THE OSCARS: JOHN’S FINAL PREDICTIONS

By John H. Foote

Spider Man: No Way Home swung into theatres just before Christmas and altered the entire Oscar landscape with rave reviews, the kind of adulation resulting in Best Picture attention. No one was more surprised than me, because this is the umpteenth version of Spider Man we have had, the first that brings all the recent movie Spider Man together, but I am saying no more.

Enough to state the Oscar landscape changed dramatically.

I do not believe the nominees will be altered too much by the raves coming in for Drive My Car, which won the trio of major critics’ awards – the Nationals, LA and NY film critics. I just do not think it is a very good film!

So category by category, leaving out the shorts, here are my predictions for this year’s Academy Award nominations.

After each category, there is a potential nominee in brackets, representing a nominee that could conceivably bump one of the top five from contention. West Side Story tops the list with 12 nominations.

BEST PICTURE

• BELFAST
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• WEST SIDE STORY
• KING RICHARD
• LICORICE PIZZA
• DUNE
• DON’T LOOK UP
• TICK, TICK … BOOM!
• SPIDER MAN – NO WAY HOME
• NIGHTMARE ALLEY

(ALTERNATE – CODA)

BEST DIRECTOR

• JANE CAMPION FOR THE POWER OF THE DOG
• STEVEN SPIELBERG FOR WEST SIDE STORY
• KENNETH BRANAGH FOR BELFAST
• DENIS VILLENEUVE FOR DUNE
• MAGGIE GYLLENHALL FOR THE LOST DAUGHTER

(PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON FOR LICORICE PIZZA)

BEST ACTOR

• WILL SMITH IN KING RICHARD
• PETER DINKLAGE IN CYRANO
• BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IN THE POWER OF THE DOG
• ANDREW GARFIELD IN TICK, TICK … BOOM!
• DENZEL WASHINGTON IN THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

(LEONARDO DI CAPRIO IN DON’T LOOK UP)

BEST ACTRESS

• KRISTEN STEWART IN SPENCER
• LADY GAGA IN HOUSE OF GUCCI
• OLIVIA COLMAN IN THE LOST DAUGHTER
• RACHEL ZEGLER IN WEST SIDE STORY
• PENELOPE CRUZ IN PARALLEL MOTHERS

( JENNIFER HUDSON IN RESPECT or ALANA HAIM IN LICORICE PIZZA))

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• KODI SMIT-MCPHEE IN THE POWER OF THE DOG
• MIKE FAIST IN WEST SIDE STORY
• TROY KOTSUR IN CODA
• CIARAN HINDS IN BELFAST
• BEN AFFLECK IN THE TENDER BAR

(J.K. SIMMONS IN BEING THE RICARDOS)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• ARIANA DEBOSE IN WEST SIDE STORY
• KIRSTEN DUNST IN THE POWER OF THE DOG
• CAITRIONA BALFE IN BELFAST
• JUDI DENCH IN BELFAST
• CATE BLANCHETT IN NIGHTMARE ALLEY

(RITA MORENO IN WEST SIDE STORY)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• WEST SIDE STORY
• THE LOST DAUGHTER
• DUNE
• TICK, TICK … BOOM!

(CODA)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• BELFAST
• LICORICE PIZZA
• KING RICHARD
• DON’T LOOK UP
• PARALLEL MOTHERS

(A HERO)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• ENCANTO
• FLEE
• LUCA
• SING 2
• THE MITCHELLS V. THE MITCHELLS

(BELLE)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• ATTICA
• SUMMER OF SOUL
• FLEE
• THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
• ASCENSION

(SIMPLE AS WATER)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• WEST SIDE STORY
• DUNE
• BELFAST
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• NIGHTMARE ALLEY

(THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• DUNE
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH
• DON’T LOOK UP
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• THE LAST DUEL

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• WEST SIDE STORY
• THE LAST DUEL
• DUNE
• CRUELLA
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH

(HOUSE OF GUCCI)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• DUNE
• WEST SIDE STORY
• BELFAST
• THE FRENCH DISPATCH
• NIGHTMARE ALLEY

(CYRANO)

BEST MAKE-UP/ HAIRSTYLING

• CRUELLA
• DUNE
• WEST SIDE STORY
• HOUSE OF GUCCI
• THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• DUNE
• NO TIME TO DIE
• SPIDER MAN: NO WAY HOME
• ETERNALS
• BLACK WIDOW

(THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS)

BEST SOUND

• WEST SIDE STORY
• DUNE
• THE POWER OF THE DOIG
• BELFAST
• TICK, TICK … BOOM!

(NO TIME TO DIE)

BEST FILM EDITING

• WEST SIDE STORY
• DUNE
• BELFAST
• THE POWER OF THE DOG
• SPIDER MAN: NO WAY HOME

(LICORICE PIZZA)

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

• DRIVE MY CAR (JAPAN)
• A HERO (IRAN)
• THE HAND OF GOD (ITALY)
• COMPARTMENT NO. 6 (FINLAND)
• FLEE (DENMARK)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “NO TIME TO DIE” FROM NO TIME TO DIE
• “JUST LOOK UP” FROM DON’T LOOK UP
• “BE ALIVE” FROM KING RICHARD
• “HERE I AM SINGING MY WAY HOME” FROM RESPECT
• “SO MAY WE START” FROM ANNETTE