6) Best Original Score
Will win: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight, or John Williams, The Force Awakens
Should win: Johann Johannsson, Sicario
Rewarding veterans can be both a blessing and a curse at the Oscars. On the one hand, the Academy gets to reward talents who’ve been toiling in the industry for a long time. On the other hand, this can knock newer, and perhaps more deserving talent out of the competition, waiting for their own lifetime achievement Oscar somewhere down the line.
As the Academy gears up to gift the Best Original Score award to either Ennio Morricone, for a score made up heavily from leftovers from his The Thing score, or John Williams, for a Star Wars score heavily indebted to the work he did on the original almost 40 years ago, the other, newer contenders are set to be overlooked. Johann Johannsson, who provided such a moody, atmosphere-setting soundtrack to Sicario, isn’t currently even in the conversation – even though he probably ought to be considered the favorite.