After a year like no other, the 93rd Academy Awards are going down Sunday night.  Given that movie theaters were closed for the majority of 2020 thanks to the corona virus, 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

Will Berson and Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
Darius Marder and Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

I’ve seen none of these films, so this is a total shot in the dark, but I’ve at least heard of The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller, The Father
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
Kemp Powers, One Night In Miami…
Ramin Bahrani, The White Tiger

I don’t want to live in a world where a Borat movie wins a writing Oscar, so I’ll go with Nomadland.

Best Animated Feature

Onward
Over The Moon
A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Soul is the only one I’ve heard of.

Best Cinematography

Sean Bobbitt, Judas and the Black Messiah
Erik Messerschmidt, Mank
Dariusz Wolski, News of the World
Joshua James Richards, Nomadland
Phedon Papamichael, The Trial of the Chicago 7

I’ve got no clue.

Best Costume Design

Alexandra Byrne, Emma
Ann Roth, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Trish Sumemrville, Mank
Bina Daigeler, Mulan
Massimo Cantini Parrini, Pinocchio

A tale of Hollywood’s past is my choice to win this particular prize.

Best Documentary Feature

Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Time

I haven’t heard of any of these, so it is a total shot in the dark.

Best Documentary Short Subject

Colette
A Concerto is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha

This is a total guess for a category that I know nothing about.

Achievement in Film Editing

Yorgos Lamprinos, The Father
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
Frédéric Thoraval, Promising Young Woman
Mikkel E. G. Nielsen, Sound of Metal
Alan Baumgarten, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Hard to know much about film editing when you don’t know what any of the films are about.

Best Foreign Language Film

Another Round, Denmark
Better Days, Hong Kong
Collective, Romania
The Man Who Sold His Skin, Tunisia
Quo Vadis, Aida?, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Well, if it was also nominated for best documentary, then I guess Collective should win here.

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze, Emma
Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney, Hillbilly Elegy
Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri and Colleen LaBaff, Mank
Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli and Francesco Pegoretti, Pinocchio

Just a guess at this point.

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)

Da 5 Bloods, Terence Blanchard
Mank, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Minari, Emile Mosseri
News of the World, James Newton Howard
Soul, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste

I’m hoping Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross don’t split the vote between their two nominations.

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)

Fight For You from Judas and the Black Messiah by H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, and Tiara Thomas
Hear My Voice from The Trial of the Chicago 7 by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
Husavik from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
Io Si (Seen) from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se) by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
Speak Now from One Night In Miami… by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth

This seems like too obvious a choice.

Achievement in Production Design

The Father, Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara and Diana Stoughton
Mank, Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale
News of the World, Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
Tenet, Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

I’m picking the team behind Tenet in a pure guess.

Best Animated Short Film

Burrow, Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat
Genius Loci, Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise
If Anything Happens I Love You, Will McCormack and Michael Govier
Opera, Erick Oh
Yes-People, Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson

Best Live Action Short Film

Feeling Through, Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski
The Letter Room, Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan
The Present, Farah Nabulsi and Ossama Bawardi
Two Distant Strangers, Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe
White Eye, Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman

These two picks are based on nothing but pure alchemy.

Achievement in Sound

Greyhound, Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman
Mank, Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin
News of the World, Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett
Soul, Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker
Sound of Metal, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michellee Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh

I’m going to go with Soul, for no particular reason.

Achievement in Visual Effects

Love and Monsters, Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox
The Midnight Sky, Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins
Mulan, Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram
The One and Only Ivan, Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez
Tenet, Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher

I could make an argument for Tenet or Mulan, but I’m going with Tenet, for no particular reason.