ASHER BERKSON-GOLD ‘19
Staff Writer
With the 88th Academy Awards fast approaching, one question is popping into everyone’s head: who’s going to win?
This year, much like last year, we do not have a very diverse list of nominees, yet all of them are still very talented in their respective roles.
However, with that being said, there are also some performances that were left unnoticed by the Academy, and that have been snubbed from Oscar contention.
With all of these thoughts in mind, here are my Oscar predictions and suggestions for 2016, specifically for the Big Five categories (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress):
Best Supporting Actress:
Will Win and Should Win: Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Should Have Been Nominated: Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina). The Academy chose the wrong Alicia Vikander role. Although she was great in The Danish Girl, her performance in Ex Machina was scary, emotional and captivating.
Best Supporting Actor:
Will Win: Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
Should Win: Tom Hardy (The Revenant)
Should Have Been Nominated: Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)
Best Actress:
Will Win: Brie Larson (Room)
Should Win: Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
Should Have Been Nominated: Lily Tomlin (Grandma)
Best Actor:
Will Win: Ugh… Leonardo DiCaprio. Now don’t get me wrong, I thought Leo’s performance in The Revenant was pretty good, but I know that Leo will win the Oscar, not because of this performance, but because of his track record, and because he hasn’t won an Oscar in the past. Look at the history: Art Carney won in 1974 for Harry and Tonto, beating Al Pacino who should have won for The Godfather Part 2, and then Pacino won in 1992 for Scent of a Woman, which Denzel Washington should have won for Malcolm X, and then Washington won in 2001 for Training Day, beating Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, all of these performances not being the best their year, but being given to these actors for their life’s work and to make up for losing their previous nominations. The pattern proves the point.
Should Win: Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl). Now with what was mentioned previously, the Academy makes it extremely difficult for an actor to win two Best Actor awards in a row. But Eddie Redmayne deserves it, as he had the best performance on this list for his moving role in The Danish Girl.
Should Have Been Nominated: Johnny Depp (Black Mass). As I mentioned in my Black Mass review all the way back in October, I am shocked that Depp didn’t get recognized at all for this amazing comeback performance.
Best Picture:
Will Win: The Revenant
Comes in Second: Spotlight
Should Win: Brooklyn. Many people at this point would put down Mad Max: Fury Road, however, after seeing all eight nominees, Brooklyn was the only movie I didn’t want to end. Nick Hornby’s screenplay did wonders, Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen were superb.
Should Have Been Nominated: Inside Out, Love & Mercy. My final question is, if you had so many good movies, and ten possible spots, why only nominate eight movies? Pick two more. Love & Mercy was an incredible biopic about Brian Wilson’s forced breakdown. And why didn’t Inside Out get nominated?
These are my thoughts on the Oscars this year. Whatever happens, happens, but the Academy needs to learn from its mistakes and do better next year so that we don’t have issues like this again.