This year's Oscars telecast is flying under the radar, probably in part to a lack of good, yet alone great movies. Conan O'Brien is hosting, so there is (some level of) hope, but regardless of the caliber, predictions must be made. If nothing else, this could be the most difficult Oscars to predict in recent memory.
Best Picture: Conclave. Anora is the hot choice of late, but Conclave deserves it.
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist. Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) is our choice, but Brody should win #2 in this closest contested category.
Best Actress: Demi Moore, The Substance. This one's up in the air too (sense a pattern?) Watch out for Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here) but the real question is... did anyone see any of these movies/performances?
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain. Fellow Succession star Jeremy Strong deserves it for his delicious turn as President Donald Trump's mentor in The Apprentice, but everyone seems to like Culkin's turn in one of the most boring movies of the year.
Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez. Am I the only one waiting for her acceptance speech? Isabella Rossellini (Conclave) has a chance, but she's barely in the movie.
Best Director: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist. Sean Baker (Anora) has a slight advantage, but Corbet's marathon deserves the nod. P.S. Where's Edward Berger for Conclave?
Best Animated Feature: The Wild Robot. Flow and Inside Out 2 are this close to winning, but DreamWorks Animation about a robot who adopts an orphaned goose (no really, that's the plot) pulls it out in the end.
Best Cinematography: The Brutalist. Beauty on a budget.
Best Foreign Language Film: I'm Still Here. Emilia Pérez was the early choice for most everyone, but Brazil's I'm Still Here takes it in a photo finish.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Conclave. It might not win Best Picture, but Adapted Screenplay is in the bag.
Best Original Screenplay: Anora. A Real Pain. Toss-up, but we'll go for Anora.
