My 2020 Oscar Nominee Picks & Predictions

Annually, I share a series of posts revolving around the Oscars. These include my predictions for the nominees, a post about the nominations, final predictions, and the results with commentary. Typically, my picks consist of long shots and likely nominees. If something's not listed, it probably barely missed the cut and there were many categories that were especially difficult to whittle down such as Director, Cinematography, Film Editing, Original Score, and the four acting categories. As for my predictions, I looked to the precursor award show nominees, shortlists, and patterns I've noticed in recent years. It's very unlikely all of these predictions will pan out since there are always surprises and snubs. Nevertheless, I'm going to give it my best shot and see how close I am tomorrow. You'll also probably notice that a few of the more obscure categories are missing and that's because I haven't seen enough documentaries, shorts, or foreign films this year. However, I did watch more foreign films than I did last season, so I'm making progress!

My 2020 Oscar Nominee Picks and Predictions

Best Picture

My Personal Picks:

"1917"
"Ad Astra"
"The Farewell"
"The Irishman"
"Jojo Rabbit"
"Knives Out"
"Marriage Story"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"
"Portrait of a Lady on Fire"

**The Academy has a sliding scale of Best Picture nominees every year, so I'm listing nine in my predictions**

My Predictions:

"1917"
"Ford v Ferrari"
"The Irishman"
"Jojo Rabbit"
"Joker"
"Little Women"
"Marriage Story"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"

Best Director

My Personal Picks:

Bong Joon-Ho, "Parasite"
Céline Sciamma, "Portrait of a Lady on Fire"
Martin Scorsese, "The Irishman"
Noah Baumbauch, "Marriage Story"
Sam Mendes, "1917"

My Predictions:

Bong Joon-Ho, "Parasite"
Greta Gerwig, "Little Women"
Martin Scorsese, "The Irishman"
Quentin Tarantino, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
Sam Mendes, "1917"

Best Actor

My Personal Picks:

Adam Driver, "Marriage Story"
Brad Pitt, "Ad Astra"
George MacKay, "1917"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Joker"
Robert DeNiro, "The Irishman"

My Predictions:

Adam Driver, "Marriage Story"
Christian Bale, "Ford v Ferrari"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Joker"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
Taron Egerton, "Rocketman"

Best Actress

My Personal Picks:

Ana De Armas, "Knives Out"
Awkwafina, "The Farewell"
Lupita Nyong'o, "Us"
Scarlett Johansson, "Marriage Story"
Noémie Merlant, "Portrait of a Lady on Fire"

My Predictions:

Awkwafina, "The Farewell"
Charlize Theron, "Bombshell"
Lupita Nyong'o, "Us"

Renée Zellweger, "Judy"

Scarlett Johansson, "Marriage Story"

Best Supporting Actor

My Personal Picks:

Al Pacino, "The Irishman"
Brad Pitt, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
Joe Pesci, "The Irishman"
Tom Hanks, "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood"
Song Kang-Ho, "Parasite"

My Predictions:

Al Pacino, "The Irishman"
Anthony Hopkins, "The Two Popes"
Brad Pitt, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
Joe Pesci, "The Irishman"
Tom Hanks, "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood"

Best Supporting Actress

My Personal Picks:

Jennifer Lopez, "Hustlers"
Laura Dern, "Marriage Story"
Margot Robbie, "Bombshell/Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" (can't choose)
Park So Dam, "Parasite"
Zhao Shuzen, "The Farewell"

My Predictions:

Florence Pugh, "Little Women"
Jennifer Lopez, "Hustlers"
Laura Dern, "Marriage Story"
Margot Robbie, "Bombshell"
Zhao Shuzen, "The Farewell"

Best Original Screenplay

My Personal Picks:
"The Farewell"
"Knives Out"
"Marriage Story"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"Knives Out"
"Marriage Story"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"

Best Adapted Screenplay

My Personal Picks:
"A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood"
"Dark Waters"
"The Irishman"
"Jojo Rabbit"
"Little Women"

My Predictions:

"The Irishman"
"Jojo Rabbit"
"Joker"
"Little Women"
"The Two Popes" 

Best Film Editing

My Personal Picks:
"Ford v Ferrari"
"The Irishman"
"Marriage Story"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"Ford v Ferrari"
"The Irishman"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"

Best Cinematography

My Personal Picks:
"1917"
"Joker"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"
"Portrait of a Lady on Fire"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"The Irishman"
"Joker"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"

Best Costume Design

My Personal Picks:
"Dolemite Is My Name"
"The Irishman"
"Jojo Rabbit"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Rocketman"

My Predictions:

"Dolemite Is My Name"
"The Irishman"
"Little Women"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Rocketman"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

My Personal Picks:
"1917"
"Bombshell"
"Joker"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Rocketman"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"Bombshell"
"Joker"
"Judy"

"Rocketman"

Best Production Design

My Personal Picks:
"1917"
"The Irishman"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"The Irishman"
"Jojo Rabbit"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Parasite"

Best Visual Effects

My Personal Picks:
"1917"
"Ad Astra"
"Avengers: Endgame"
"The Irishman"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"Avengers: Endgame"
"The Irishman"
"The Lion King"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

Best Sound Editing

My Personal Picks:
"1917"
"Ad Astra"
"Avengers: Endgame"
"Ford v Ferrari"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"Avengers: Endgame"
"Ford v Ferrari"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

Best Sound Mixing

My Personal Picks:

"1917"
"Ad Astra"
"Ford v Ferrari"
"Rocketman"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"Ford v Ferrari"
"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"
"Rocketman"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

Best Original Song

My Personal Picks:

"Daily Battles" from "Motherless Brooklyn"
"Glasgow (No Place Like Home)" from "Wild Rose"
"(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from "Rocketman"
"Into The Unknown" from "Frozen II"
"Show Yourself" from "Frozen II"

My Predictions:
"Glasgow (No Place Like Home)" from "Wild Rose"
"(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from "Rocketman"
"Into The Unknown" from "Frozen II"
"Spirit" from "The Lion King"
"Stand Up" from "Harriet"

Best Original Score

My Personal Picks: (The one category where I couldn't possibly narrow down to five nominees)
"1917"
"Avengers: Endgame"
"How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"
"Joker"
"Marriage Story"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

My Predictions:

"1917"
"Joker"
"Little Women"
"Marriage Story"
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

Best Animated Feature

My Personal Picks:
"How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"
"Klaus"
"The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part"
"Missing Link"

"Toy Story 4"

My Predictions:

"Frozen II"
"How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"
"I Lost My Body"
"Missing Link"
"Toy Story 4"