2017 Oscar Predictions

It's been about a month since the Oscar nominations were announced, with the award ceremony occurring tomorrow, so I've decided to take a crack at predicting the winners again. This year's list is a little different from past years because of the simple fact I knew it would be incredibly boring to read through a list where La La Land was the top pick for almost every category. Therefore, I'm including what my personal choice for each category (My choice), my personal runner-up (Second choice), and my predicted winner (Likely winner). I've predicted a La La Land sweep based off the fact it's emerged as a huge frontrunner this year, dominating a lot of the Guild Awards thus far, and then the fact it's also my favorite nominee. However, you will find there are some categories where even I think other nominees deserve the victory over La La Land.

Best Picture

"Arrival"
"Fences"
"Hacksaw Ridge"
"Hell or High Water"
"Hidden Figures"
"La La Land"
"Lion"
"Manchester By The Sea"
"Moonlight"
My choice: "La La Land"
Second choice: "Arrival"
Likely winner: "La La Land"

Best Director

Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight"
Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"
Denis Villeneuve, "Arrival"
Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester By The Sea"
Mel Gibson, "Hacksaw Ridge"
My choice: Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"
Second choice: Denis Villeneuve, "Arrival"
Likely winner: Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"

Best Actress

Emma Stone, "La La Land"
Isabella Huppert, "Elle"
Meryl Streep, "Florence Foster Jenkins"
Natalie Portman, "Jackie"
Ruth Negga, "Loving"
My choice: Emma Stone, "La La Land"
Second choice: Natalie Portman, "Jackie"
Likely winner: Emma Stone, "La La Land"

Best Actor

Andrew Garfield, "Hacksaw Ridge"
Casey Affleck, "Manchester By The Sea"
Denzel Washington, "Fences"
Ryan Gosling, "La La Land"
Viggo Mortensen, "Captain Fantastic"
My choice: Casey Affleck, "Manchester By The Sea"
Second choice: Ryan Gosling, "La La Land"
Likely winner: Denzel Washington, "Fences"

Best Supporting Actress

Michelle Williams, "Manchester By The Sea"
Naomie Harris, "Moonlight"
Nicole Kidman, "Lion"
Octavia Spencer, "Hidden Figures"
Viola Davis, "Fences"
My choice: Viola Davis, "Fences"
Second choice: Michelle Williams, "Manchester By The Sea"
Likely winner: Viola Davis, "Fences"

Best Supporting Actor

Dev Patel, "Lion"
Jeff Bridges, "Hell or High Water"
Lucas Hedges, "Manchester By The Sea"
Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"
Michael Shannon, "Nocturnal Animals"
My choice: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"
Second choice: Michael Shannon, "Nocturnal Animals"
Likely winner: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"

Best Adapted Screenplay

Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi, "Hidden Figures"
August Wilson, "Fences"
Barry Jenkins, Tarell McCraney, "Moonlight"
Eric Heisserer, "Arrival"
Luke Davies, "Lion"
My choice: Eric Heisserer, "Arrival"
Second choice: Barry Jenkins, Tarell McCraney, "Moonlight"
Likely winner: Barry Jenkins, Tarell McCraney, "Moonlight"

Best Original Screenplay

Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"
Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos, "The Lobster"
Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester By The Sea"
Mike Mills, "20th Century Woman"
Taylor Sheridan, "Hell or High Water"
My choice: Taylor Sheridan, "Hell or High Water"
Second choice: Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester By The Sea"
Likely winner: Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester By The Sea"

Best Animated Feature

"Kubo and the Two Strings"
"My Life as a Zucchini"
"Moana"
"The Red Turtle"
"Zootopia"

My choice: "Moana"

Second choice: "Kubo and the Two Strings"

Likely winner: "Zootopia"

Best Film Editing

"Arrival"
"Hacksaw Ridge"
"Hell or High Water"
"La La Land"
"Moonlight"
My choice: "La La Land"
Second choice: "Hacksaw Ridge"
Likely winner: "La La Land"

Best Original Song

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from "La La Land" (written by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul)
"Can't Stop The Feeling" from "Trolls" (written by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, and Shellback)
"City of Stars" from "La La Land" (written by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul)
"The Empty Chair" from "Jim: The James Foley Story" (written by J. Ralph and Sting)
"How Far I'll Go" from "Moana" (written by Lin Manuel Miranda)

My choice: "City of Stars" from "La La Land" (written by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul)

Second choice: "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from "La La Land" (written by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul)

Likely winner: "City of Stars" from "La La Land" (written by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul)

Best Original Score

Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka, "Lion"
Justin Hurwitz, "La La Land"
Mica Levi, "Jackie"
Nicholas Britel, "Moonlight"
Thomas Newman, "Passengers"
My choice: Justin Hurwitz, "La La Land"
Second choice: Nicholas Britel, "Moonlight"
Likely winner: Justin Hurwitz, "La La Land"

Best Cinematography

Bradford Young, "Arrival"
Greig Fraser, "Lion"
James Laxton, "Moonlight"
Linus Sandgren, "La La Land"
Rodrigo Prieto, "Silence"
My choice: Linus Sandgren, "La La Land"
Second choice: Bradford Young, "Arrival"
Likely winner: Linus Sandgren, "La La Land"

Best Costume Design

"Allied"
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
"Florence Foster Jenkins"
"Jackie"
"La La Land"
My choice: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
Second choice: "Jackie"
Likely winner: "La La Land"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

"A Man Called Ove"
"Star Trek Beyond"
"Suicide Squad"
My choice: "Star Trek Beyond"
Second choice: "Suicide Squad"
Likely winner: "Star Trek Beyond"

Best Production Design

David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, "La La Land"
Guy Hendrix Das, "Passengers"
Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh, "Hail Caesar!"
Patrice Vermette, "Arrival"
Stuart Craig, James Hambige, Anna Pinnock, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
My choice: Patrice Vermette, "Arrival"
Second choice: Stuart Craig, James Hambige, Anna Pinnock, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
Likely winner: David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, "La La Land"

Best Sound Editing

"Arrival"
"Deepwater Horizon"
"Hacksaw Ridge"
"La La Land"
"Sully"
My choice: "Arrival"
Second choice: "Hacksaw Ridge"
Likely winner: "La La Land"

Best Sound Mixing

"13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi"
"Arrival"
"Hacksaw Ridge"
"La La Land"
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
My choice: "Arrival"
Second choice: "Hacksaw Ridge"
Likely winner: "La La Land"

Best Visual Effects

"Deepwater Horizon"
"Doctor Strange"
"The Jungle Book"
"Kubo and the Two Strings"
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
My choice: "The Jungle Book"
Second choice: "Doctor Strange"
Likely winner: "The Jungle Book"