Well this is it. My FINAL predictions. No going back.

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short
Bridge Of Spies
Brooklyn
Carol
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

alt: Trumbo

I think it’s easiest to predict ten nominees. This means I have a better chance of getting them all right.

If there’s one nomination, that I really, REALLY want to happen tomorrow morning, it’s Inside Out for Best Picture. How the BFCA and DGA ignored it is a mystery, If the Academy nominated Up and Toy Story 3, there’s no reason they shouldn’t nominate Inside Out. It’s not that the competition is any stiffer now than it was then.

And for the record, when I got the film on BluRay and started re-watching it (a lot), I ended up changing my mind and making Inside Out my #1 movie of 2015, with Room sitting comfortably at #2.

Outside of the films I mentioned, what other movies really have a chance? Sicario? Star Wars? Straight Outta Compton? Beasts Of No Nation? Ex Machina?

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes, Carol
Alejandro Inarritu, The Revenant
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott, The Martian
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

alt: Adam McKay, The Big Short

Could Spielberg or Abrahamson get on? Could there be a ‘lone director’ nominee this year?

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

alt: Johnny Depp, Black Mass

Depp has the SAG nod, but if even the star-studded Globes didn’t nominate Depp, what chance does he really have with Oscar? Some people are saying Matt Damon misses, but I really don’t see how that’s possible if The Martian is a top Best Picture contender.

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

alt: Rooney Mara, Carol

It all depends on which categories Mara and Vikander end up in. Charlize Theron is also in a good spot and could be the big surprise of the morning. Charlotte Rampling could also surprise.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale, The Big Short
Idris Elba, Beasts Of No Nation
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge Of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

alt: Jacob Tremblay, Room

Or Tom Hardy. Or Paul Dano. Or Michael Shannon. Or Benicio Del Toro. Or Michael Keaton. Even Jason Mitchell, Nicholas Hoult, and Oscar Isaac have potential to be nominated here!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason-Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

alt: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Is there any possibility that Vikander is double nominated in Supporting? Other possibilities include Joan Allen, Helen Mirren, and Kristen Stewart.

And Ashly Burch.

Not really.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
The Hateful Eight
Inside Out
Spotlight

alt: Son Of Saul

Dear Academy, please don’t snub Inside Out. Other contenders include Trainwreck, Sicario, Straight Outta Compton.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Big Short
Carol
The Martian
Room
Steve Jobs

alt: The Revenant

Surprise nod for Brooklyn, Trumbo, or Anomalisa? At this point, anything seems possible.

BEST FILM EDITING

The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Spotlight

alt: Carol

Editing is usually tied to picture, so there’s a chance Bridge Of Spies or Room makes a play for a nomination too.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario

alt: Bridge Of Spies

There are six very clear contenders here, it’s just a question of which on gets left off.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Bridge Of Spies
Cinderella
Carol
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road

alt: The Martian

This looks about right, but The Revenant, Crimson Peak, or even Room could surprise

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Brooklyn
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Macbeth

alt: Mad Max: Fury Road

Since 2009, this category has always had at least one film that didn’t get any other nominations. I think Macbeth could be that film.

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

Black Mass
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

alt: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out A Window And Disappeared

Will the makeup branch actually play it safe for once?

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

alt: Ant-Man

It’s not often that this lineup is entirely composed lot of fan-favorite films.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

“Carol”
“The Danish Girl”
“The Hateful Eight”
“Inside Out”
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

alt: Bridge Of Spies

It’s hard to tell what’s gonna show up here, I just really hope Inside Out doesn’t get snubbed.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Feels Like Summer” – Shaun The Sheep Movie
“Love Me Like You Do” – Fifty Shades Of Grey
“See You Again” – Furious 7
“Till It Happens To You” – The Hunting Ground
“Writing’s On The Wall” – Spectre

alt: “Simple Song #3” – Youth

They like nominating documentaries here. And that ‘Feels Like Summer’ song is impossible to get out of your head.

BEST SOUND EDITING

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

alt: Ex Machina

These five seem to make sense to me, but it’s hard to tell. Hateful Eight could pop up in one or both categories.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

alt: Bridge Of Spies

The two sound categories have never matched 5/5. First time for everything?

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun The Sheep Movie

alt: Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet

I’m predicting the same five that everyone has, but the Academy has been known to surprise people by nominating foreign films.

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

Embrace of the Serpent
Labyrinth of Lies
Mustang
Son of Saul
A War

alt: The Fencer

I know that Son Of Saul and Mustang make it on, and everything after that is just guesswork.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Amy
Cartel Land
He Named Me Malala
The Look of Silence
Where to Invade Next

alt: Meru

I don’y know a lot about documentaries, but these are the five that seem to have the best chances.

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

Bis Gliech (Till Then)
Contrapelo (Against The Grain)
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay
Stutterrer

alt: Ave Maria

A lot of people don’t even bother with the short film categories. I’m being brave.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Bear Story
My Home
An Object At Rest
Sanjay’s Super Team
World Of Tomorrow

alt: If I Was God

You can never really tell with the short categories.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

50 Feet From Syria
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond The Lines
The Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness
Minertia

alt: My Enemy, My Brother

This is just guesswork, based on the summaries and what the Oscars seem to like.

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Tomorrow morning, there are going to be surprises. There are going to be things that NOBODY saw coming. And we’ll all scratch our heads and wonder what happen. It doesn’t matter how hard we try to figure this out, in the end we can never truly know what the Academy is going to do.

But I think, in some odd way, the surprises are part of the reason we love Awards Season so much.