The Indian Raconteur: 85th Annual Academy Awards (OSCARS 2013) Predictions

85^th Annual Academy Awards (OSCAR 2013) Predictions

So in less than 24 hours, the 85^th Annual Academy Awards will take place and all the built-up mystery and goosebumps will be over. Every year I predict the OSCAR winners and I always get the best supporting actor right. But this time around, the competition has been very difficult and I’m actually glad to have seen such wonderful performances this year. ‘Argo’ and ‘ZDT’ got the OSCAR snub in the directorial category but, then again, they still are major contenders for the most prestigious ‘Best Picture’ category. Last two years have seen ‘The King’s Speech’ and ‘The Artist’ winning the Best Picture award but this time around it might finally be the year when a box office favorite wins the acclaimed award.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The nominees:

Argo- Chris Terrio

Beasts of the Sothern Valley- Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin

Life of Pi- David Magee

Lincoln- Tony Kushner

Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

Major Contenders- Argo and Lincoln

Winner: Argo- Chris Terrio

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The nominees:

Amour- Michael Haneke

Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino

Flight- John Gatins

Moonrise Kingdom- Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola

Zero Dark Thirty- Mark Boal

Major Contenders- Amour, Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty

Winner: Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino

ANIMATED FEATURE

The nominees:

Wreck- It Ralph- Rich Moore

Brave- Mark Andres and Brenda Chapman

Frankenweenie-Tim Burton

Paranorman- Sam Fell and Chris Butler

The Pirates! Band of Misfits- Peter Lord

Major Contenders- Wreck- It Ralph and Brave

Winner: Wreck-It Ralph

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

The nominees:

Amy Adams- The Master

Sally Field- Lincoln

Anne Hathaway- Les Miserables

Helen Hunt- The Sessions

Jacki Weaver- Silver Linings Playbook

With amazing performances in the last couple of years, Anne Hathaway gave her best performance in ‘Les Miserables’ and in my opinion, her victory just seems a formality now. I would be surprised if Anne didn’t prepare her speech as soon as the nominations were announced.

Winner- Anne Hathaway

SUPPORTING ACTOR

The nominees:

Alan Arkin- Argo

Robert Di Niro- Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman- The Master

Tommy Lee Jones-Lincoln

Christoph Waltz- Django Unchained

Major Contenders- Robert Di Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones and Christoph Waltz

Well yes, this year is a nightmare for the actors in this category. Four of the above have given wonderful performances. I had predicted the past winners accurately: Javier Bardem, Heath Ledger, Christoph Waltz, Christian Bale and Chistopher Plummer.

But I’m in a fix this year. Though I enjoyed Hoffman’s and Waltz’s performances the most this year, Di Niro and Lee Jones have acted well too. So I’m just going to go on a hunch and select Christoph Waltz over Hoffman & others and continue the tradition of the winners starting from the letter ‘C’.

I feel bad that Hoffman has been the leading contender three times now and might go empty handed this time too but he has a Best Actor academy award so it’s not like he has never won for his incredible performances.

Winner- Christoph Waltz

LEAD ACTRESS

The nominees:

Jessica Chastain- Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence- Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva- Amour

Quvenzhane Wallis- Beasts of the Sothern Valley

Naomi Watts- The Impossible

Major Contenders- Emmanuelle Riva, Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence

If ‘The Hunger Games’ was any indication regarding her acting prowess, Jennifer Lawrence won many hearts with her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. Though I loved Naomi Watts’s performance too, there is no way anyone other than Jennifer wins the award.

Winner- Jennifer Lawrence

LEAD ACTOR

The nominees:

Bradley Cooper- Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel-Day Lewis- Lincoln

Hugh Jackman- Les Miserables

Joaquin Phoenix- The Master

Denzel Washington- Flight

I don’t think we need to even debate about Daniel-Day Lewis being the winner. He is a sure shot to win his third Academy Award.

Winner- Daniel-Day Lewis

DIRECTOR

The nominees:

Life of Pi- Ang Lee

Lincoln- Steven Spielberg

Amour- Michael Haneke

Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

Beasts of the Sothern Valley- Benh Zeitlin

Major Contenders- Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee

This might be a close one and I’m just going with my gut feeling and selecting Spielberg. Though I’m sure Life of Pie will win all the major visual awards like Visual Effects, Cinematography along with the Original Score.

Winner: Steven Spielberg

PICTURE

The nominees:

Lincoln

Argo

Amour

Silver Linings Playbook

Beasts of the Sothern Valley

Life of Pi

Zero Dark Thirty

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Major Contenders- Lincoln, Argo and Zero Dark Thirty

2012 was a year of amazing movies. I can add 9 more amazing movies to the above list. But as is said, when everything is said and done, ultimately only one emerges as the winner. And as much as I liked Zero Dark Thirty, I have a gut feeling that this is the year of Ben Affleck’s Argo.

Winner: Argo