It’s a new year and that means that it’s once again time for me to do something spectacularly stupid.
Below, you’ll find a list of Oscar predictions. However, this is not a list of what I think will be nominated on January 13th. No, instead, these are my predictions for the upcoming year. This the first installment of my monthly predictions for which 2020 films will be nominated next year at this time.
Just in case it’s not already obvious how foolish this is, consider the following: Last year, at this time, no one had heard of Parasite. Maybe a handful of people knew that Noah Baumbach’s next film was going to be called Marriage Story. There were vague rumors about 1917 and there were still serious doubts as to whether Scorsese would ever finish putting together The Irishman. In short, trying to predict the Oscars 12 months out is impossible.
Needless to say, I haven’t seen a single one of these films listed below so I can’t tell you one way or the other whether or not they’re going to set the world on fire. Instead, what is listed below is a combination of random guesses and my own gut feelings. You’ll notice that there are a lot of big names listed, Spielberg, Anthony Hopkins, Ron Howard, and Glenn Close. Yes, all of them could very well be Oscar contenders. At the same time, they’re all also a known quantity. They’ve all got a good track record with the Academy and, as of right now, that’s all that I have to go on.
You may also notice that I’ve listed several films that will, in just a few weeks, be playing at the Sundance Film Festival. Again, it’s not that I know anything about these films that the rest of the world doesn’t. Instead, it’s simply a case of I looked at the list of Sundance films, I read the plots, and a few times I said, “That sounds like it could potentially be a contender.” After all, it seems like at least one nominee comes out of Sundance every year. Why shouldn’t it happen again?
My point is that you shouldn’t take these predictions too seriously. Some of the films and performers below may be nominated. Some definitely will not be. But, next year, we will at least be able to look back at this list and have a laugh!
So, without further ado, here are my Oscar predictions for January!
Best Picture
Dune
Hillbilly Elegy
The Many Saints of Newark
Minari
News of the World
Respect
Tenet
The Personal History of David Copperfield
The Trial of the Chicago 7
West Side Story
Best Director
Paul Greengrass for News of the World
Ron Howard for Hillbilly Elegy
Christopher Nolan for Tenet
Steven Spielberg for West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve for Dune
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper in Bernstein
Tom Hanks in News of the World
Lance Henriksen in Falling
Anthony Hopkins in The Father
Michael Keaton in Worth
Best Actress
Amy Adams in Hillbilly Elegy
Glenn Close in Four Good Days
Jennifer Hudson in Respect
Elisabeth Moss in Shirley
Amy Ryan in Lost Girls
Best Supporting Actor
Willem DaFoe in The Last Thing He Wanted
Richard E. Grant in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Mark Rylance in The Trial of the Chicago 7
Forest Whitaker in Respect
Steven Yeun in Minari
Best Supporting Actress
Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy
Vera Farmiga in The Many Saints of Newark
Tilda Swinton in The Personal Life of David Copperfield
Marisa Tomei in The King of Staten Island
Helena Zengel in News of the World
