My 2015 Oscar Predictions!

© Timothy A Clary

This weekend, the 87th Annual Academy Awards will be airing, and the streets of LA are all in 'prep mode'... and so am I. A little Oscar party celebration is in the works, and I can't wait to watch the show. I didn't see every single film nominated this year, but I managed to see all the movies in the big categories, including Best Picture. I'm taking part in two Oscar pools this year, even though I'm hardly confident about all my choices. But hey! Where's the fun in not playing just because you're unsure?

For my picks, it's always a battle between going with my heart and going with my head. I know what the Vegas odds look like, and I usually know better than to buck the odds, especially if I have a crisp $5 bill at stake. But most times, by Sunday night, I'll throw my hands in the hair and say "Screw it, I'm picking my favorite!".... which promptly makes me lose the pool by, you know... that one category.

Needless to say, in this, my own personal spot to blog, I get to share both selections without marring my chances at winning the pot. I marked a ✓ to indicate what I think will win, and a ♥ to mark what I wish would win. I'd happily lose my fiver to see a Whiplash upset. What? A girl can dream, can't she?

What about you? Did you fill in your Oscar predictions? See mine below and let me know who you're rooting for!

BEST PICTURE
• American Sniper
✓ Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Selma
• The Theory of Everything
♥ Whiplash

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
• Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"
• Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper"
• Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
• Michael Keaton, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
✓♥ Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
• Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"
✓ Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
• Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
♥ Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
• Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
• Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
• Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
• Edward Norton, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
• Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
✓♥ J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
✓ Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
• Laura Dern, "Wild"
• Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
♥ Emma Stone, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
• Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
• Big Hero 6
♥ Song of the Sea
• The Boxtrolls
• The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
✓ How to Train Your Dragon 2

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
♥ Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
✓ Robert Yeoman, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, "Ida"
• Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner"
• Roger Deakins, "Unbroken"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
✓ Milena Canonero, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• Mark Bridges, "Inherent Vice"
• Colleen Atwood, "Into the Woods"
♥ Anna B. Sheppard, "Maleficent"
• Jacqueline Durran, "Mr. Turner"

BEST DIRECTION
• Alejandro G. Iñárritu, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
✓♥ Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
• Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher"
• Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
✓ CitizenFour
• Finding Vivian Maier
• Last Days in Vietnam
• The Salt of the Earth
♥ Virunga

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
• Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
✓ Joanna
• Our Curse
• The Reaper (La Parka)
• White Earth

BEST FILM EDITING
• American Sniper
✓ Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
♥ Whiplash

BEST FOREIGN FILM
✓ Ida
• Leviathan
• Tangerines
• Timbuktu
• Wild Tales

BEST MAKEUP / HAIRSTYLING
• Foxcatcher
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
✓♥ Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST MUSIC — ORIGINAL SCORE
✓♥ Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game"
• Hans Zimmer, "Interstellar"
• Gary Yershon, "Mr. Turner"
• Jóhann Jóhannsson, "The Theory of Everything"

BEST MUSIC — ORIGINAL SONG
✓ "Everything Is Awesome" from THE LEGO MOVIE
• "Glory" from SELMA
• "Grateful" from BEYOND THE LIGHTS
• "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" from GLEN CAMPBELL...I'LL BE ME
♥ "Lost Stars" from BEGIN AGAIN

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
✓♥ The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Interstellar
• Into the Woods
• Mr. Turner

BEST SHORT FILM — ANIMATED
• The Bigger Picture
• The Dam Keeper
✓♥ Feast
• Me and My Moulton
• A Single Life

BEST SHORT FILM — LIVE ACTION
• Aya
• Boogaloo and Graham
• Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)
✓ Parvaneh
• The Phone Call

BEST SOUND EDITING
♥ American Sniper
• Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
✓ Interstellar
• Unbroken

BEST SOUND MIXING
• American Sniper
✓ Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• Interstellar
• Unbroken
♥ Whiplash

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
• Guardians of the Galaxy
✓♥ Interstellar
• X-Men: Days of Future Past

BEST WRITING — ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
• Jason Hall, "American Sniper"
• Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"
• Paul Thomas Anderson, "Inherent Vice"
• Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"
✓♥ Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"

BEST WRITING — ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
• Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"
• Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
• E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, "Foxcatcher"
✓♥ Wes Anderson (script/story) & Hugo Guinness (story), "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"