So the big news is that the Academy is NOT going to go back to five nominees and they’re going to stick with their old rules. Thus, I’ve predicted nine nominees, because why not?

PICTURE

Bridge Of Spies
Carol
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
Inside Out
Joy
The Revenant
Room
Steve Jobs

I’ve added, The Danish Girl, The Hateful Eight, Inside Out, and Steve Jobs. I have no idea what the winners are gonna be. I’ll go with Room. (but I want to say Inside Out.)

DIRECTOR

Lenny Abrahmson, Room
Todd Haynes, Carol
Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant
David O. Russell, Joy
Steven Speilberg, Bridge Of Spies

Replaced Tarantino with Haynes. Made Abrahmson my winner.

ACTOR

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Jake Gyllenhaal, Demolition
Tom Hanks, Bridge Of Spies
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

No change. These five actors feel right to me.

ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Lily Tomlin, Grandma
Meryl Streep, Ricki & The Flash

No change. I feel the need to say this again, Brie Larson WILL win Best Actress.

SUP. ACTOR

Alan Alda, Bridge Of Spies
Bradley Cooper, Joy
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Kurt Russel, The Hateful Eight
Jacob Tremblay, Room

No change.

SUP. ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard, Macbeth
Jennifer Jason Lee, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Meryl Streep, Suffragette
Naomi Watts, Demolition

No change here either.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Bridge Of Spies
Demolition
The Hateful Eight
Inside Out
Joy

Could Inside Out be the first animated film to win a Screenplay Oscar? I dunno, but it’s certainly possible.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Carol
Me, Earl & The Dying Girl
The Revenant
Room
Steve Jobs

No change.

FILM EDITING

Bridge Of Spies
The Hateful Eight
The Revenant
Steve Jobs
Room

Replaced Carol with Steve Jobs.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Bridge Of Spies
The Revenant
Macbeth
Room
Sicario

I really want to say Deakins wins, but I don’t want to jinx it.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Bridge Of Spies
Cinderella
The Hateful Eight
Macbeth
The Revenant

No change.

COSTUME DESIGN

Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Macbeth
Suffragette

Replaced Brooklyn with Suffragette.

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

The Danish Girl
Southpaw
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Replaced The Revenant with Southpaw.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Spectre
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Terminator: Genisys

Replaced Avengers and Jurassic World with with Mad Max and Terminator: Genisys

ORIGINAL SCORE

Bridge Of Spies
Inside Out
Room
Southpaw
The Walk

Replaced Everest and The Revenant with Inside Out and Southpaw, making Inside Out my winner. The late James Horner could get some love for Southpaw, while Michael Giacchino could get his second Oscar for a Pixar film.

ORIGINAL SONG

“Love Me Like You Do” from 50 Shades Of Grey
“???” from The Hateful Eight
“???” from The Good Dinosaur
“???” from Ricki & The Flash
“???” from Spectre

HEAR ME OUT, PEOPLE. By all accounts, “Love Me Like You Do” is an ORIGINAL song, specifically written for the film. A lot of people, including myself, really like the song. A lot of critically panned films have been Oscar-nominated in minor categories (Norbit, The Lone Ranger.) This nomination could definitely happen. Replaced Inside Out with The Good Dinosaur. Made Ricki & The Flash my winner.

SOUND EDITING

The Hateful Eight
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Replaced Spectre with Mad Max: Fury Road. By the way, can somebody explain to me why Mad Max is getting so much attention? It just looks like your standard action film.

SOUND MIXING

The Hateful Eight
Macbeth
The Revenant
Room
Southpaw

Replaced Spectre with Southpaw.

ANIMATED FEATURE

The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet
The Little Prince
When Marnie Was There

No change.