Hey, everyone, here we are again! As the anticipation grows for the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday, I thought it would be cool to share my predictions for the winners. I know I’m super late on this, but I thought it would be better to do this now than later. The interesting thing this year is that there seems to be no front runner for Best Picture so that’ll be cool. Also, there’s no host.

You can catch the Oscars on Sunday, February 24 on ABC at 5:00 PM PST/8:00 PM EST.

Quick disclaimer, however, I haven’t seen any of the Documentary Shorts, Live-Action Shorts, or Animated Shorts so I won’t be predicting those. If that’s what you came here for, I’m sorry 😦

For every category, we have a will win and should win. Here are my predictions along with all the nominees for this year:

Animated Feature:

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
Will Win/Should Win: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

THOUGHTS: “Into the Spider-Verse” was a groundbreaking technical achievement that in my opinion should have been nominated for Best Picture.

Film Editing:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
Will Win/Should Win: “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman
“Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito
“The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
“Vice,” Hank Corwin

THOUGHTS: That Live Aid scene alone is perfectly edited, and the film had to work with what was seemingly a jumbled mess of a production. I’d probably owe the film’s technical success to the editing and reshoots after Bryan Singer’s firing.

Sound Editing:

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker
Will Win: “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst
“First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan
Should Win: “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
“Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

THOUGHTS: Two years ago, I became more aware of the differences between sound editing and mixing since I directed and edited my very own short film. I’m also a music producer so I’d say I have a good ear for good sound. “A Quiet Place” is masterfully edited in its sound, adding genuinely scary effects to the atmosphere. However, I’m going to take a cynical approach and say that due to the recent momentum of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” it’ll take both editing and mixing.

Sound Mixing:

“Black Panther”
Will Win: “Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
Should Win: “A Star Is Born”

Production Design:

Should Win: “Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler
“First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
Will Win: “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
“Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim
“Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enriquez

THOUGHTS: This comes down to Academy bias.

Cinematography:

“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal
“The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
“Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
Will Win/Should Win: “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

THOUGHTS: If there’s one thing “Roma” has going for it, it’s the beautiful cinematography.

Best Documentary Feature:

Will Win/Should Win: “Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
“Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu
“Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki
“RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

THOUGHTS: I think since “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” wasn’t nominated, this has to be “Free Solo,” which managed to be breathtaking and tension filled throughout to a point where I almost forgot I was watching a documentary.

Best Foreign Language Film:

“Capernaum” (Lebanon)
“Cold War” (Poland)
“Never Look Away” (Germany)
Will Win: “Roma” (Mexico)
Should Win: “Shoplifters” (Japan)

THOUGHTS: This is when I get a little controversial and say that I actually thought “Shoplifters” had a more moving story than “Roma.” While I think “Roma” is gorgeous, “Shoplifters” is better paced and has more of a plot in my opinion. However, this is a clear lock for “Roma” without a question.

Original Score:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
“Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson
Will Win/Should Win: “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
“Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

THOUGHTS: Honestly, this just has to do with my personal tastes in music. I’d slightly edge out “Beale Street” over the others only because “First Man” isn’t in this category.

Original Song:

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
“I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
Will Win/Should Win: “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

THOUGHTS: I’M OFF THE DEEP END, WATCH AS I DIVE IN asdlkfjhasdflhkj

Makeup and Hair:

“Border”
“Mary Queen of Scots”
Will Win/Should Win: “Vice”

THOUGHTS: Bruh they really aged up Batman for this movie.

Costume Design:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
Should Win: “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter
Will Win: “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
“Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

THOUGHTS: I think “Black Panther” completely nailed the costume design throughout. If the movie absolutely deserved anything, it’s this award in my opinion. However, this is the Academy we’re talking about, and there’s no way they’re giving costume design to a superhero movie over a period piece.

Visual Effects:

Will Win/Should Win: “Avengers: Infinity War”
“Christopher Robin”
“First Man”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”

THOUGHTS: The incredible VFX of Thanos in “Infinity War” was a highlight of 2018, and there’s no way they’ll award anything else in this category. What are you gonna do, award “Solo” for its amazing VFX when Darth Maul ignited his lightsaber?

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen
Will Win/Should Win: “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins
“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

THOUGHTS: My personal opinion aside, of all the films on this list, “BlackKklansman” has the most Best Picture potential so I’d give it this.

Original Screenplay:

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
Should Win: “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader
“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
Will Win: “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
“Vice,” Adam McKay

THOUGHTS: I wish “First Reformed” came out later in the year because I really think it could’ve stuck with Academy voters.

Supporting Actor:

Will Win/Should Win: Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Will Win/Should Win: Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Lead Actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Will Win/Should Win: Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

THOUGHTS: While I don’t think that the movie is even Best Picture material, Rami Malek’s performance is absolutely perfect. Every minor mannerism this guy makes enhances the character and my experience of the movie. He goes hand in hand with the movie’s success and deserves this award.

Lead Actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Will Win/Should Win: Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

THOUGHTS: Tony Collette was robbed of a nomination.

Director:

Should Win: Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”

Best Picture:

Should Win: “Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
Will Win: “Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”

THOUGHTS: So “Roma” seems like it’s going to win, but I really think it would be a greater impact if “Black Panther” takes the award. Yes, I’m one of those who thinks that “Infinity War” and “Spider-Verse” are better movies, but hear me out. First of all, it would dispel the need for a popular film category. On a personal level, it would make me very happy because finally there’s a superhero film that would win Best Picture. I really don’t think that would happen again. This maybe the night that my dreams may let me know, all the stars are closer.

Twitter: @MohitPuvvala

Instagram: @MohitPuvvala