2015 Oscar Nomination Predictions

Contributed by Michelle McCue, Gary Salem and Melissa Thompson

The countdown to the Oscars is less than 24 hours away.

While some of the presumed nominees, and the precursors, seemed like a done deal in the fall, Oscar watchers will know for sure on Thursday morning when the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards are announced. 

Will the guilds inclusion of AMERICAN SNIPER and perceived snubs that came with the lack of BAFTA, Directors Guild and Producers Guild nominations for SELMA make any difference? What nominations will come out of left field?

The Academy expanded the Best Picture category for a possible 10 nominees with the intention of including big box-office hits that would help the show’s TV ratings. However, this year the race is dominated by specialty and independent labels with Gone Girl being the only contender with blockbuster status.

One thing is sure, this year’s race will have awards season fans biting their nails right up to Oscar Sunday, February 22.

For you die-hards getting up Thursday morning before dawn, Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced last week that actor Chris Pine, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and directors Alfonso Cuarón and J.J. Abrams will announce the nominations in all 24 Oscar categories at a special two-part live news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The Nominations Announcement is a live news conference where more than 400 media representatives, including WAMG, from around the world will be gathered.

At 5:30 a.m. PT, Cuarón and Abrams will announce the nominees in the following categories: Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Film Editing, Original Song, Production Design, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects.

At 5:38 a.m. PT, Pine and Boone Isaacs will take the stage to unveil the nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay and Best Picture.

You can catch it live here: www.oscars.org/live or below.

BEST PICTURE

AMERICAN SNIPER (gaining traction with all the guild noms – PGA, WGA, DGA)
BIRDMAN (PGA)
BOYHOOD (PGA)
FOXCATCHER (PGA)
GONE GIRL (PGA)
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (PGA)
THE IMITATION GAME (PGA)
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PGA)
WHIPLASH (PGA)

If AMPAS voters go to 10, look for SELMA to make it in. Watch out for the 10th Producers Guild nominee, NIGHTCRAWLER.

BEST DIRECTOR – All line up with the Directors Guild nominees
Wes Anderson – THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Clint Eastwood – AMERICAN SNIPER
Alejandro G. Inarritu – BIRDMAN
Richard Linklater – BOYHOOD
Morten Tyldum – THE IMITATION GAME

Spoiler: Ava DuVernay – SELMA. Watch out for WHIPLASH’s Damien Chazelle.

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch – THE IMITIATION GAME (SAG)
Ralph Fiennes – THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (BAFTA)
Michael Keaton – BIRDMAN (SAG)
David Oyelowo – SELMA
Eddie Redmayne – THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (SAG)

Spoiler: Jake Gyllenhaal – NIGHTCRAWLER (SAG). Watch for a last minute surge for Bradley Cooper in AMERICAN SNIPER.

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston – CAKE (SAG)
Felicity Jones – THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (SAG)
Julianne Moore – STILL ALICE (SAG)
Rosamund Pike – GONE GIRL (SAG)
Reese Witherspoon – WILD (SAG)

Spoiler: Marion Cotillard – TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT. Watch out of BAFTA nominee Amy Adams, BIG EYES.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall – THE JUDGE (SAG)
Ethan Hawke – BOYHOOD (SAG)
Edward Norton – BIRDMAN (SAG)
Mark Ruffalo – FOXCATCHER (SAG)
J.K. Simmons – WHIPLASH (SAG)

Spoiler: Miyavi – UNBROKEN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette – BOYHOOD (SAG)
Keira Knightley – THE IMITATION GAME (SAG)
Emma Stone – BIRDMAN (SAG)
Meryl Streep – INTO THE WOODS (SAG)
Naomi Watts – ST. VINCENT (SAG)

Spoiler: BAFTA nominee Imelda Staunton, PRIDE. Watch out for Tilda Swinton, SNOWPIERCER.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Richard Linklater – BOYHOOD
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness – THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman – FOXCATCHER
Mike Leigh – MR. TURNER
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo – BIRDMAN

Spoiler: Dan Gilroy – NIGHTCRAWLER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Damien Chazelle – WHIPLASH
Gillian Flynn – GONE GIRL
Jason Hall – AMERICAN SNIPER
Anthony McCarten – THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
Graham Moore – THE IMITATION GAME

Spoiler: Paul Thomas Anderson – INHERENT VICE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Hoyte van Hoytema – INTERSTELLAR
Roger Deakins – UNBROKEN
Robert Yeoman – THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Dick Pope – MR. TURNER
Emmanuel Lubezki – BIRDMAN

Spoiler: Óscar Faura – THE IMITATION GAME

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
BIG HERO 6
THE BOXTROLLS
CHEATIN’ (Annie nominee) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ilPAEgkpA
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
THE LEGO MOVIE

Spoiler: The Tale of The Princess KAGUYA (GKIDS/Studio Ghibli) or THE BOOK OF LIFE

BEST COSTUME
Collen Atwood – INTO THE WOODS
Mark Bridges – INHERENT VICE
Milena Canonero – THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Ruth Carter – SELMA
Milena Canonero – THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

Spoiler: THE IMITATION GAME Sammy Sheldon Differ or MR. TURNER Jacqueline Durran

BEST MAKE UP & HAIR
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
FOXCATCHER
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
MALEFICENT
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Spoiler: NOAH

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – THE IMITATION GAME
John Powell – HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
Hans Zimmer – INTERSTELLAR
Marco Beltrami – THE HOMESMAN
Jóhann Jóhannsson – THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Spoiler: UNDER THE SKIN – Mica Levi

BEST DOCUMENTARY
CITIZENFOUR
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER
JODOROWSKY’S DUNE
KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON
LIFE ITSELF

Spoiler: VIRUNGA

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
IDA – Poland
FORCE MAJEURE – Sweden
LEVIATHAN – Russia
TIMBUKTU – Mauritania
WILD TALES – Argentina

Spoiler: THE LIBERATOR – Venezuela

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
GODZILLA
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
INTERSTELLAR
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Spoiler: THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BIRDMAN
INTERSTELLAR
INTO THE WOODS
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
THE IMITATION GAME

Spoiler: MR. TURNER

The Academy Awards presentation will air live on ABC on Oscar Sunday, February 22, 2015.

Follow the Academy, Oscar’s producers, and host Neil Patrick Harris for the latest updates throughout Oscar season.

Host
Neil Patrick Harris: http://twitter.com/ActuallyNPH

Oscars Producers
Neil Meron: http://twitter.com/neilmeron
Craig Zadan: http://twitter.com/craigzadan

Hashtags
#Oscars

Academy
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86th Academy Awards Nominations Announcements. ©A.M.P.A.S.