Here we are once again, on the eve of the Oscar nomination announcement. Tomorrow morning we will discover who has received Hollywood’s most prestigious honors at the 92nd annual ceremony. Some categories, like Best Director, are extremely difficult to guess accurately. A few predictions may seem like dark horses, but I figured I would go with my gut rather than choose some of the more obvious possibilities. (Particular apologies to Zhao Shuzhen from The Farewell, since I don’t expect her to be recognized by the Academy; if she is nominated, I’ll be overjoyed!) Also, FYI: I don’t predict the three short film categories at this stage since I never have any clue about those until after the nominations come out. Here are my picks:
Best Picture: Bombshell; The Irishman; Jojo Rabbit; Joker; Little Women; Marriage Story; 1917; Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood; Parasite
Best Director: Martin Scorsese (The Irishman); Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit); Sam Mendes (1917); Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood); Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)
Best Actress: Charlize Theron (Bombshell); Awkwafina (The Farewell); Renée Zellweger (Judy); Saoirse Ronan (Little Women); Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker); Adam Driver (Marriage Story); Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood); Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory); Taron Egerton (Rocketman)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers); Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit); Florence Pugh (Little Women); Laura Dern (Marriage Story); Margot Robbie (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood)
Best Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood); Al Pacino (The Irishman); Joe Pesci (The Irishman); Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood); Song Kang-ho (Parasite)
Best Original Screenplay: Lulu Wang (The Farewell); Rian Johnson (Knives Out); Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story); Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood); Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won (Parasite)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillian (The Irishman); Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit); Todd Phillips and Scott Silver (Joker); Greta Gerwig (Little Women); Anthony McCarten (The Two Popes)
Best Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman); Lawrence Sher (Joker); Jarin Blaschke (The Lighthouse); Roger Deakins (1917); Robert Richardson (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood)
Best Editing: Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker (Ford v Ferrari); Thelma Schoonmaker (The Irishman); Lee Smith (1917); Fred Raskin (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood); Yang Jin-mo (Parasite)
Best Production Design: Regina Graves and Bob Shaw (The Irishman); Mark Friedberg and Kris Moran (Joker); Jess Gonchor and Claire Kaufman (Little Women); Nancy Haigh and Barbara Ling (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood); Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales (1917)
Best Costume Design: Ruth E. Carter (Dolemite Is My Name); Christopher Peterson and Sandy Powell (The Irishman); Jacqueline Durran (Little Women); Arianne Phillips (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood); Julian Day (Rocketman)
Best Hair & Makeup: Bombshell; Dolemite Is My Name; Joker; Judy; Rocketman
Best Sound Editing: Avengers: Endgame; Ford v Ferrari; 1917; Rocketman; Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Sound Mixing: Avengers: Endgame; Ford v Ferrari; 1917; Rocketman; Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Visual Effects: Avengers: Endgame; The Irishman; The Lion King; 1917; Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Original Score: Michael Giacchino (Jojo Rabbit); Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker); Alexandre Desplat (Little Women); Randy Newman (Marriage Story); Thomas Newman (1917)
Best Original Song: “Into the Unknown” (Frozen II); “Stand Up” (Harriet); “Spirit” (The Lion King); “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” (Rocketman); “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” (Wild Rose)
Best International Feature Film: Atlantics (Senegal); Beanpole (Russia); Les Misérables (France); Pain and Glory (Spain); Parasite (South Korea)
Best Animated Feature: Frozen II; How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; I Lost My Body; Missing Link; Toy Story 4
Best Documentary: American Factory; Apollo 11; For Sama; Honeyland; One Child Nation
The Iron Cupcake 