Predicting The 87th Annual Academy Awards

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”

Here is one of the surest bets of the night. After having won this award just about everywhere throughout the critics awards, and then topping it off with victories at the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and SAG, your next winner for Best Supporting Actress will be Patricia Arquette for Boyhood. Personally, I would like to see Emma Stone or Keira Knightley take this as I wasn’t all that impressed with Arquette’s performance, but the critics, actors, and industry professionals have spoken, making this a solid lock.

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”

Just like with Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor is an incredibly easy call. J.K. Simmons has been unstoppable throughout the entire awards season for his incredible performance in Whiplash, earning him a multitude of awards from critics, as well as wins at the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and SAG. There’s nothing else to say except that he’s very deserving of this great honor.

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”

When we were still at the critics awards stage of this awards season, Best Actress seemed a little all over the place, with awards going to Marion Cotillard, Julianne Moore, and Rosamund Pike. It always seemed like Moore’s to lose for her brilliant performance in Still Alice as a woman having to deal with Alzheimer’s, but it wasn’t until she picked up steam in the latter half of the season, earning wins from the Critics Choice, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and SAG, that we were able to confirm her frontrunner status. Now, after four previous Oscar nominations, it looks like number 5 will finally bring her the win.

Best Actor

Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”

You’ve seen what I bolded, but let me start off by saying that this is the one category of the night where I really, really, REALLY hope I’m wrong. This category should, and hopefully will, go to Michael Keaton for his brilliant performance in Birdman, as did nearly all of the awards right up through the Critics Choice (Keaton and Redmayne both got Golden Globes for their respective genres, so they cancel out). However, it’s the SAG award that means the most when it comes to determining who will be taking home the acting Oscars, and they decided to award Best Actor to Eddie Redmayne for his incredible performance in The Theory of Everything. Given that the SAG Best Actor award has matched the corresponding Oscar category for the last decade, it seems a very unwise move to bet against him.

That being said, Keaton does still have a chance here, but to explain, I have to spoil the “surprise” of the top categories. With Birdman in line to be the favorite film of the night (likely taking Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay), it seems unfathomable (“it’s without fathom”) that they wouldn’t honor the film for the acting, which is half the reason that it’s a masterpiece (and a big part of that is due to Keaton’s unforgettable performance).

This would be the equivalent of giving The King’s Speech Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, but then failing to give Colin Firth Best Actor for his magnificent performance, which was equally unthinkable that year. There’s also the fact that SAG had the opportunity to award both Redmayne and Keaton by giving the former Best Actor and giving Birdman Best Cast, an award that it was already expected to win. However, the Academy doesn’t have this option, meaning that they could end up awarding Best Actor to Keaton.

To a lesser extent, you could also say that this has been a phenomenal comeback for Keaton, something that the Academy might take into account. You could also say that this is probably the one and only time that Keaton will be up for an Oscar (at 63 years old, who knows if it would ever happen again), whereas the young 33-year-old Redmanye will still have many chances to earn one. If Redmayne were to win, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world (he did a great job playing Professor Hawking), it would just be an incredible shame to see Keaton robbed of his rightful Oscar for his astounding work. Hopefully the Academy will make the right decision.