The 2018 Academy Awards.
The Academy Awards is perhaps one of the most luxurious and prestigious not only award shows, but events of the year. From when the award show first aired on May 16, 1929 to present day, anyone who has won the coveted golden statue has gone on to do great things in movies, television, and entertainment in general. This year, the nominations are filled with jaw-dropping and talented performances that’s going to make it extremely difficult for one winner to come out on top. Here are the nominations!
Best Picture:
The Shape of Water
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk (one of my personal favorites)
Phantom Thread
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Get Out
The Post
Call Me by Your Name
Lady Bird (one of my personal favorites)
With a total of nine nominations in the Best Picture category, people have been quick to judge the academy for not filling up the category with the maximum amount of spots, which is ten. Some people have voted for Wonder Woman, Logan, and The Last Jedi to fill in the last spot. However, the academy has a long history of not nominating major blockbusters in the category except with the nomination of The Dark Knight in 2009. The expected winner of Best Picture is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri which won The Golden Globe for Best Picture along with The SAG Award. A potential snub however, could be The Shape of Water.
Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Saoirse Ronan for “Lady Bird”
Margot Robbie for “I, Tonya”
Sally Hawkins for “The Shape of Water”
Meryl Streep for “The Post”
Frances McDormand for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
This category is pretty much the only category in which there is a clear winner. The expected winner is Frances McDormand who won the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG award for this category. She has already won an Academy Award for Best Actress for the film “Fargo” in 1997, so this would be her second victory is she were to win. If there were to be a snub, it would most likely be Saoirse Ronan who portrayed a teenage American girl from Sacramento, California while Ronan herself is an Irish 23-year-old. Ronan has already been nominated twice before for “Brooklyn” and “Atonement”, so it would be her first win with three nominations under her belt.
Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Daniel Day-Lewis for “Phantom Thread”
Timothée Chalamet for “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Kaluuya for “Get Out”
Gary Oldman for “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington for “Roman J. Israel, Esq”
This category has two major competitors competing for the win. One of the competitors is Gary Oldman, who has only been nominated once for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for the film “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." Oldman has won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for his role in “Darkest Hour," and many regard to him as one of the most talented actors in his generation, so this would be a great moment for the actor if he were to win. The other competitor is Timothée Chalomet. Chalomet is an a young upcoming actor whose first major film roles were both this year, with the films “Lady Bird” and then later “Call Me by Your Name." Movie journalists have stated that the young actor is bound to win an Academy Award at some point in his career. It just might not be this year though. Oldman has the edge over Chalomet with his two wins already.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Mary J. Blige for “Mudbound”
Allison Janney for “I, Tonya”
Octavia Spencer for “The Shape of Water”
Lesley Manville for “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf for “Lady Bird”
Just like Best Actress, this category is also pretty much decided. The expected winner is Allison Janney, for “I, Tonya." Janney portrays Tonya Harding's abusive and ill-spirited mother who will go through anything to make sure her daughter gets to the top of the figure skating rankings, even if it means verbal and physical abuse on the young skater. Janney has won every single award for this category including The Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, and The Critics Choice Award. There is no upset expected in this category. This would be Janney’s first win and first nomination.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Sam Rockwell for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Woody Harrelson for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Christopher Plummer for “All the Money in the World”
Willem Dafoe for “The Florida Project”
Richard Jenkins for “The Shape of Water”
This category is a little dicey. The two actors who are up for the statue are Sam Rockwell and Christopher Plummer. However, many believe that Plummer may bring an upsetting win over Rockwell due to being asked to step into a role a month before the shooting of “All the Money in the World”. That is extremely difficult because its hard to get into character, remember lines, and create chemistry with the director a month before shooting. This category is still up to grabs but Rockwell has the edge over Plummer.
Best Director:
Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Nolan for “Dunkirk”
Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird”
Jordan Peele for “Get Out”
Paul Thomas Anderson for “Phantom Thread”
The expected winner is Guillermo del Toro. He was won The BAFTA, SAG, and Golden Globe for his directing. There is no expected winner other than him. However, I would like to see Greta Gerwig take home the statue. Her film was one of my favorites of the year.
Those are the six major categories that people are worried about and are arguing over. Now, here are some expected winners of other categories.
Best Original Screenplay: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Call Me by Your Name”
Best Animated Film: “Coco”
Best Visual Effects: “War for the Planet of the Apes”
Best Custom: “Phantom Thread”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “Darkest Hour”
Best Original Song: “This is Me”
Best Sound Editing: “The Shape of Water”
Best Sound Mixing: “Dunkirk”
Best Cinematography: “Dunkirk”
Best Production Design: “The Shape of Water”
The Academy Awards will be aired on TV on March 4, 8:00pm EST. The show will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, who will surely bring entertainment amongst his wide audience. Make sure to tune in to see who wins and what shocking upsets might take place.
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