Film Feature: HollywoodChicago.com’s 2015 Oscar Predictions

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WILD CARD

We took assignment on some other individual categories, just to get an idea of what other surprises await the 87th Annual Academy Awards.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE (Patrick McDonald)
Will Win: “CitizenFour”
Should Win: “Last Days in Vietnam”
Should Had Been Nominated: “Life Itself”

The “Life Itself” snub is horrid bad karma for the snub-happy Academy voters. A movie about the movies, featuring the most venerated film critic who ever influenced movie culture, depicting as he STILL contributed while suffering from a debilitating disease. “Yeah, we’ll pass…” I hate using the following word, but it’s ‘literally’ unforgivable.

Roger Ebert Lives Forever in ‘Life Itself’
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Nick Allen)
Will Win: Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman”
Should Win: Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman” 
Should Have Been Nominated: Hoyte Van Hoytema, “Interstellar”

“Interstellar” may not have been everyone’s favorite genre movie of the year, but it boasted an immense scope more profound than the award-winning camerawork of last year’s ‘Gravity.’ Van Hoytema and director Christopher Nolan created a year-topping IMAX experience in a climate of dwindling tent pole films, the kind of cinema experience that makes audiences feel like they absolutely must see it on the biggest silver screen possible. 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE (Spike Walters)
Will Win: “Big Hero 6”
Should Win: “The Boxtrolls”
Should have been nominated: “The Lego Movie”

In a weak field where the best film didn’t even get nominated, Oscar voters will likely hit the easy button and default to Walt Disney Studios. Dreamworks Studios’ “How To Train A Dragon 2” could pose an outside chance. “The Boxtrolls” was the most inventive of the nominees, even if it also suffers from a sort of sameness that afflicts nearly all animated features these days.

ODDS FOR THE REST

To complete the rest of the categories, here are the latest Las Vegas odds for each…

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Birdman” 5/4
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” 1/2
“Boyhood” 10/1
“Nightcrawler” 50/1
“Foxcatcher” 50/1

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Imitation Game” 2/5
“Whiplash” 5/2
“The Theory of Everything” 5/1
“American Sniper” 16/1
“Inherent Vice” 33/1

BEST FOREIGN FILM
“Leviathan” (Russia) 7/4
“Ida” (Poland) 4/9
“Wild Tales” (Argentina) 7/1
“Timbuktu” (Mauritania) 20/1
“Tangerines” (Estonia) 33/1

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
“Feast” 2/7
“The Bigger Picture” 4/1
“The Dam Keeper” 5/1
“A Single Life” 16/1
“Me and my Moulton” 16/1

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
“The Phone Call” 4/9
“Boogaloo and Graham” 4/1
“Butter Lamp” 11/2
“Parvaneh” 7/1
“Aya” 10/1

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Glory” (“Selma”) 1/5
“Everything is Awesome” (“The Lego Movie”) 4/1
“Lost Stars (“Begin Again”) 9/1
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” (“Glen Campbell: I’II Be Me”) 10/1
“Grateful” (“Beyond the Lights”) 33/1

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“The Theory of Everything” (Johann Joannsson) 5/8
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Alexandre Desplat) 5/4
“The Imitation Game” (Alexandre Desplat) 9/1
“Interstellar” (Hans Zimmer) 12/1
“Mr. Turner” (Gary Yershon) 50/1

BEST FILM EDITING
“Boyhood” 1/2
“Whiplash” 2/1
“The Imitation Game” 12/1
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” 14/1
“American Sniper” 15/2

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Interstellar” 1/3

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” 9/4
“Guardians of the Galaxy” 7/1
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” 33/1
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” 33/1

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Into The Woods” 9/2
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” 1/10
“Maleficent” 12/1
“Mr. Turner” 20/1
“Inherent Vice” 25/1

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” 1/7
“Into The Woods” 4/1
“Mr. Turner” 10/1
“The Imitation Game” 25/1
“Interstellar” 20/1

BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIR STYLING
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” 1/7
“Guardians of the Galaxy” 7/2
“Foxcatcher” 8/1

BEST SOUND EDITING
Pick ‘em…
“Birdman”
“American Sniper”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Unbroken”
“Interstellar”

BEST SOUND MIXING
Pick ‘em…
“American Sniper”
“Interstellar”
“Birdman”
“Whiplash”
“Unbroken”

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com