2017 Oscar Results

The Academy Awards have come and gone, with a heap of surprises and upsets in its wake. I thought Jimmy Kimmel was an excellent host and his gags played out fairly well. As for the  I noticed the technical categories were more diplomatically awarded than I was expecting (Something I'm pretty happy about) and all the actor nominees I was hoping to see win walked away with a gold statuette. I was satisfied with just about all of La La Land's wins and losses with one exception (the Best Picture mishap). For the most part the major categories went as expected while the technical awards were almost all surprises. I would have never guessed that Suicide Squad would be able to call itself an Academy Award winner or triumph over Star Trek Beyond's remarkable makeup effects. With that said, I'm not frustrated by the win just surprised. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Hacksaw Ridge, and Arrival walk away with something, so there's that. Now for the biggie,  I would have been totally accepting of Moonlight's Best Picture victory had it been announced correctly. I just found it absolutely heartbreaking for the cast and crew of La La Land to receive the award and begin their speech only to be interrupted with that revelation. I can't believe that something like that would happen and am still shocked by that outcome. In conclusion, I'm pleased with most of the results and there's always that one upset win that stuns everyone so I guess this year it happened to be Best Picture. 

**Note if you're reading this during the ceremony, you may need to refresh for accuracy** 

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"
Actual winner: "Moonlight"

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"
Actual 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"
Actual 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"
Actual winner: Casey Affleck, "Manchester By The Sea"

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"
Actual 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"
Actual 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"
Actual 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"
Actual 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"
Actual 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"
Actual winner: "Hacksaw Ridge"

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)
Actual 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"
Actual 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"
Actual 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: "La La Land"
Likely winner: "La La Land"
Actual winner: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"

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"
Actual winner: "Suicide Squad"

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: Stuart Craig, James Hambige, Anna Pinnock, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
Second choice: Patrice Vermette, "Arrival"
Likely winner: David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, "La La Land"
Actual 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"
Actual winner: "Arrival"

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"
Actual winner: "Hacksaw Ridge"

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"
Actual winner: "The Jungle Book"

Best Foreign Language Film

"A Man Called Ove"
"Land of Mine"
"Tanna"
"Toni Erdmann"
"The Salesman"
Winner: "The Salesman"

Best Documentary Feature

"13th"
"Fire at Sea"
"I Am Not Your Negro"
"Life, Animated"
"O.J.: Made in America"
Winner: "O.J.: Made in America"

Best Short Film, Live Action

"Ennemis Intérieurs"
"La Femme et la TGV"
"Silent Nights"
"Sing"
"Timecode"
Winner: "Sing"

Best Short Film, Animated

"Blind Vaysha"
"Borrowed Time"
"Pearl"
"Pear and Cider Cigarettes"
"Piper"
Winner: "Piper"

Best Documentary, Short Subject

"4.1 Miles"
"Extremis"
"The Mute's House"
"Watani: My Homeland"
"The White Helmets"
Winner: "The White Helmets"