Okay. It’s been a month. Winter is finally over. On the Oscar side of things, not a lot has really changed. But I’ll update wherever I can.

BEST PICTURE

Big Eyes
Foxcatcher
Fury
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Trash
Unbroken

No word yet on how good these films might be. There’s something about the setup of Birdman that tells me it’s not gonna be a huge player, but I could be wrong. For now, I’m happy with these nine.

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice
Tim Burton, Big Eyes
Stephen Daldry, Trash
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

This was simply a matter of pulling from the Best Picture nominees. I really want to predict Christopher Nolan, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.

BEST ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, Get On Up
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Robert Downey Jr, The Judge
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Brad Pitt, Fury

The Judge sounds interesting, and I think this is a fine line up. I think Carell has the edge, but keep an eye out on Downey.

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Meryl Streep, Into The Woods
Michelle Williams, Suite francaise
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Almost put Nicole Kidman here, but having her film being continuously postponed isn’t doing anyone any favors.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice
Johnny Depp, Into The Woods
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Robert Duvall, The Judge

Nobody is mentioning Hoffman whatsoever, so I dropped him. The category seems rather weak from where I stand, but Duvall seems to have a particularly baity role, so let’s give it to him.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Viola Davis, Get On Up
Anna Kendrick, Into The Woods
Rooney Mara, Trash
Emma Stone, Birdman

Tough, None of these women have Oscars. I’ll still hold to Viola Davis getting her makeup Oscar this year.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Big Eyes
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
Fury
Interstellar

I think Budapest might have been released too early for serious contention. Another instance of being too close to call.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Suite française
Trash
Unbroken

This is a tricky category, but I’m going with Gone Girl.

BEST FILM EDITING

Boyhood
Fury
Gone Girl
Interstellar
Unbroken

Not much to say about this one.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Big Eyes
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Interstellar
Unbroken

I think we’re all secretly hoping that Deakins will win, but I’ll wait until I see the film before I make any harsh decisions.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Big Eyes
Exodus: Gods & Kings
Fury
Into The Woods
Interstellar

I’ll go with the lavish, fantasy musical, but look out for Big Eyes.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Exodus: Gods & Kings
Into The Woods
Malificent
Serena
Suite française

Again, lavish, fantasy musical.

BEST MAKEUP

Fury
Into The Woods
Malificent

Ditto what I said above.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Godzilla
The Hobbit: There And Back Again
Interstellar
Transformers: Age Of Extinction

I can’t really imagine any of these other films beating Interstellar.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Big Eyes
Gone Girl
Interstellar
Inherent Vice
Unbroken

No clue here. Maybe this will be the place to reward Inherent Vice.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“???”, Annie
“Everything Is Awesome”, The Lego Movie
“???”, Into The Woods
“???”, Paddington
“Something So Right”, Muppets Most Wanted

I have absolutely no idea. I’ll say ‘Something So Right’ for now because of how good it was, but really, I have very little faith in the branch that didn’t nominate this.

BEST SOUND EDITING

Fury
The Hobbit: There And Back Again
Interstellar
Noah
Transformers: Age Of Extinction

Not much to say here.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Gone Girl
Fury
Interstellar
Transformers: Age Of Extinction
Unbroken

Or here either.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
Home
How To Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

I’ll stick to these five for now, but a foreign film could sneak in at the last minute.