Randolph, Bombshell
Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller and James Mangold, Ford v. Ferrari
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Dolemite Is My Name
Best Adapted Screenplay
Steven Zaiillian, The Irishman
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes
Matthew Michael Carnahan and Mario Correa, Dark Waters
Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
—Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham, Just Mercy
Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey
Todd Phillips and Scott Silver, Joker
Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit
Jeffrey Hatcher, The Good Liar
Best Animated Feature
Toy Story 4
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Frozen II
Missing Link
Okko’s Inn
—Abominable
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Funan
The Secret Life of Pets 2
Best Documentary Feature
Apollo 11
Maiden
Aquarela
Mike Wallace Is Here
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story
—Amazing Grace
Pavarotti
Untouchable
Knock Down the House
Ask Dr. Ruth
Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins, 1917
Rodrigo Prieto, The Irishman
Robert Richardson, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Phedon Papamichael, Ford v. Ferrari
Drew Daniels, Waves
—Christopher Ross, Cats
Jörg Widmer, A Hidden Life
George Steel, The Aeronauts
Edward Lachmann, Dark Waters
Yorick Le Saux, Little Women
Best Costume Design
Arianne Phillips, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Christopher Peterson and Sandy Powell, The Irishman
Jacqueline Durran, Little Women
Ruth E. Carter, Dolemite Is My Name
Paco Delgado, Cats
—Jany Temime, Judy
Jacqueline Durran, 1917
Ellen Mirojnick, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Julian Day, Rocketman
Mayes C. Rubeo, Jojo Rabbit
Best Film Editing
Thelma Schoonmaker, The Irishman
Michael McCusker, Ford v. Ferrari
Fred Raskin, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Lee Smith, 1917
John Poll, Bombshell
—Trey Edward Shults and Isaac Hagy, Waves
Jennifer Lame, Marriage Story
Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Melanie Oliver, Cats
Greg O’Bryant, The Report
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Vivian Baker, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Anne Morgan and Cristina Waltz, Bombshell
Jeremy Woodhead, Judy
Uxue Laguardia and Niamh O’Loan, Cats
Debra Denson, Carla Farmer, Stacey Morris and Vera Steimberg Moder, Dolemite Is My Name
Belinda Anderson and Angie Wells, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
—Kay Georgiou and Nicki Ledermann, Joker
Sacha Carter, Paul Gooch and David White, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Janine Rath and Heba Thorisdottir, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Fríða Aradóttir and Jennifer Bell, Little Women
Lizzie Georglou and Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou, Rocketman
Best Original Score
John Williams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Thomas Newman, 1917
Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
Marco Beltrami, Ford v. Ferrari
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Waves
—Randy Newman, Marriage Story
Scott Bomar, Dolemite Is My Name
Nate Heller, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Carter Burwell, The Good Liar
Danny Elfman, Dumbo
Best Production Design
Nancy Haigh and Barbara Ling, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Dennis Gassner, 1917
Regina Graves and Bob Shaw, The Irishman
Eve Stewart, Cats
Rick Carter and Kevin Jenkins, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
—David Hindle and Christian Huband, The Aeronauts
Claire Kaufman, Little Women
Dominic Capon and Patrick Tatopoulos, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
François Audouy and Peter Lando, Ford v. Ferrari
Clay A. Griffith and Lisa K. Sessions, Dolemite Is My Name
Best Sound Editing
David Acord and Matthew Wood, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Eric A. Norris and Donald Sylvester, Ford v. Ferrari
The team from 1917
Shannon Mills and Samson Neslund, Avengers: Endgame
Harry Cohen and Leo Marcil, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
—The team from Cats
Saoirse Christopherson and Lee Walpole, The Aeronauts
Teresa Eckton, J.R. Grubbs, Kimberly Patrick and Dee Selby, Captain Marvel
Philip Stockton, The Irishman
Craig Henighan, Terminator: Dark Fate
Best Sound Mixing
Ben Burtt and Andy Nelson, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Richard Bullock, Jr., Paul Massey and Steven Morrow, Ford v. Ferrari
Scott Millan, 1917
Michael Minkler, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Simon Hayes, Cats
—Tom Johnson, Juan Peralta and Douglas Parker, Avengers: Endgame
Stuart Hilliker and Lee Walpole, The Aeronauts
Tod A. Maitland, The Irishman
Paul Cotterell and Johnathan Rush, Judy
John Hayes, Rocketman
Best Visual Effects
Roger Guyett and Dominic Tuohy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Kelly Port and Daniel Sudick, Avengers: Endgame
Pablo Helman and Jiwoong Kim, The Irishman
The team from Cats
Romain Arnoux, Louis Morin and Jean-François Ferland, The Aeronauts
—Daniel Sudick and Christopher Townsend, Captain Marvel
Robert Legato, Elliot Newman and Adam Valdez, The Lion King
The team from 1917
The team from Terminator: Dark Fate
Mark Hawker, Bryan Hirota and Bill Westenhofer, Gemini Man