Last November, we previewed the six biggest categories at the 87th Academy Awards and took an early glimpse at some of the major contenders for this year’s Oscar telecast. However, in the past two months, many elements of the Oscar race have changed.
With the aid of writers, producers and actors guild nominations, it is a bit easier to predict the creators and performers who will be hunting for Oscar gold. (There is generally a close alignment between these guilds and the views of the 6,000 Academy members.) Meanwhile, in early November, some expected contenders had not been screened or released. Back then, we predicted that Unbroken would be a major player and Selma would not contend for the major categories. It now seems like the opposite is true: Selma is likely to earn a few big berths, while Unbroken may not earn a single major nomination.
Meanwhile, in early November, it seemed that one of Sony Pictures Classics’ festival favorites, Foxcatcher, had a healthy awards run ahead of it. While there is still much buzz surrounding that film, there is arguably more excitement for one of the indie studio’s other festival favorites, Whiplash.
Of the six main categories – picture, directing and four acting groups – all of them need to be re-evaluated and adjusted as the race heats up. So, check out our predictions for the Academy Awards and see how closely they align to the nominations when they come out this Thursday morning.
