It looks like nine is our official number of Best Picture nominees from now on. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I liked it. The last three lineups, particularly the most recent one, seemed to have a lot of variety. No matter what your tastes were, you could find something in the Best Picture lineup that you could get behind and root for.

BEST PICTURE

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

I actually went around and took a look at some other blogs just to see what people were predicting.. After realizing that nobody had much faith in Fury, so I got rid of it and replaced it with Birdman. At first, I was hesitant to include it, but then I took a good look at this lineup and realized it was seriously lacking in comedy. With the expanded field, the Academy always finds room for at least one semi-comedic film.

On a side note, I toyed around with the idea of putting How To Train Your Dragon 2 on here, but ultimately decided against it. Although, if it’s anywhere near as good as it’s predecessor, I’ll certainly be voting for it.

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice
Tim Burton, Big Eyes
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Angelina Jolie, Unbroken
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

I replaced Daldry with Jolie after finding out that the internet is really betting on Unbroken. Although if anybody truly deserves to be nominated here, it’s James Rolfe.

BEST ACTOR

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Robert Downey Jr, The Judge
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner

I replaced Pitt with Spall. It’s funny because I know Spall for his roles in “Harry Potter” or “Enchanted”. I’m not used to seeing him tackle drama. But he won Cannes, so I’ll just have to wait and see how good he is.

BEST ACTRESS

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

I decided to leave the lineup as is. It just makes sense to me.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J. K. Simmons, Whiplash

Cave Johnson could be nominated for an Oscar. There are no words, people.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Viola Davis, Get On Up
Anna Kendrick, Into The Woods
Kristin Scott Thomas, Suite française
Emma Stone, Birdman

I’m not really sure who has the upper hand here. Chastain is the only now that I can’t make a strong argument against.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Big Eyes
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
A Most Violent Year

Well, Foxcatcher is competing in Adapted, so I guess I’ll give Birdman the win here.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Foxcatcher
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Trash
Unbroken

I still think Gone Girl will be the big winner of the night, even with Foxcatcher competing.

BEST FILM EDITING

Foxcatcher
Gone Girl
Interstellar
A Most Violent Year
Unbroken

I replaced Boyhood & Fury with Foxcatcher and A Most Violent Year. These five nominees feel right to me.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Big Eyes
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Interstellar
Unbroken

Roger. Deakins. If you don’t know who he is, he worked on Skyfall, Prisoners, and he was a visual consultant on How To Train Your Dragon. Perhaps more importantly, he’s earned ELEVEN oscar nominations. Some regard him as one of the greatest cinematographers who ever lived. And he has not won this award yet. Maybe I’m kidding myself, but if all goes according to plan, his work on Unbroken will finally, FINALLY win him an Oscar.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Big Eyes
Exodus: Gods & Kings
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into The Woods

Maybe I’m being foolish betting for Budapest in so many categories, but you’d be surprised how many people have predicted it to earn a Best Picture nomination.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Big Eyes
Exodus: Gods & Kings
Into The Woods
Suite française
Unbroken

These five look like solid contenders at the moment. Any movie with lavish costumes is a contender here.

BEST MAKEUP

Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Into The Woods

I get the feeling at least one of these won’t even make the shortlist.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

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

The trailer for Interstellar didn’t look too promising, but at least it’s classier than the other contenders.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Big Eyes
Gone Girl
Interstellar
Inherent Vice
Unbroken

Not really sure what they’ll go for here. The 3D sci-fi/fantasy always seems to have a good shot here.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

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

I heard that Jonsi wrote a song for HTTYD2 titled, “Where No One Goes.” I considered predicting it, but they didn’t go for Jonsi last time. Although to be fair, “Sticks & Stones” didn’t really have anything to do with the film it was in. But hey, it sounded nice.

BEST SOUND EDITING

Fury
The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies
Interstellar
Transformers: Age Of Extinction
Unbroken

Yet another category where I almost put down HTTYD2.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Gone Girl
Fury
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Unbroken

Do you think Into The Woods will use the same ‘singing live’ method that Les Misérables did?

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How To Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
The Princess Kaguya.

I hear The Princess Kayuga is being made by both Studio Ghibli and GKids.