85th Annual Academy Award Predictions [UPDATED: And Winners]

The biggest night of the year on the film calender is nigh; the 85th annual Academy Awards ceremony takes place tomorrow! Hosted by Seth MacFarlane and emanating from the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, this year's Oscars are close, very close. As such, it's time for me to let out my inner awards pundit and offer up A113Animation's predictions on what will be walking home with a golden statue at the end of the night.

Animation is a particularly close call this year; for months I was sure Laika's ParaNorman would take the prize, but the tide has turned, particularly after Disney's Wreck-It Ralph swept the Annies at the start of the month. Though Ralph is the best film of the five, it may well be Pixar's Brave that takes home the award, particularly after its swell of momentum at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, and the Academy has always been fond of Pixar. Tim Burton's Frankenweenie had a lot of awards hype around it, but it doesn't seem to be a threat to Disney's other two offerings. It's great to see The Pirates! nominated, especially after getting so little recognition elsewhere, but it seems unlikely Aardman's latest will herald a second Oscar for them.

Short wise, it should be Disney's Paperman. Should be. But, personally, it seems more likely that Minkyu Lee's Adam and Dog will take the prize home, despite its lack of major advertising. Nonetheless, it's another close category. Life of Pi should and almost certainly will take home Best Visual Effects, a bittersweet win after Rhythm & Hues recently filed for bankruptcy.

On the live-action side, Argo seems a lock for Best Picture at this stage, and with the inexplicable omission of its helmer Ben Affleck from Best Director, the safe bet for that one is Spielberg. Most of the acting categories seem pretty sewn up (Daniel Day-Lewis is almost unbeatable at this stage, and a win will make him the only actor to ever win three Best Actor Oscars). Cinematography should be Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi - although Roger Deakins' work on Skyfall may well get the nod - and Best Original Song will definitely be Adele for "Skyfall". It's all really quite exciting!

Films we think should win are in bold, films we think will win are underlined; the winners will be highlighted in gold after the fact. No prediction indicates it's a category that I'm not knowledgeable about/haven't seen any of the nominees for.

Best Animated Feature:

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits (The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists in the UK)
• Wreck-It Ralph

Best Animated Short Film:

• Adam and Dog
• Fresh Guacamole
• Head Over Heels
• The Longest Daycare
• Paperman

Best Picture:

• Amour
• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Actor:

• Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
• Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
• Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
• Denzel Washington – Flight

Best Actress:

• Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
• Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
• Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
• Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Naomi Watts – The Impossible

Best Supporting Actor:

• Alan Arkin – Argo
• Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams – The Master
• Sally Field – Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
• Helen Hunt – The Sessions
• Jackie Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director:

• Michael Haneke – Amour
• Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Ang Lee – Life of Pi
• Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
• David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Screenplay:

• Amour – Michael Haneke
• Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
• Flight – John Gatins
• Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
• Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Argo – Chris Terrio
• Beasts of the Southern Wild – Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
• Life of Pi – David Magee
• Lincoln – Tony Kushner
• Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell

Best Foreign Language Film:

• Amour
• Kon-Tiki
• No
• A Royal Affair
• War Witch

Best Documentary Feature:

• 5 Broken Cameras
• The Gatekeepers
• How to Survive a Plague
• The Invisible War
• Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary (Short Subject):

• Inocente
• Kings Point
• Mondays at Racine
• Open Heart
• Redemption

Best Live Action Short Film:

• Asad
• Buzkashi Boys
• Curfew
• Death of a Shadow (Dood Van Een Schaduw)
• Henry

Best Cinematography:

• Anna Karenina
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Best Visual Effects:

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Marvel's The Avengers
• Prometheus
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Film Editing:

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Original Score:

• Anna Karenina
• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Best Original Song:

• "Before My Time" from Chasing Ice
• "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from Ted
• "Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi
• "Skyfall" from Skyfall
• "Suddenly" from Les Misérables

Best Sound Editing:

• Argo
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall (Tie)
• Zero Dark Thirty (Tie)

Best Sound Mixing:

• Argo
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

• Hitchcock
• The Hobbit
• Les Misérables

Best Costume Design:

• Anna Karenina
• Les Misérables
• Lincoln
• Mirror Mirror
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Production Design:

• Anna Karenina
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln

Related posts: 3rd Annual A113Animation Awards Results