17th Annual Oscar Picks

You might have thought I was gone, never to post Oscar predictions again. But much like Josh Hartnett in "Oppenheimer," I am BACK! Predicting the correct winners in all 23 categories. And—also like Josh Hartnett—I am always 100% right.* 

(Previously: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015,  2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.)

Best Picture: It's an upside down world, where up is down and boy bands play instruments: a Christopher Nolan film is going to win the top honor at the Academy Awards! As a longtime Chris Nolan girlie, I couldn't be more pleased for him—"Oppenheimer" is gonna win Best Picture! 

Best Director: And the gold won't stop there... Christopher Nolan will hear his named called in this category as well! Oppenhomies, we ride at dawn.

Best Actor: I am fairly confident, though not certain, that Cillian Murphy will take this one home. His portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer was masterful and haunting and cerebral, and he deserves to get the gold. If it's not him, look for Paul Giamatti to be the one to swoop in and take it.

Best Actress: Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone are in a virtual dead heat here. There's a part of me that thinks it really might be Emma, but I'm going with Lily Gladstone.

Best Supporting Actor: I'm just going to get this out of the way real, real quick: Charles Melton's name should be here in this category. (Side note: I'm a firm believer that if you think someone's been snubbed, you've gotta say who you think should come out of the list instead. So, sorry Sterling K. Brown—I think they should have given this spot to Charles over you.) But anyway, the winner will be Robert Downey Jr.

Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph was absolutely BRILLIANT in "The Holdovers." If it can't be Rachel McAdams for "Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret," I'm happy it'll be Da'Vine.

Animated Feature: I think there's a world where "The Boy and the Heron" wins because of the film community's love for Hayao Miyazaki. However, when I close my eyes and picture this category's envelope being opened on Sunday, I can only imagine hearing Anya Taylor-Joy or Dwayne Johnson or whoever saying "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse."

Production Design: The production design for "Barbie" is truly incredible—if you haven't seen the behind-the-scenes walk-throughs of the sets, you've gotta seek those out. However, I think the team behind "Poor Things" will nab this one.

Cinematography: I think "Oppenheimer" will win this one, and I'm not mad about that, but man if "Killers of the Flower Moon" doesn't feel equally deserving. Tough category. 

Costume Design: History tells me to pick the quirky historical costumes from "Poor Things." My heart tells me to go for "Barbie."

Film Editing: I'm between "Oppenheimer" and "Killers of the Flower Moon" on this one, but when in doubt, the tie goes to the runner—aka the Best Picture winner. "Oppenheimer" it is!

Makeup and Hairstyling: First of all, JAIL to the Academy members who failed to nominate "Barbie" in this category. They toned my girl Margot's hair on the DAILY to make sure her locks were the perfect shade of blonde for her costume. Every! Day! Sigh. Anyway. I guess it could be "Maestro," but there doesn't seem to be a lot of passion for that film as a whole, so I'm picking "Poor Things" here.

Original Score: My jaw will be on the FLOOR if anything other than "Oppenheimer" wins this category. 

Original Song: Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell have this one in the bag for "What Was I Made For?"—the duo's second win in this category in two years after 2022's "No Time to Die!"

Original Screenplay: This category could be where the Academy shows "Past Lives" some love. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Alexander Payne pick up his third Oscar for best screenplay, this time for "The Holdovers." But if I have to pick just one (and clearly I do), I'm going with "Anatomy of a Fall."

Adapted Screenplay: There's a lot of love for "American Fiction" in this category, but don't count out Christopher Nolan and his adaptation of a 700-page tome. I've gotta pick "Oppenheimer" here.

Sound: Another one for "Oppenheimer!" You go, "Oppenheimer."

Visual Effects: Without an "Avatar" or a "Dune" in this category, it kind of feels like anyone's game. There's a ton of stacked talent here, without a real heavyweight to pull all the votes. That being said, I can't shake the feeling that it's going to be "The Creator."

Documentary Feature: "20 Days in Mariupol" is about Russia's attack on Ukraine, and I can't see voters picking something else over that one.

Documentary Short: The choice here seems to be coming down to a film about book banning, and a film about a repair shop for kids' instruments. So tough! But I think the latter will have a bigger impact on voters, so I'll go with "The Last Repair Shop." 

International Feature Film: I'm feelin' REAL confident with this one, so please don't embarrass me, Academy! It's "The Zone of Interest."

Animated Short: Did I pick "Letter to a Pig" based solely on the title? I didn't NOT do that...

Live Action Short: Netflix has been pushing "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" hard, and the industry loves them some Wes Anderson, so I'm inclined to think they'll give him the gold here.

*Okay, so I'm not ALWAYS right. But I'm ALWAYS in love with Josh Hartnett, and that's the truth.