The crown jewel in awards seasons is fast approaching, the 2020 Oscars! While there is definitely an overall lack of diversity, for the most part the nominations are unsurprising and follow other leading institutions in their nominations. Here’s my breakdown of who should win (personal preference obviously) and who will win based on the odds. Enjoy!
Best Picture:
Ford v Ferrari (Producers: Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping & James Mangold)
The Irishman (Producers: Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal & Emma Tillinger Koskoff)
Jojo Rabbit (Producers: Carthew Neal & Taika Waititi)
Joker (Producers: Todd Phillips, Bradley Cooper & Emma Tillinger Koskoff)- Chance to upset
Little Women (Producers: Amy Pascal)- Should Win
Marriage Story (Producers: Noah Baumbach & David Heyman)- Should Win
1917 (Producers: Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne-Ann Tenggren & Callum McDougal)- Chance to upset
Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood (Producers: David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh & Quentin Tarantino)- Most likely to win
Parasite (Producers: Kwak Sin-ae & Bong Joon-ho)- Chance to upset
Best Director:
Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)
Todd Phillips (Joker)
Sam Mendes (1917)- Chance to upset and should win
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood)- Chance to upset
Bong Joon-ho (Parasite)- Most likely to win
Best Actor:
Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) as Salvador Mallo
Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood) as Rick Dalton
Adam Driver (Marriage Story) as Charlie Barber- Chance to upset and should win
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) as Arthur Fleck/Joker- Most likely to win
Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio
Best Actress:
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) as Harriet Tubman
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) as Nicole Barber- Chance to upset and should win
Saoirse Ronan (Little Women) as Josephine “Jo” March- should win
Charlize Theron (Bombshell) as Megyn Kelly
Renee Zellweger (Judy) as Judy Garland- Most likely to win
Best Supporting Actor:
Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) as Fred Rogers
Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes) as Pope Benedict XVI
Al Pacino (The Irishman) as Jimmy Hoffa
Joe Pesci (The Irishman) as Russell Bufalino- should win
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood) as Cliff Booth- Most likely to win
Best Supporting Actress:
Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell) as Barbara “Bobi” Jewell
Laura Dern (Marriage Story) as Nora Fanshaw- Most likely to win and should win
Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit) as Rosie Betzler- should win
Florence Pugh (Little Women) as Amy March- should win
Margot Robbie (Bombshell) as Kayla Popisil
Best Original Screenplay:
Rian Johnson (Knives Out)- should win
Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story)
Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917)
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood)- Most likely to win
Bong Joon-ho & Han Jin-won (Parasite)- Chance to upset
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Steven Zaillian for The Irishman (based on the book “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt)
Taika Waititi for Jojo Rabbit (based on the novel “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens)
Todd Phillips & Scott Silver for Joker (based on characters created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane & Jerry Robinson)
Greta Gerwig for Little Women (based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott)- Most likely to win and should win
Anthony McCarten for The Two Popes (based on his play The Pope)
Best Animated Feature Film:
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Producers: Dean DeBlois, Bonnie Arnold & Brad Lewis)
I Lost My Body (Producers: Jeremy Clapin & Marc du Pontavice)- should win
Klaus (Producers: Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh & Marisa Roman)
Missing Link (Producers: Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner & Travis Knight)- Chance to upset
Toy Story 4 (Producers: Josh Cooley, Jonas Rivera & Mark Nielsen)- Most likely to win
Best International Feature Film:
Corpus Chrisit (Poland) in the Polish language- Directed by Jan Komasa
Honeyland (North Macedonia) in the Turkish lanuage- Directed by Tamara Kotevska & Ljubomir Stefanov
Les Miserables (France) in the French language- Directed by Ladj Ly
Pain and Glory (Spain) in the Spanish language- Directed by Pedro Almodovar
Parasite (South Korea) in the Korean language- Directed by Bong Joon-ho- Will win, no other competition
Best Documentary Feature:
American Factory (Producers: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert & Jeff Reichert)- Most likely to win
The Cave (Producers: Feras Fayyad, Kristine Barfod & Sigrid Dyekjaer)
The Edge of Democracy (Producers: Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris & Tiago Pavan)
For Sama (Producers: Waad Al-Kateab & Edward Watts)
Honeyland (Producers: Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska & Atanas Georgiev)
Best Documentary Short Subject:
In the Absence (Producers: Yi Seung-Jun & Gary Byung-Seok Kam)
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) (Producers: Carol Dysinger & Elena Andreicheva)- Most likely to win
Life Overtakes Me (Producers: John Haptas & Kristine Samuelson)
St. Louis Superman (Producers: Smriti Mundhra & Sami Khan)
Walk Run Cha-Cha (Producers: Laura Nix & Colette Sandstedt)
Best Live Action Short Film:
Brotherhood (Producers: Meryam Joobeur & Maria Gracia Turgeon)- Most likely to win
Nefta Football Club (Producers: Yves Piat & Damien Megherbi)
The Neighbors’ Window (Producers: Marshall Curry)
Saria (Producers: Bryan Buckley & Matt Lefebvre)
A Sister (Producers: Delphine Girard)
Best Animated Short Film:
Daughter (Producers: Daria Kashcheeva)
Hair Love (Producers: Matthew A. Cherry & Karen Rupert Toliver)- Most likely to win
Kitbull (Producers: Rosana Sullivan & Kathryn Hendrickson)
Memorable (Producers: Bruno Collet & Jean-Francois Le Corre)
Sister (Producers: Siqi Song)
Best Original Score:
Hildur Guonadottir (Joker)- Most likely to win and should win
Alexandre Desplat (Little Women)
Randy Newman (Marriage Story)
Thomas Newman (1917)
John Williams (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
Best Original Song:
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” (Toy Story 4- Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman)
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” (Rocketman- Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Bernie Taupin)- Most likely to win and should win
“I’m Standing with You” (Breakthrough- Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren)
“Into the Unknown” (Frozen II- Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez)
“Stand Up” (Harriet- Music and Lyrics by Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo)
Best Sound Editing:
Donald Sylvester (Ford v Ferrari)
Alan Robert Murray (Joker)
Oliver Tarney & Rachael Tate (1917)- Most likely to win
Wylie Stateman (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood)
Matthew Wood & David Acord (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
Best Sound Mixing:
Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson & Mark Ulano (Ad Astra)
Paul Massey, David Giammarco & Steven A. Morrow (Ford v Ferrari)
Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic & Tod Maitland (Joker)
Mark Taylor & Stuart Wilson (1917)- Most likely to win
Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler & Mark Ulano (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood)
Best Production Design:
The Irishman (Production Design: Bob Shaw; Set Decoration: Regina Graves)
Jojo Rabbit (Production Design: Ra Vincent; Set Decoration: Nora Sopkova)- should win
1917 (Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)
Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood (Production Design: Barbara Ling; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh)- Most likely to win
Parasite (Production Design: Lee Ha-jun; Set Decoration: Cho Won-woo)- Chance to upset
Best Cinematography:
Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman)
Lawrence Sher (Joker)
Jarin Blaschke (The Lighthouse)
Roger Deakins (1917)- Most likely to win
Robert Richardson (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood)- Chance to upset
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan & Vivian Baker (Bombshell)- Most likely to win
Nicki Ledermann & Kay Georgiou (Joker)- Chance to upset
Jeremy Woodhead (Judy)
Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten & David White (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil)
Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis & Rebecca Cole (1917)
Best Costume Design:
Sandy Powell & Christopher Peterson (The Irishman)
Mayes C. Rubeo (Jojo Rabbit)
Mark Bridges (Joker)
Jacqueline Durran (Little Women)- Most likely to win and should win
Arianne Phillips (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood)
Best Film Editing:
Andrew Buckland & Michael McCusker (Ford v Ferrari)- Most likely to win
Thelma Schoonmaker (The Irishman)- Chance to upset
Tom Eagles (Jojo Rabbit)
Jeff Groth (Joker)
Yang Jin-mo (Parasite)
Best Visual Effects:
Dan DeLeeuw, Matt Aitken, Russell Earl & Dan Sudick (Avengers: Endgame)- Most likely to win
Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli & Nelson Sepulveda (The Irishman)
Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones & Elliot Newman (The Lion King)
Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler & Dominic Tuohy (1917)- Chance to win and should win
Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach & Dominic Touhy (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
The Scribble 