Best Original Score
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi, Mychael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams
Skyfall, Thomas Newman
Though Lincoln is unlikely to win Best Picture, I do think the Academy loves it enough to propel it to victory in many of the below-the-line categories, starting with Best Original Score. It has been a long damn time since John Williams won an Oscar, and his work on Lincoln, some of the best of his career, would be a great opportunity to give him another trophy. He’s the most deserving and likely contender of the five, but if the Academy really, really loves Life of Pi, I could see its completely forgettable score getting the win, and the same goes for a lot of the technical categories.
Will and Should Win: Lincoln, John Williams
Best Original Song
“Before My Time” from Chasing Ice
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from Ted
“Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi
“Skyfall” from Skyfall
“Suddenly” from Les Misérables
I am going to predict Adele’s exquisite “Skyfall” song for the win here – it is certainly the best in the category – but I would be lying if I said I was confident in that choice. This is always an erratic, loopy category, and a very tough one to call, and I think there are plenty of scenarios where “Suddenly,” “Pi’s Lullaby,” or “Before My Time” win instead. Once again, if the love for Life of Pi is just out-of-control, which it very well might be, it wins here, even though most people, upon hearing of the nomination, did not recall Life of Pi having an original song. If voters are in a ‘show-tunes’ vibe, “Suddenly” wins. If they are in activist mode, “Before My Time” gets the trophy. And if every voter was severely hammered when casting their ballots, the Ted song wins. Luckily, I don’t think that is a very likely option.
Will and Should Win: “Skyfall” from Skyfall
Best Sound Editing
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Will Win: Life of Pi
Should Win: Django Unchained
Best Sound Mixing
Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Will and Should Win: Les Miserables
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