Each year, I like to pretend that I’m an Oscar voter with a sliver of power and write up my Oscar picks as if I had a ballot. There are no rules, but I only include categories I feel qualified to vote for, though for the actual Academy Awards, voters are limited to their respective branches and Best Picture.
I chose the eight major categories as well as Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. Keep in mind the Oscars use a weighted ballot, and remember, an asterisk denotes my vote to win, which doesn’t always correspond with my No. 1 nominee.
This year, two documentaries crack my Best Picture field, likely because I didn’t see five documentaries worthy of an Oscar nomination, not that they don’t exist… I just didn’t see them. And while I chose 10 movies for Best Picture, it’s extremely unlikely there will be 10 nominees. Official voting for actual Academy members closes at the end of day on Thursday.
BEST PICTURE
1. Selma *WINNER
2. Whiplash
3. Nightcrawler
4. Gone Girl
5. Foxcatcher
6. A Most Violent Year
7. Boyhood
8. Birdman
9. Citizenfour
10. Life Itself
Unfortunate Snub: Top Five
BEST DIRECTOR
1. Ava DuVernay, Selma
2. Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
3. Richard Linklater, Boyhood *WINNER
4. Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
5. David Fincher, Gone Girl
Unfortunate Snub: Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
BEST ACTOR
1. Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler *WINNER
2. David Oyelowo, Selma
3. Michael Keaton, Birdman
4. Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year
5. Tom Hardy, Locke
Unfortunate Snubs (Like eating Pringles, it’s impossible to stop at just one): Steve Carell, Foxcatcher; Miles Teller, Whiplash; Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
BEST ACTRESS
1. Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl *WINNER
2. Julianne Moore, Still Alice
3. Reese Witherspoon, Wild
4. Jennifer Aniston, Cake
5. Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Unfortunate Snub: Amy Adams, Big Eyes
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash *WINNER
2. Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
3. Edward Norton, Birdman
4. Riz Ahmed, Nightcrawler
5. John Goodman, The Gambler
Unfortunate Snub: Cedric the Entertainer, Top Five
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Rene Russo, Nightcrawler *WINNER
2. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
3. Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
4. Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
5. Melissa McCarthy, St. Vincent
Unfortunate Snub: Emma Stone, Birdman
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Nightcrawler
2. Foxcatcher *WINNER
3. A Most Violent Year
4. Selma
5. Birdman
Unfortunate Snub: Locke
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Gone Girl *WINNER
2. Whiplash
3. The Theory of Everything
4. Wild
5. The Fault In Our Stars
Unfortunate Snub: Snowpiercer
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Birdman *WINNER
2. Nightcrawler
3. Selma
4. Gone Girl
5. A Most Violent Year
Unfortunate Snub: The Rover
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Interstellar *WINNER
2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
4. Under the Skin
5. Noah
Unfortunate Snub: Godzilla