Okay, so hardly anything has changed.

BEST PICTURE

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

Even though it’s way too early to tell, I feel strangely confident about these nine movies.

BEST DIRECTOR

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

Again, I see no reason to change these nominees. I hope Interstellar pulls through, but I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch.

BEST ACTOR

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Robert Downey Jr, The Judge
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Brad Pitt, Fury

After some thinking, I decided to switch my vote from Carell to Downey. Downey seems like a more ‘Oscar Friendly’ actor than Carell.

BEST ACTRESS

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

The question is which of “Into The Woods” leading ladies will go lead, Blunt or Streep. We had this exact same problem last year and Streep ended up going lead. I think Streep only goes supporting if she’s very obviously supporting, and this doesn’t seem to be one of those cases.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

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

Really tight category. I’ll go with Depp here.

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

2010 was the last year where all four acting wins were for first-time winners… until this year, perhaps? Being the emotional center in a musical worked wonders for Zeta-Jones, Hudson, and Hathaway.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Big Eyes
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
Fury
Interstellar

Insanely close category… I guess I’ll pick Foxcatcher.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Suite française
Trash
Unbroken

Not as close. But, likely winner.

BEST FILM EDITING

Boyhood
Fury
Gone Girl
Interstellar
Unbroken

For these minor categories, there isn’t really much to say.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Big Eyes
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Interstellar
Unbroken

Again, it’s tricky to tell.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Exodus: Gods & Kings
Fury
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Into The Woods
Interstellar

Yeah, all of these tech categories are tricky.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

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

Running out of material.

BEST MAKEUP

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Into The Woods
Malificent

I actually made a change here, adding Budapest.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

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

Okay, it’s late. Let’s just get this over with.

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

No clue. I’m probably gonna call it something different each month.

BEST SOUND EDITING

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

What else is there to say? At best, HTTYD2 gets nominated.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Gone Girl
Fury
Interstellar
Transformers: Age Of Extinction
Unbroken

Or here either.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How To Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
The Tale Of The Princess

Adding a foreign film to the mix here just for the kick of it.