Well, another year has passed and we some amazing movies were released in 2012. We have already had the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards and now it is finally time for the biggest and most prestigious award show of the year — the Academy Awards.
This year marks the 85th Annual Academy Awards and with a host like comedian Seth MacFarlane, there are sure to more shocking upsets than with just the actual winners. I do believe he will be on his best behavior, but the Academy wouldn’t have chosen him if they didn’t want a little controversy, after all the biggest complaint the past few years is that the show itself has been uneventful and boring.
Moving onto the actual awards, this year has a particularly talented-drench bundle with film after film saturated with excellent performances both technical and by the actors themselves. While there are bound to be upsets in at least a few categories each year – such as Viola Davis losing to Meryl Streep for Best Actress last year — there are quite a few surefire winners as well. While it can be hard to predict what the voting academy will choose, as there is always a bit of politics involved in whom they choose. There are typically patterns with the winners of the other major movie awards that can give us an insight into who will most likely take home Oscar gold.
The following include my personal opinions I have accumulated by seeing nearly every single nominated film. The few films that I was unable to see I did my research and read up on them as well as looked at the reviews from critics and the opinions of the movie-going public.
So here are all of my picks on who I think will win each category and if there is an upset, who could be the one to surprise us all. Look for another article after the 85th Annual Academy Awards are announced for a full winners list and a breakdown of my thoughts on them in detail.
The 85th Annual Academy Awards air Sunday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC.
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
Who Will Win It: Argo
Who Could Win It: Lincoln
Best Achievement in Directing
Michael Haneke for Amour
Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee for Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook
Who Will Win It: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Who Could Win It: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day Lewis for Lincoln
Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix for The Master
Denzel Washington for Flight
Who Will Win It: Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln
Who Could Win It: Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva for Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts for The Impossible
Who Will Win It: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Who Could Win It: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin for Argo
Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook
Phillip Seymour Hoffman for The Master
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained
Who Will Win It: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Who Could Win It: Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for The Master
Sally Field for Lincoln
Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables
Helen Hunt for The Sessions
Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook
Who Will Win It: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Who Could Win It: Sally Field, Lincoln
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Who Will Win It: Wreck it Ralph
Who Could Win It: Frankenweenie
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Amour
Kon-Tiki
No
A Royal Affair
War Witch
Who Will Win It: Amour
Who Could Win It: A Royal Affair
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Michael Haneke for Amour
Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained
John Gatins for Flight
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola for Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal for Zero Dark Thirty
Who Will Win It: Django Unchained
Who Could Win It: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Chris Terrio for Ago
Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild
David Magee for Life of Pi
Tony Kushner for Lincoln
David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook
Who Will Win It: Argo
Who Could Win It: Lincoln
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman
Who Will Win It: Anna Karenina
Who Could Win It: Les Misérables
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Chasing Ice: J. Ralph (“Before My Time”)
Ted: Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane (“Everybody Needs a Best Friend”)
Life of Pi: Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri (“Pi’s Lullaby”)
Skyfall: Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth (“Skyfall”)
Les Misérables: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil (“Suddenly”)
Who Will Win It: Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth (“Skyfall”)
Who Could Win It: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil (“Suddenly”)
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Dario Marianelli for Anna Karenina
Alexandre Desplat for Argo
Mychael Danna for Life of Pi
John Williams for Lincoln
Thomas Newman for Skyfall
Who Will Win It: Mychael Danna , Life of Pi
Who Could Win It: John Williams, Lincoln
Best Documentary, Features
5 Broken Cameras
The Gate Keepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man
Who Will Win It: Searching for Sugar Man
Who Could Win It: The Invisible War
Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption
Who Will Win It: Open Heart
Who Could Win It: Mondays at Racine
Best Achievement in Makeup & Hairstyling
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Who Will Win It: Les Misérables
Who Could Win It: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Best Achievement in Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Who Will Win It: Anna Karenina
Who Could Win It: Les Misérables
Best Achievement in Film Editing
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Who Will Win It: Argo
Who Could Win It: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Anna Karenina: Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained: Robert Richardson
Life of Pi: Claudio Miranda
Lincoln: Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall: Roger Deakins
Who Will Win It: Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi
Who Could Win It: Roger Deakins, Skyfall
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Who Will Win It: Zero Dark Thirty
Who Could Win It: Life of Pi
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Argo
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Who Will Win It: Les Misérables
Who Could Win It: Life of Pi
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel’s The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
Who Will Win It: Life of Pi
Who Could Win It: Marvel’s The Avengers
Best Short Film, Animated
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head over Heels
The Longest Daycare
Paperman
Who Will Win It: Paperman
Who Could Win It: Head over Heels
Best Short Film, Live Action
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow (Dood Van Een Schaduw)
Henry
Who Will Win It: Curfew
Who Could Win It: Death of a Shadow
So those are my picks for this year’s winners. If you want to play along, post all of your predictions in the comment section before the awards!
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