Oscars 2013 Predictions

The time has come. Here is my full list of Oscar predictions for every category. You can click the links to read a more thorough analysis of each category.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

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

“Argo” has dominated awards since the Oscar nominations were released and should be victorious at the night’s end (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Directing

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

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

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

I feel like voters would’ve been too frightened not to vote for Day-Lewis (Read more here)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

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

Lawrence’s SAG Award win and help from The Weinstein Co. should assure her victory in a close race (Read more here)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

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

Hathaway has been one of the surer things all awards season (Read more here)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

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

This is the closest this category has been in years, so I’m siding with the SAG choice. (Read more here)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

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

It’s too hard to bet on the side of “Zero Dark Thirty” given all the fuss, and the Academy clearly loves “Amour.” (Read more here)

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

• “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

Without a chance to reward Affleck, voter support should flock to “Argo” even against some other great scripts. (Read more here)

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

• “Amour” (Austria)
• “War Witch” (Canada)
• “No” (Chile)
• “A Royal Affair” (Denmark)
• “Kon-Tiki” (Norway)

The only obvious thing this awards season since Day 1. (Read more here)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

• “Brave”
• “Frankenweenie”
• “ParaNorman”
• “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
• “Wreck-It Ralph”

It’s a tight race packed with quality, but if the universe is good, Pixar will step aside again this year. (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Cinematography

• “Anna Karenina” – Seamus McGarvey
• “Django Unchained” – Robert Richardson
• “Life of Pi” – Claudio Miranda
• “Lincoln” – Janusz Kaminski
• “Skyfall” – Roger Deakins

This should be the big prize for “Pi,” the year’s definite technical marvel. (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Production Design

• “Anna Karenina” – Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
• “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” – Dan Hennah; Ra Vincent; Simon Bright
• “Les Misérables” – Eve Stewart; Anna Lynch-Robinson
• “Life of Pi” – David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
• “Lincoln” – Rick Carter; Jim Erickson

It’s a tough and diverse field, but this award has heavily favored musicals in the past. (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Costume Design

• “Anna Karenina” – Jacqueline Durran
• “Les Misérables” – Paco Delgado
• “Lincoln” – Joanna Johnston
• “Mirror, Mirror” – Eiko Ishioka
• “Snow White and the Huntsman” – Colleen Atwood

“Anna Karenina” offers the closest thing to a true period piece, even if that old adage about dead monarchs is wearing thin. (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Film Editing

• “Argo” – William Goldenberg
• “Life of Pi” – Tim Squyres
• “Lincoln” – Michael Kahn
• “Silver Linings Playbook” – Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
• “Zero Dark Thirty” – William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor

Here’s another chance to reward “Argo,” specifically the film’s exciting pace. (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

• “Anna Karenina” – Dario Marianelli
• “Argo” – Alexandre Desplat
• “Life of Pi” – Mychael Danna
• “Lincoln” – John Williams
• “Skyfall” – Thomas Newman

Danna’s score is the most unique and it has won most of the awards thus far. (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

• “Before My Time” by J. Ralph from “Chasing Ice”
• “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” by Walter Murphy, Seth MacFarlane from “Ted”
• “Pi’s Lullaby” by Mychael Danna, Bombay Jayshree
• “Skyfall” by Adele, Paul Epworth from “Skyfall”
• “Suddenly” by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer from “Les Misérables”

Best Documentary, Features

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

The popular doc tend to win and none was more popular than “Sugar Man.” (Read more here)

Best Documentary, Short

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

Always go with African kids facing medical challenges. Always. (Read more here)

Best Short Film, Animated

• “Adam and Dog”
• “Fresh Guacamole”
• “Head Over Heels”
• “Paperman”
• “The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare”

This Disney short has gotten tons of great exposure and is simply magical. (Read more here)

Best Short Film, Live Action

• “Asad”
• “Buzkashi Boys”
• “Curfew”
• “Death of a Shadow”
• “Henry”

A sci-fi twist and an emerging star should help elevate this one. (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

• “Argo” – Erik Aadahi; Ethan Van der Ryn
• “Django Unchained” – Wylie Stateman
• “Life of Pi” – Eugene Gearty; Philip Stockton
• “Skyfall” – Per Hallberg; Karen M. Baker
• “Zero Dark Thirty” – Paul N.J. Ottosson

It takes place mostly in the middle of the ocean and involves digital animals, a lot of sounds to be created. (Read more here)

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

• “Argo” – John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, José Antonio García
• “Les Misérables” – Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Simon Hayes
• “Life of Pi” – Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Drew Kunin
• “Lincoln” – Gary Rydstrom, Andy Neslon, Ron Judkins
• “Skyfall” – Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Stuart Wilson

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

• “The Avengers” – Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Daniel Sudick
• “The Hobbit: Any Unexpected Journey” – Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
• “Life of Pi” – Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik De Boer, Donald Elliott
• “Prometheus” – Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley, Martin Hill
• “Snow White and the Huntsman” – Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Phil Brennan, Neil Corbould, Michael Dawson

The tiger was scary real, plus it’s a Best Picture nominee, which makes it easy to vote for. (Read more here)