The Oscar nominations come out about midnight Australian time, which is always exciting.

In anticipation, here are some comments on nominations I’d like to see (and contrasted with what we’re more likely to see…).

 

Best Picture

There’s a decent overlap here between my personal picks and what’s likely to happen. Note that the Academy can nominate “up to 10” choices, with the aim of allowing greater diversity and also greater engagement with the wider audience (ie, actually including films people have seen!).

Call Me By Your Name is one that I very much want to get nominated, and I think will be.

Likewise Three Billboards Outside Epping, Missouri will be, in my view, a deserving nominee.

I’d also love to see Detroit in the mix, but doubt that I will be. There was some buzz around Detroit at the time it was released in the US, but that seems to have faded.

I think that The Disaster Artist deserves a nod, and might get it; hard to pick how the Oscars will judge this film.

Baby Driver and Dunkirk would be on my list.

Logan deserves to be; I wasn’t a massive fan, but it’s a very well made film and is exactly the sort of “main stream” movie that this category was expanded to include.

The Post likely will get a nod, but I don’t think it’s worthy.

Some of the other talked about nominees such as The Shape of Water and Lady Bird I haven’t seen yet, as they’re not out here.

 

 

Best Actor

I’m all about Timothêe Chalamet from Call Me By Your Name, and I think he’ll get a nomination.

I’d like to see Will Poulter get a nomination for Detroit, but seems to be no buzz around him.

James Franco for The Disaster Artist is a possible nomination, and one I would agree with.

I haven’t yet seen The Darkest Hour, but imagine Gary Oldman gets a nomination, and likely goes into the night as favourite.

Domhnall Gleeson in Goodbye Christopher Robin rounds out my five.

 

Best Actress

Frances McDormand for Three Billboards is the favourite, and I’m very ok with that.

All the other favourites I’ve yet to see (Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Sally Hawkins), and don’t have any real outside the box picks for this category.

 

Best Director

My five:

Luca Guadagnino – Call Me Be Your Name

Patty Jenkins – Wonder Women

Francis Lee – Gods Own Country

Luc Besson – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Kelly Fermon Craig – The Edge of Seventeen

I suspect the Academy’s list will be very different.

Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri and Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird are both nominations I would expect, and Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water will go in as favourite.

Whatever the final list I think there should be a number of really good female directors being recognised this year.

 

Best Supporting Actor

I really hope Mark Hamill gets a nod for The Last Jedi! But he won’t.

Sam Rockwell and/or Woody Harrelson are likely to get nominations for Three Billboards, and I’m supportive of that.

John Boyega from Detroit is on my list, but not getting buzz.

Armie Hammer is getting some buzz for Call Me By Your Name, and I can take or leave that.

 

Best Supporting Actress

All the talk is about Allison Janney in I, Tonya which I haven’t yet seen, but hey, it’s Allison Janney!

 

Best Cinematography

My list:

Baby Driver

God’s Own Country

Call me By Your Name

The Last Jedi

Detroit

Bladerunner 2049 and Dunkirk are both likely nominations I would respect.

 

Others…

Of the other awards, the one’s I’m watching are Three Billboards getting Best Original Screenplay, and Call Me By Your Name getting Best Adapted Screenplay (although The Disaster Artist and Logan are both great choices for that as well).