What Will and Should Win at the Oscars

The 87th annual Academy Awards will be held tonight in Los Angeles. If you want to get a perfect score on your Oscar ballot at a party this year, look no further: here are the presumptive winners at this year’s awards, as well as the nominees that would be taking home the statue in a perfect world.

Best Picture Nominees: 

American Sniper

Boyhood

Birdman

The Imitation Game

Whiplash

The Theory of Everything

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Selma

Will win: Boyhood

Although Birdman has presented tough opposition in precursor awards, I’m still expecting the ingenuity of the former to be too irresistible to the Academy. Really, though, it could ultimately go either way, so fill out your ballots accordingly.

Should win: Birdman

Daring, beautiful and original. It’s my favorite movie of the year but it does have its fair share of detractors, so we’ll just have to wait and see which way the Oscars go this year. I certainly wouldn’t mind if Selma was able to pull off a surprise win, either.

Should have been nominated: Gone Girl & Nightcrawler

Best Actor Nominees: 

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game

Michael Keaton, Birdman

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Will win: Eddie Redmayne

This is the only acting category that hasn’t been a lock for months. Michael Keaton is Redmayne’s biggest competitor, but I’ll give Redmayne the edge after his SAG win (many SAG voters also vote for the Oscars).

Should win: Eddie Redmayne

Although The Theory of Everything was relatively average as a whole, Redmayne was truly transformative as Stephen Hawking. I also loved Michael Keaton’s performance in Birdman, but he loses some points for essentially playing himself.

Should have been nominated: David Oyelewo (Selma), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Best Actress Nominees: 

Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore, Still Alice 

Reese Witherspoon, Wild 

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night

Will win: Julianne Moore

Critical consensus says Moore has had this category locked up since her Alzheimer’s drama Still Alice premiered in September. Moore is a revered actress who has never won an Oscar, and she’s playing a woman with a debilitating disease. An easy win.

Should win: Rosamund Pike

Pike gave a, literally, scary good performance in Gone Girl, but sadly it looks like she will be going home empty handed. Amy Dunne would not be happy.

Should have been nominated: Anne Dorval (Mommy)

Best Supporting Actress Nominees: 

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Emma Stone, Birdman

Laura Dern, Wild

Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

Will win: Patricia Arquette

Again, this has been pretty much decided for months. Arquette had some standout scenes, but the enormity of the project is mostly what she will be awarded for. Too bad she’ll have to go back to work on CSI: Cyber right after the ceremony.

Should win: Emma Stone

Stone and her massive eyes were the heart and soul of Birdman, and the scene where she finally snaps at her father is one of the best of the year. Still, I’m sure Stone will have plenty more opportunities to take home an Oscar in later years.

Should have been nominated: Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year), Suzanne Clement (Mommy), Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer)

Best Supporting Actor Nominees:

J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Robert Duvall, The Judge

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood

Edward Norton, Birdman

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

Will win: J.K. Simmons

Easily the most deserved inevitable win of the night. Simmons took a flashy, yet potentially one dimensional, character and made him the most fascinating character study of the year.

Should win: J.K. Simmons

Should have been nominated: Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice)

Best Director Nominees:

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel 

Alejandro Iñárritu, Birdman

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

Will win: Alejandro Iñárritu

If Boyhood wins Best Picture, Iñárritu will win director, and vice versa. Everyone nominated did admittedly great work (except Morten Tyldum, whoever that is), so it will be hard for this category to go wrong.

Should win: Alejandro Iñárritu

Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki did some of the most fresh, innovative filmmaking I’ve seen in ages. In a perfect world this wouldn’t even been debatable.

Should have been nominated: Ava DuVernay (Selma), Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

Now that you have your ballot in place, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the ceremony.

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