2015 Academy Award Predictions

   With yet another Oscar ceremony on Sunday night, many have noticed that the Best Picture nominees are not that popular among moviegoers. And there have been quite a few surprises (The LEGO Movie not getting nominated for Best Animated Picture being just one).
   So here is how I believe the Oscars will turn out:

Best Picture
Boyhood – Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland

Best Director
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor
Michael Keaton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) as Riggan Thomson / Birdman
(could be Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking)

Best Actress
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl as Amy Elliott-Dunne

Best Supporting Actor
J. K. Simmons – Whiplash as Terence Fletcher

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood as Olivia Evans

Best Original Screenplay
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás
(could be Boyhood)

Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper – Jason Hall from American Sniper by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice

Best Animated Feature Film
How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
(could be Big Hero 6)

Best Foreign Language Film
Ida (Poland) in Polish  – Paweł Pawlikowski

Best Documentary – Feature
Last Days in Vietnam – Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester

Best Documentary – Short Subject
White Earth – J. Christian Jensen

Best Live Action Short Film
   I honestly have no guess as to how this category will turn out...

Best Animated Short Film
Feast – Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
(could be The Bigger Picture)

Best Original Score
   I think it's a toss up between:
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat
and
Interstellar – Hans Zimmer

Best Original Song
"Glory" from Selma – Music and Lyric by John Legend and Common

Best Sound Editing
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock

Best Sound Mixing
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga

Best Production Design
   I think it's a toss up between
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration)
and
Interstellar – Nathan Crowley (Production Design); Gary Fettis (Set Decoration)
and
Into the Woods – Dennis Gassner (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration)

Best Cinematography
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

Best Costume Design
   I think it's a toss up between...
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero
and
Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood

Best Film Editing
Boyhood – Sandra Adair

Best Visual Effects
Interstellar – Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

   Well, that's what I think will happen at the Academy Awards this year. But who knows? Will Meryl Streep get her fourth Oscar? Will "Everything Is Awesome" actually win? Will American Sniper beat Boyhood for Best Picture? I suppose I just have to wait until Sunday night.