It’s nearly time to play the music and to light the lights. The 97th Academy Awards are going down next Sunday night, and my woeful predictions are back. I don’t know that I’ve heard of many of these movies let alone seen them, so, with less basis in fact than most years, here’s my uneducated predictions for the non-acting awards.
Best Original Screenplay
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Moritz Binder and Tim Fehlbaum; co-written by Alex David, September 5
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
I’ve heard of a whopping two of these films, so I’m going to flip a coin and end up with The Substance.
Best Adapted Screenplay
James Mangold and Jay Cocks, A Complete Unknown
Peter Straughan, Conclave
Jacques Audiard in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius, and Nicolas Livecchi, Emilia Pérez
RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes, Nickel Boys
Screenplay by Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley; story by Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley, Clarence Maclin, and John “Divine G” Whitfield, Sing Sing
This is a complete guest, as I’ve seen only one of these films.
Best Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Once again, I’ll take a shot in the dark.
Best Cinematography
Lol Crawley, The Brutalist
Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez
Ed Lachman, Maria
Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu
Sand seems like the way to go for this award.
Best Costume Design
Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown
Lisy Christl, Conclave
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II
Linda Muir, Nosferatu
Paul Tazewell, Wicked
This seems like as good a place as any for Wicked to get on the board.