Annual Awards Nerdism - Oscar Predictions - Soundies and Design

Forgive me if this year's awards nerdism has been a little slight compared to previous years. Normally I'd attribute this to not being able to watch most of the films before the Oscars, but since I finally moved to a place that has three multiplexes and three other smaller cinemas, I have no excuse (except in the case of Nebraska, which is only playing in Auckland and Wellington so I won't see that until DVD time). And unlike the past couple of years, I've been much more into this year's awards season because I think there's a few races that remain wide open - even the bigger categories (I still have my prayer circle for Leo going, just tweet out something with #prayercircleforleo and we can make a movement). So yeah, as per usual, I'll roll out my 55% informed predictions, but I don't have the usual pictures to go with them (like Smiling Silva, 'Overjoyed' David and Loopy Looper) because I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered figuring out three photos for them. Instead, I have colours, because that's totally original. To add to the originality, they're traffic light colours, and here's how they work:

Red - The longshot, the outsider who pretty much won't be getting their name called out.
Orange - The real prediction, the one who will probably get their name called out.
Green - Who I really want to win.

Tonight, I'll be looking at the Sound categories (Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, Best Achievement in Sound Editing, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Song, and Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Score) and the Design categories (Best Achievement in Production Design, Best Achievement in Make-Up and Hairstyling, Best Achievement in Costume Design). As we get through the predictions, I promise there'll be some of my famous prediction poetry. Because I'm secretly Shakespeare.

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

Captain Phillips / Gravity / The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug / Inside Llewyn Davis / Lone Survivor

I'm not sure about anyone else, but did anyone kinda forget that Lone Survivor was a thing? It comes out in NZ today, and I was genuinely surprised at when the trailer popped up before a couple of movies I went to go and see. It was strange to see it pushed so much for awards contention, considering it looks like just another Mark Wahlberg film, and well, it came out on the other side worse off, and has it's place in the two sound categories. Will it win big? Unlikely. This is definitely going all to Gravity, because the sound in that is INSANE. It is probably in my top three aspects of that film (there's a long, long list of stuff I love about that film). Just as a side note: isn't it sad how little love Inside Llewyn Davis got? I just saw it yesterday and while I wasn't taken by the whole film, it was impeccably made and Oscar Isaac gave a perfect performance (then again, the acting category was so packed this year).

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

All is Lost / Captain Phillips / Gravity / The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug / Lone Survivor

All Gravity. And just putting The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug as the longshot because I can't wait to hear on the news after the Oscars that The Hobbit didn't win any Oscars. They even did that for the bloody Baftas. Only one more year, one more year.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Song

"Alone Yet Not Alone" - Alone Yet Not Alone / "Happy" - Despicable Me 2 / "Let It Go" - Frozen / "Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom / "The Moon Song" - Her

Yes, I did just put Alone Yet Not Alone as the longshot because the rest of the songs are so close together, it is hard to pick a longshot. So let's just have a moment of silence for the rescinded nominee, who's song was actually terrible, and the movie looks equally terrible, and which should have been replaced by a song from The Great Gatsby (ANY ONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE DONE FINE THANK YOU). Alas, this is a pretty tough race, and I'm going with Frozen to take the award, even though any one of them could take it. And even though Happy has been played on the radio here a ridiculous amount of times, I'd be, um, happy if that wins.

But for the last time, let's tell a few Alone Yet Not Alone funnies:
-Nominated Yet Not Nominated
-Weirdest Possible Oscar Performance Ever Yet Not Weirdest Possible Oscar Performance Ever
-"Friendly Campaigning" Yet Not Friendly Campaigning
-"Distributed" Yet Not Distributed
-etc etc etc

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Score

John Williams - The Book Thief / Steven Price - Gravity / William Butler, Andy Koyama - Her / Thomas Newman - Saving Mr. Banks / Alexandre Desplat - Philomena

Seems to be many of the usual suspects here. Like, John Williams could just hit a single piano key and then he'd have a nomination. However, I'd say he's the long shot here, and first time nominee Steven Price will probably get the award for his brilliant scoring of Gravity. Because Gravity will probably win all of the awards, y'all.

Best Achievement in Production Design 

12 Years a Slave / American Hustle / Gravity / The Great Gatsby / Her

Let's just call this the section where The Great Gatsby wins all the awards because Elizabeth Debicki still deserved a supporting nod and if The Wolf of Wall Street wasn't so brilliant, Leo would be flying the Gatsby flag too. But yes, I've accepted the fact that I'm one of a small minority who thinks Baz Luhrmann and his Gatsby are the best, so I'm excited to campaign the shit out of it being nominated for a few awards. And it'll probably win. Why? Because for the 50 millionth time, Gatsby is awesome.

Best Achievement in Make-Up and Hairstyling

Dallas Buyers Club / Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa / The Lone Ranger

This category kind of confuses me, but I'd say that Dallas Buyers Club because it has the rest of it's big nominations behind it and Jared Leto's make-up in particular was quite good. But yeah, it is really anyone's game. I wouldn't be surprised if Bad Grandpa won, but then again, it would be weird if Bad Grandpa was an Oscar winner, y'know?

Best Achievement in Costume Design

12 Years a Slave / American Hustle / The Great Gatsby / The Grandmaster / The Invisible Woman

Yeeeeeeah, some more Gatsby love for me to campaign the shit out of. But the costumes were actually amazing, weren't they? Especially that dress that Daisy wears to Gatsby's party that is made from crystals, and everything that Jordan wears, and Gatsby's pink suit...ugh, they're all so pretty. I'd say that Gatsby does have the most expansive and exciting costume set out of them all, but they may just give American Hustle a bit of love here (but I'm banking on American Hustle being completely shut out, just to spite David O. Russell).

So there's tonight's set! Tomorrow I'll look at all the "Bests" categories (Animated, Foreign...) and the "Visuals". Who do you think will win big in these categories?