87th Academy Award Predictions.... Will/Should Win

So I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to the Oscars.  Say what you will about the organization, the movies they pick or whatever… One of my favorite times of the year is Oscar seasons.  Predicting the winners, going out of my way to see as many nominees as I can, reading up on predictions and watching the award season evolve…. I love it all.  So I thought I’d give a full list of the nominations and who I think WILL win and also mark who I think SHOULD win (based off of my personal preference).  I won’t do a commentary on each category but instead just put my guesses and picks out there.  I’m usually quite good at this but the races are extremely close this year in major categories.

Note: I’ve seen every film nominated for Best Picture and the vast majority of other movies with fewer nominations. 

Best Picture
Boyhood
The Imitation Game
Birdman
The Theory of Everything
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Whiplash
Selma
American Sniper

Will Win: Birdman

Should Win: Boyhood

Best Director
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Will Win: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Should Win: Richard Linklater

Best Actress

Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night

Will Win: Julianne Moore

Should Win: Rosamund Pike

Best Actor
Michael Keaton, Birdman

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Will Win: Eddie Redmayne

Should Win: Eddie Redmayne

Best Supporting Actor

J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Edward Norton, Birdman

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

Robert Duvall, The Judge

Will Win: J.K. Simmons

Should Win: J.K. Simmons

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Emma Stone, Birdman

Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Laura Dern, Wild

Will Win: Patricia Arquette

Should Win: Patricia Arquette

Best Adapted Screenplay
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything

Damien Chazelle, Whiplash

Jason Hall, American Sniper

Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice

Will Win: The Imitation Game

Should Win: Whiplash

Best Original Screenplay

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, Birdman

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler

Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, Foxcatcher

Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Should Win: Boyhood

Best Foreign Film
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Argentina)

Will Win: Ida

Should Win: Leviathan

Best Documentary Feature
Citizenfour
Last Days in Vietnam
Virunga
Finding Vivian Maier
The Salt of the Earth

Will Win: CitizenFour

Should Win: CitizenFour

Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Boxtrolls
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Will Win: How To Train Your Dragon 2

Should Win: Big Hero 6

Film Editing

American Sniper

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Whiplash

Will Win: Boyhood

Should Win: Whiplash

Best Song

Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley, and Nick Southwood, "Lost Stars" (Begin Again)

John Legend and Common, "Glory" (Selma)

Shawn Patterson, Joshua Bartholomew, Lisa Harriton, and The Lonely Island, "Everything Is Awesome" (The Lego Movie)

Diane Warren, "Grateful" (Beyond the Lights)

Glen Campbell, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" (Glen Campbell ... I'll Be Me)

Will Win: Selma

Should Win: Selma

Best Original Score
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything

Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game

Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Hans Zimmer, Interstellar

Gary Yershon, Mr. Turner

Will Win: Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything

Should Win: Hans Zimmer, Interstellar

Best Cinematography

Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman

Dick Pope, Mr. Turner

Robert D. Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ryszard Lenczewski and Łukasz Żal, Ida

Roger Deakins, Unbroken

Will Win: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman

Should Win: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman

Costume Design
Colleen Atwood, Into the Woods

Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive, Maleficent

Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Jacqueline Durran, Mr. Turner

Mark Bridges, Inherent Vice

Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Should Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Makeup and Hairstyling

Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard, Foxcatcher

Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White, Guardians of the Galaxy

Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Should Win: Foxcatcher

Production Design

Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts, Mr. Turner

Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock, Into the Woods

Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis, and Paul Healy, Interstellar

Maria Djurkovic and Tatiana Macdonald, The Imitation Game

Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Should Win: Interstellar

Sound Editing

Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman, American Sniper

Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock, Birdman

Brent Burge and Jason Canovas, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

Richard King, Interstellar

Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro, Unbroken

Will Win: American Sniper

Should Win: Interstellar

Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Unbroken
Interstellar
Whiplash

Will Win: Whiplash

Should Win: Whiplash

Visual Effects
Interstellar
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
X Men: Days of Future Past
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Will Win: Interstellar

Should Win: Interstellar

Short Film, Live Action

Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis, Aya (Chasis Films)

Michael Lennox, director, and Ronan Blaney, Boogaloo and Graham (Out of Orbit)

Hu Wei and Julien Féret, Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak) (AMA Productions)

Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger, Parvaneh (Zurich University of Arts)

Mat Kirkby, director and James Lucas, The Phone Call (RSA Films)

Will Win: The Phone Call

Short Film, Animated

Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees, The Bigger Picture (National Film and Television School)

Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, The Dam Keeper (Tonko House)

Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed, Feast (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

Torill Kove, Me and My Moulton (Mikrofilm in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada)

Joris Oprins, A Single Life (Job, Joris & Marieke)

Will Win: Feast

Documentary Short Subject

Perry Films, Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

Wajda Studio, Joanna

Warsaw Film School, Our Curse

Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, The Reaper (La Parka)

Weary Traveler, White Earth

Will Win: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1