The 86th Annual Academy Awards will air of ABC March 2, 2014. No one is going to be surprised about who wins Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture have way too many variables; however I will offer my predictions for these categories. And the winners (I think) will be….
Best Supporting Actor and Actress
Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong’o have this year’s supporting actor and actress win in the bag. Leto’s performance in Dallas Buyer’s Club, and Nyong’o’s performance in 12 Years a Slave made each the front runner in their respected category and neither has looked back the entire award season. I won’t even bother to mention who either is up against; it does not matter, since these two are unstoppable.
Best Actor
Six months ago I would have picked Chiwetel Ejiofor to win this category hands down for his performance in 12 Years a Slave. He still has a very good chance of doing so, but I predict that Mathew McConauhey will win the award. McConauhey’s performance in Dallas Buyer’s club was just good enough to edge out a win over Ejifor. Others competing in the category include
- · Christian Bale for American Hustle
- · Bruce Dern for Nebraska
- · Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actress
Whenever Meryl Streep is nominated in this category, she is usually the odds on favorite to win. This year, the odds on favorite is Sandra Bullock for her role in Gravity. I predict that she will win her second Oscar for this performance. Other Nominees in this category are:
- · Meryl Streep for August:Osage County
- · Dame Judi Dench for Philomena
- · Amy Adams for American Hustle
- · Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
Best Director
Steve McQueen will win Best Director for 12 Years a Slave, but the movie will not win Best Picture. McQueen will make history Oscar night when he becomes the first African American to win the award for Best Director. He will be competing against;
- · David O. Russell for American Hustle
- · Alexander Payne for Nebraska
- · Martin Scorsese for The Wolf of Wall Street
- · Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity
Best Picture
I believe The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will once again split the baby by awarding The Best Picture honor to Martin Scorsese for The Wolf of Wall Street, while McQueen is heralded Best Director. This isn’t hard to fathom, since both pictures have been favorites among critics and award programs all season.
For the complete list of categories and nominations go to http://oscar.go.com/nominees/