Best Actress
Here's another acting category whose winner feels like a surefire thing. Brie Larson in Room should be the cream of the crop here, with only Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn feeling like she's close to Larson in terms of awards momentum.
Winner: Brie Larson (Room)
Best Actor
I almost want to see someone besides Leonardo DiCaprio win this just to see the outrage that would be stirred up on the internet. But yeah, DiCaprio is taking this one home. That annoying internet meme of why he doesn't have an Oscar yet can be put to sleep and now DiCaprio is truly "the king of the world". Sorry Michael Fassbender (the guy I personally think should win here), another year mayhaps.
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Best Director
So, we come to the last two categories I'll be predicting in this piece, and this is where things get complicated. Best Director is really anyone's game at this point, save for Lenny Abrahamson for Room. He was the big surprise nomination this year, and his film hasn't generated enough Best Picture talk to warrant him getting Best Director this year. Otherwise, the four other individuals in this group all have an equal shot at snagging the Gold. Could Adam McKay score an Oscar for The Big Short, or perhaps Thomas McCarthy for Spotlight? I have a hunch Oscar voters will bypass those two for the more showy films in the mix, Mad Max: Fury Road and George Miller as well as the Revenant and Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu.
If the latter makes it, it would be the first time in over 60 years the same person won Best Director for two years in a row. Miller is gonna be close...but I think Inarritu is gonna take this award home. DiCaprio has just enough buzz behind him to boost the profile of Inarritu, and the now legendary tales of how grueling this movie was to make don't hurt either.
Winner: Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu (The Revenant)
Even though there are eight individual motion pictures up for this award, the race for Best Picture is basically coming down to three specific films. Spotlight was the early frontrunner here, and while it was no slouch in picking up a number of high-profile Oscar nominations (including two acting nods), it does feel like the movie has fallen behind features like fellow Best Picture frontrunner The Big Short. This Adam McKay motion picture was a last minute addition to the Oscar race, but it's become a formidable force in the race, riding a wave of topicality and numerous notable awards wins to become a likely Best Picture winner.
That being said, I have a hunch neither of these two films will take home this award this year, instead becoming also-rans compared to the eventual winner....The Revenant. It's the kind of grand movie the Academy loves, and the narratives swirling around it (how hard it was to make, how it's a testament to the human spirit, how it's "the movie" for Leonardo DiCaprio) really do make it seem like a Best Picture winner in the making. Frankly, the Best Picture race this year is one of the most unpredictable I've ever seen, so it wouldn't be shocking at all if Spotlight or The Big Short managed to sneak away with this trophy after all. But for now, I'm saying The Revenant takes it all.
Winner: The Revenant
Alright folks, that does it for my predictions. Sound off in the comments below who you think will win and we'll see who takes home the victory (and what awesomeness will ensue in Chris Rock's opening monolauge) on Sunday night!
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