OSCAR PREDICTIONS: Round 1

It;s awards season, everybody! Yep, The Academy Awards are just around the corner and I don't know about the rest of you but The Oscars are my Superbowl. I don't know what it is but I get so excited around this time. I have my own little bracket system and everything. 

This post is the first of three Oscar prediction rounds. This first one is basic and not set in stone, anything can change. The second round will be released on January 14, the day before the Oscar nominees are announced. The final round will be released on February 22, the day of the Oscars. 

Now these aren't exactly my opinions on what I think should win. But I've realized that when making these predictions you bet on what you THINK will win, and not what you WANT to win. And this is just based on my own little rating system. What's getting buzz, what's won, critic reception and so on. 

In previous years I've only made bets on Picture, Director, Acting, Writing, Music, and Cinematography. But this year I'm making predictions on all the categories. Except for the short film categories. Mainly because I don't have much to base my prediction on. 

That being said here is my first round of  predictions

Picture:

1. Selma

2. Boyhood

3. The Grand Budapest Hotel

4. Whiplash

5. Birdman

6. The Imitation Game

7. The Theory of Everything

8. Love is Strange

9. Nightcrawler

If there's a 10th nomination: Gone Girl

Director:

1. Richard Linklater - Boyhood

2. Ava DuVernay - Selma

3. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Birdman

4. Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel

5. David Fincher - Gone Girl

Actor:

1. Michael Keaton - Birdman

2. Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler 

3. David Oyelowo - Selma

4. Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game

5. Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Actress:

1. Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl

2. Julianne Moore - Still Alice

3. Reese Witherspoon - Wild

4. Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything

5. Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night

Supporting Actor:

1. Edward Norton - Birdman

2. Ethan Hawke - Boyhood

3. J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

4. Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher

5. Robert Duvall - The Judge

Supporting Actress:

1. Patricia Arquette - Boyhood

2. Emma Stone - Birdman

3. Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year

4. Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game

5. Tilda Swinton - Snowpiercer

Original Screenplay:

1. Boyhood

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

3. Nightcrawler

4. Birdman

5. Selma

Adapted Screenplay:

1. Gone Girl

2. The Imitation Girl

3. Inherent Vice

4. Wild

5. The Theory of Everything

Animated Film:

1. The Lego Movie

2. How to Train Your Dragon 2

3. Big Hero 6

4. The Boxtrolls

5. The Book of Life

Production Design/Art Direction:

1. Birdman

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

3. Snowpiercer

4. The Imitation Game

5. Fury

Cinematography:

1. Birdman

2. Mr. Turner

3. The Grand Budapest Hotel

4. Interstellar

5. Selma

Costume Design:

1. Mr. Turner

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

3. Maleficent

4. Into the Woods

5. Belle

Film Editing:

1. Boyhood

2. Birdman

3. Whiplash

4. Gone Girl

5. Nightcrawler

Makeup & Hairstyling:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

2. Foxcatcher

3. Maleficent

Sound Mixing:

1. Snowpiercer

2. Whiplash

3. Gone Girl

4. Noah

5. Transformers: Age of Extinction

Sound Editing:

1. Snowpiercer

2. Whiplash

3. Gone Girl

4. Noah

5. Transformers: Age of Extinction

Visual Effects:

1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

3. Interstellar

4. Snowpiercer

5. Edge of Tomorrow

Original Score:

1. The Imitation Game

2. Gone Girl

3. Interstellar

4. The Theory of Everything

5. Fury

Original Song:

1. Selma - "Glory"

2. The Lego Movie - "Everything is Awesome"

3. Big Eyes - "Big Eyes"

4. The Hunger Games: Mockinjay - Part 1 - "Yellow Flicker Beat"

5. Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me - "I'm Not Gonna Miss You"

Documentary:

1. Citizenfour

2. Life Itself

3. Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me

4. Virunga

5. The Overnighters

Foreign Language:

1. Ida

2. Leviathan

3. Two Days, One Night

4. Force Majeure

5. Mommy