'La La Land' vs. 'Moonlight'! Casey Affleck vs. Denzel Washington! Here's who ET predicts will come out on top.
We've made predictions about who would get nominated for an Oscar and who would win the awards leading up to the Oscars. We've seen the campaigning and the controversy and some damn fine movies in between, too. Now that Academy voting has officially ended, we present our final predictions for who will win -- as well as who we think really should win.
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Best Picture
Who Should Win: La La Land
Who Will Win: La La Land
Despite plenty of fine nominees (Arrival! Hidden Figures! Manchester by the Sea!), the race for Best Picture was always between La La Land and Moonlight. Neither is perfect, but you could reasonably call either the year's Best Picture. Still, if history is any indication, La La Land's record amount of nominations will guarantee it takes home the night's top honor.
Best Actor
Who Should Win: Denzel Washington, Fences
Who Will Win: Casey Affleck, Manchester By the Sea
This is a tricky race, and one in which Washington could yet come out on top. Affleck may have been the early frontrunner, but off-screen allegations plaguing his campaign and the Fences actor besting him for the SAG Award have made this one neck-and-neck. We are nonetheless putting our money on the Academy voting Affleck in the end.
Best Actress
Who Should Win: Natalie Portman, Jackie
Who Will Win: Emma Stone, La La Land
The Best Actress race is far less controversial, perhaps save for our opinion that Portman's transformative turn as the former first lady is maybe, kind of, only a little more deserving of the Oscar. Stone (who was also exceptional!) already won the Golden Globe, the BAFTA and SAG Award, though, and will soon win her first Academy Award.
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Best Supporting Actor
Who Should Win: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Who Will Win: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
This has been the most unpredictable category this awards season -- Aaron Taylor-Johnson was in at one point, Hugh Grant is out now -- and while Ali's road to an Academy victory got off to a bumpy start (let's not talk about the Golden Globes), this award will rightfully go to him in the end, for the powerful performance he delivers in his limited time onscreen.
Best Supporting Actress
Who Should Win: Viola Davis, Fences
Who Will Win: Viola Davis, Fences
This one is as sure as sure things get. Best Supporting Actress has been locked down since this awards season began, with Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Nicole Kidman and Octavia Spencer more or less along for the ride as Davis wins award after award on the way to her first Oscar win. (For what it's worth, one that's long overdue.)
Best Director
Who Should Win: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Who Will Win: Damien Chazelle, La La Land
It might seem like a given that the director whose movie wins Best Picture should also win Best Director, but that hasn't always been the case in Oscars past. It will be this year, when Chazelle becomes the youngest director to take home the honor, but we're still gunning for Jenkins. (Who, it's worth noting, would become the first black director to win here.)
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Below, lightning round predictions for who will win the remaining categories -- though, not necessarily who we think should win. (If you want those, come find us after a few glasses of champagne, grumbling in the corner about how "City of Stars" really wasn't *that* great.)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By the Sea)
Best Cinematography: La La Land
Best Animated Film: Zootopia
Best Visual Effects: The Jungle Book
Best Documentary Feature: O.J.: Made in America
Best Documentary Short: The White Helmets
Best Foreign Language Film: Toni Erdmann
Best Original Score: Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)
Best Original Song: "City Of Stars" (La La Land)
Best Costume Design: Jackie
Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: Star Trek Beyond
Achievement in Production Design: La La Land
Achievement in Film Editing: Arrival
Achievement in Sound Mixing: La La Land
Achievement in Sound Editing: Arrival
Best Live Action Short Film: Sing
Best Animated Short Film: Piper
