Oscars: Year of Inspiration & My Predictions

Below you can find recently announced Oscar nominees. Were you favorite nominated? Take a look and find out. Don't forget: Neil Patrick Harris will host the Oscars, which airs Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. ET. on ABC.

This years Nominations are one of the toughest yet. This is good because writers are superb, actors are brilliant, directors are visionary, and others are hard workers and believers. I hope this trend will continue.

Also, you will find my predictions highlighted. I might change them by February (once I see more of the nominated movies), but not by much, if at all. Enjoy!

Best Picture

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (surprised; the movie premiered in March; not many movies win the trophy that were shown before the Fall)
"Selma" (Hmm)
"Whiplash" (Perhaps)
"American Sniper" (Really?1)
"The Imitation Game"
"Boyhood"
"Birdman"
"The Theory of Everything"

How come 2 spots weren't filled since The Academy promised to have 10 movies for nominations? They should keep their promises. Would it be hard to give 2 more films nominations? This is one of the reasons Awards Season is so frustrating especially with the Oscars.

Best Actress (Not the best choices for this category except for Marion)

Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Reese Witherspoon, "Wild" (shouldn't be part of this list; Jennifer Aniston should be though)
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"

So, how come Jennifer Aniston wasn't nominated? Probably, because voters didn't want to put two women battling a disease (mental and physical) under the same roof? A shame.

Best Actor (again, the toughest category)

Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything" (have you seen his brilliant transformation; probably the hardest one on this list)
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game" (don't be surprised if he wins)
Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper" (if he does, I will demand a re-count!)

David Oyelowo was snubbed. Why? I think The Academy needs to expand nominations for Best Actor and Actress at least by 2 spots.

Best Supporting Actress

Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods" (sorry, Meryl)
Laura Dern, “Wild” (the most original performance, for me)
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game" 

Best Supporting Actor (another tough category)

Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash" (I think all eyes are on him)
Robert Duvall, "The Judge" (Though I think he should win)
Edward Norton, "Birdman"

Best Director (Oh, boy...)

Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman" (hardcore performance)
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"
Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher"

Best Adapted Screenplay

Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game" (complicated figure to fuse into a movie)
Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"
Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"
Jason Hall, "American Sniper"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "Inherent Vice"

Best Original Screenplay

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood" (just because it is personal)
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, "Foxcatcher"

Best Foreign Film

"Ida" (Poland)
"Leviathan" (Russia) (Oscars are going political this year; the movie shows Russian reality)
"Tangerines" (Estonia)
"Timbuktu" (Mauritania)
"Wild Tales" (Argentina)

Best Documentary Feature

"Citizenfour"
"Last Days in Vietnam"
"Virunga" (popularity factor though it is controversial)
"Finding Vivian Maier"
"The Salt of the Earth"

Best Animated Feature

"Big Hero 6" (original and cool)
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
"The Boxtrolls"
"Song of the Sea"
"The Tale of Princess Kaguya"

Film Editing

"American Sniper"
"Boyhood" (12 years, do I need to say more?)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"
"Whiplash"

Best Song (not the best choices this year for the Oscars)

Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood, "Lost Stars" — "Begin Again" (Um)
John Legend and Common, "Glory" — "Selma" (too long; too sad; not inspirational; I just wanted to move on but listened to the end; sorry but not Oscar worthy)
Shawn Patterson, Joshua Bartholomew, Lisa Harriton, and The Lonely Island, "Everything Is Awesome" — "The Lego Movie" (Really!? I guess better songs didn't exist)
The-Dream, "Grateful" — "Beyond the Lights" (??? Strong performance though)
Glen Campbell, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" — "Glen Campbell ... I'll Be Me"

Honestly, I don't know who will win in this category. I think the best was by Glen Campbell, but won't be surprised that "Glory" could win.

Best Original Score

Johann Johannsson, "The Theory of Everything"
Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game"
Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Hans Zimmer, "Interstellar" (my Spidey tingling tells me so)
Gary Yershon, "Mr. Turner"

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman"
Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner"
Robert D. Yeoman, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Ryszard Lenczewski and Łukasz Żal, "Ida"
Roger Deakins, "Unbroken" (was the toughest to film)

Best Costume Design (Man oh man)

Colleen Atwood, "Into the Woods" (we all love fairy-tales)
Anna B. Sheppard, "Maleficent"
Milena Canonero, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Jacqueline Durran, "Mr. Turner"
Mark Bridges, "Inherent Vice"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

"Guardians of the Galaxy" (Duh!)
"Foxcatcher"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Best Production Design

Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (true transformation)
Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts, "Mr. Turner"
Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock, "Into the Woods"
Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis and Paul Healy, "Interstellar"
Maria Djurkovic, "The Imitation Game"

Best Sound Editing

"American Sniper"
"Interstellar"
"Unbroken"
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
"Birdman"

Best Sound Mixing

"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
"Unbroken"
"Interstellar"
"Whiplash"\

Best Visual Effects

"Interstellar" (something new)
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"X-Men: Days of Future Past"
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

The last 3 categories I haven't seen and probably won't because to see them, one has to attend a special screening or something. If you know where to see them, let me and the other know in the comments section below. Thanks.

Best Short Film, Live Action

Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis, "Aya"
Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney, "Boogaloo and Graham"
Hu Wei and Julien Féret, "Butter Lamp" ("La Lampe au Beurre de Yak")
Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger, "Parvaneh"
Mat Kirkby and James Lucas, "The Phone Call" 

Best Short Film, Animated

Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees, "The Bigger Picture"
Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, "The Dam Keeper"
Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed, "Feast"
Torill Kove, "Me and My Moulton"
Joris Oprins, "A Single Life" 

Best Documentary Short Subject

Perry Films, "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1"
Wajda Studio, "Joanna"
Warsaw Film School, "Our Curse"
Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, "The Reaper" ("La Parka")
Weary Traveler, "White Earth"

Original source: http://www.today.com/popculture/2015-oscar-nominees-announced-see-complete-list-1D80427811

Personal comment: The winners will be depending on the Academy's message that it wants these Oscars to be. It is sad that the Academy abandoned its true mission of honoring the best of the best in cinema. Instead, they are playing politics and preferential treatment. Oh well, that's life. Gotta accept it and move on. It is its own dictator state. After all, who really is voting? I wish all people in the industry would vote for nominations and for the winners. Wouldn't that be swell?