Final 2014 OSCAR Predictions

     Alright, my last minute Oscar predictions. The Academy Award nominations will be announced tomorrow morning and it is always interesting to see what happens. I believe 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle will lead the way with the most nominations, with Gravity close behind. Those are clearly the three locked-in heavyweights. Captain Phillips should be close as well. There will probably be 9 Best Picture nominees, but who knows with that crazy voting system. I have a bad feeling that one of the purest, funniest and best made films of the year, the Coen brothers Inside Llewyn Davis, is going to be left out of the major categories, with the exception of Best Original Screenplay. Sad and unacceptable if that happens. Philomena is going to steal the thunder from Saving Mr. Banks. Scorsese obviously deserves to be in the Best Director top five, but he is going to be left out. And, if Leonardo DiCaprio gets in the Best Actor race, who gets left out? Is it Redford because he could give a shit less about the awards or the politics that go along with it? It would be a disgrace if he is left out, but it could easily happen. The final spot is between them two. I am probably crazy for leaving Meryl Streep out of the top five, but what the hell. Here we go. Let's see how many I get correct. Remember, this is who I believe the Academy will nominate and not who I would. Enjoy and any opinions are gladly welcome.

BEST PICTURE

1. 12 Years a Slave
2. American Hustle
3. Gravity
4. Captain Phillips
5. Nebraska
6. Her
7. The Wolf of Wall Street
8. Dallas Buyers Club
9. Philomena

• Inside Llewyn Davis
• Saving Mr. Banks
• August: Osage County

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
2. Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
3. David O. Russell, American Hustle
4. Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
5. Spike Jonze, Her

• Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
• Alexander Payne, Nebraska
• Joel & Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST ACTOR

1. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
2. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
3. Bruce Dern, Nebraska
4. Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
5. Robert Redford, All Is Lost

• Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
• Christian Bale, American Hustle
• Joaquin Phoenix, Her

BEST ACTRESS

1. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
2. Amy Adams, American Hustle
3. Judi Dench, Philomena
4. Sandra Bullock, Gravity
5. Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

• Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
• Brie Larson, Short Term 12
• Julie Delpy, Before Midnight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
2. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
3. Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
4. Daniel Brühl, Rush
5. Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

• Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
• James Gandolfini, Enough Said
• Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
2. Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
3. June Squibb, Nebraska
4. Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler
5. Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

• Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station
• Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
• Scarlett Johansson, Her

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Spike Jonze, Her
2. David O. Russell & Eric Singer, American Hustle
3. Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
4. Bob Nelson, Nebraska
5. Joel & Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis

• Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club
• Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón, Gravity
• Kelly Marcel & Sue Smith, Saving Mr. Banks

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
2. Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street
3. Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
4. Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
5. Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope, Philomena

• Tracy Letts, August: Osage County
• Destin Cretton, Short Term 12
• Peter Berg, Lone Survivor

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
2. Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
3. Sean Bobbitt, 12 Years a Slave
4. Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
5. Roger Deakins, Prisoners

• Barry Ackroyd, Captain Phillips
• Frank G. DeMarco, All Is Lost
• Anthony Dod Mantle, Rush

BEST FILM EDITING

1. Alfonso Cuarón & Mark Sanger, Gravity
2. Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave
3. Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy & Crispin Struthers, American Hustle
4. Thelma Schoonmaker, The Wolf of Wall Street
5. Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips

• Roderick Jaynes (Joel & Ethan Coen), Inside Llewyn Davis
• Pete Beaudreau, All Is Lost
• Kevin Tent, Nebraska

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

1. Stories We Tell
2. The Act of Killing
3. 20 Feet from Stardom
4. Blackfish
5. The Square

• Cutie and the Boxer
• Tim's Vermeer
• The Armstrong Lie

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. The Hunt   (Denmark)
2. The Broken Circle Breakdown   (Belgium)
3. The Great Beauty   (Italy)
4. The Notebook   (Hungary)
5. Omar   (Palestine)

• Two Lives   (Germany)
• The Grandmaster   (Hong Kong)
• The Missing Picture   (Cambodia)
• An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker   (Bosnia & Herzegovina)