Academy Award Nominees - Predictions for 2017

Hey girl, take these nomination predictions to Vegas. Tomorrow, La La Land could tie Titanic and All Above Eve's top noms with fourteen, but I predict thirteen — and Moonlight will emerge as the prime underdog with 7 key noms. Here's what's gonna happen in each category:

Best Picture
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Manchester by the Sea

Spoilers: I’m predicting eight (The H’s, L’s and M’s). If it goes to nine or ten, you’ll find Fences and I, Daniel Blake, Loving or Silence.



Best Director
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Garth Davis, Lion
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea

Dennis Villeneuve, Arrival

Spoiler: No rival awards have a stronger track record of predicting nominees than the Directors Guild of America (DGA) so this list is a solid bet. If there's a surprise, take out first-timer Davis and bet on Ken Loach, I, Daniel Blake (Recipient of BAFTA nom and Cannes' Palme d'Or) or  eight-time nomineed Martin Scorsese for Silence.



Best Actor
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Denzel Washington, Fences

Spoiler: Tom Hanks, Sully or Joel Egerton, Loving or Michael Keaton, Founder



Best Actress
Amy Adams, Arrival

Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Spoiler: Annette Bening, 20th Century Women or Ruth Nega, Loving

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Dev Patel, Lion
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal Animals

Spoiler: Kevin Costner, Hidden Figures or anyone from Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis, Fences

Naomi Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Janelle Monae, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Spoiler: Octavia Spencer Hidden Figures, Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival 

Hacksaw Ridge

Lion

Moonlight 

Nocturnal Animals 

Spoiler: Hidden Figures

Best Original Screenplay

Captain Fantastic 

Hell or High Water 

La La Land 

The Lobster 

Manchester by the Sea 

Spoiler: 20th Century Women

Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life As a Zucchini Sing

Zootopia 

Spoiler: Finding Dory 


Best Documentary
Cameraperson 
Fire at Sea 

I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated

O.J.: Made in America 

Spoiler: 13th, Weiter

Best Cinematography
Arrival (Bradford Young)

Hell or High Water (Giles Nuttgens)

La La Land (Linus Sandgren)
Lion (Grieg Fraser)

Moonlight (James Laxton)


Spoiler: Nocturnal Animals (Seamus McGarvey) 

Best Costume Design
Allied 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 

Florence Foster Jenkins 
Jackie
La La Land 

Spoiler: Period pieces traditionally have an edge in this category so The Dressmaker or Fences could appear.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Deadpool

Florence Foster Jenkins
Star Trek Beyond

Spoiler: The Dressmaker

Best Film Editing
Arrival 

La La Land 
Moonlight 
Manchester by the Sea 
O.J.: Made in America 


Spoiler: Hacksaw Ridge, Deadpool 

Best Original Score
Jackie
La La Land 

Lion
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals 

Spoiler: Silence and Arrival were disqualified, but we may see Hacksaw Ridge or John WIlliams' The BFG in this category.

Best Song
"City of Stars," La La Land
"How Far I'll Go,"  Moana
"Audition," La La Land
"Dancing with Your Shadow,"  Po
"Can’t Stop the Feeling!" Trolls


Spoiler: Maybe "Running" from Hidden Figures, but I'd like to see "Drive It Like You Stole It," Sing Street



Best Production Design
Arrival 
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book
La La Land

Spoiler: All of above were chosen by the Art Directors Guild Production Design Awards. So did Jackie and Fences and Hacksaw Ridge and Rogue One. If someone else appeared, I'd bet on The Handmaiden



Best Sound Editing
Arrival
Deadpool
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land


Spoiler: Deepwater Horizon Rogue One: A Star Wars Story


Best Sound Mixing
La La Land
Hacksaw Ridge
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Deepwater Horizon


Spoiler: Deadpool, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Visual Effects
Arrival
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Spoiler: Kubo and the Two Strings is an animated film, but could sneak in here if enough people saw it.



Best Animated Short
Happy End
The Head Vanishes
Inner Workings
Once Upon a LinePiper

Spoiler: Borrowed Time


Best Live Action Short
Nocturne In Black
Timecode
The Way of Tea
Sing
The rifle, the Jackal, the Wold and the BOy

Spoiler: Bon Voyage

Best Documentary Short
4.1
Close Ties
ExtremisJoe’s Violin
The White Helmets


Spoiler: Watani: My Homeland

Best Foreign Film
A Man Called Ove (Sweden)
Land of Mine (Denmark)

My Life As a Zucchini (Switzerland)

The Salesman (Iran)
Toni Erdmann (Germany)


Spoiler: The King's Choice (Norway)