Award season continues to roll on in Hollywood! The Oscars culminate the celebration of the best movies and performances every year, and we’re all one big snowball rolling downhill now that the 2018 Oscar nominations have been released.
There are a few winners coming out of the nomination show, none bigger than The Shape of Water. The Guillermo del Toro project earned 13 nominations, including Best Picture and del Toro himself for Best Director. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri earned nine nominations, and Dunkirk picked up seven.
Now that the nominations are announced, all we can do is wait for the show March 4.
HA. Yeah right.
This is the perfect time to make some Oscar predictions. That way we can all look back in six weeks and see how wrong I was. What fun!
Below you’ll find the 2018 Oscar nominations for the “Big 6” categories, and then some of my completely professional thoughts about who will win. There are some legitimately difficult categories here, so all I ask is you cut me some slack come March 5.
2018 Oscar Nominations
Supporting Actor:
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
There’s only one man to root for in this category. There’s also only one man likely to win in this category. Luckily for us, that’s the same man.
Sam Rockwell is walking away with this award. He’s the Vegas favorite, he won the SAG award, and he won the Golden Globe. Rockwell is also sure to give a sweet acceptance speech, which is all the reason you need to root for him. This will be a fun moment early-ish in the night.
Supporting Actress:
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”
I expect this race to be a bit tighter than the supporting actor award. Like Rockwell, Allison Janney is the Vegas favorite, won the SAG, and won the Globe. However, all reviews indicate that Laurie Metcalf gives a hell of a performance in Lady Bird.
If I were betting (for entertainment purposes only!), then I would go with Janney. However, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Metcalf went home with the goods.
Director:
“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro
Boy, do I reeeeeally want Greta Gerwig or Jordan Peele to win this one. The field is truly jumbled, in that four of the five directing performances “deserve” to win, and The Academy has a real opportunity to give an Oscar for direction to a woman or an African American who earned it.
That said, I don’t think Gerwig or Peele will win. I do believe we will still get a minority winner, however, in Guillermo del Toro. del Toro deserves the long-awaited award as well. The Shape of Water is one of the most unique and heartfelt movies of the year.
Lead Actress:
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”
Much like her counterpart in the Supporting Actor category, the Lead Actress award is pretty much a slam dunk. Frances McDormand will be your winner for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The story at the center of this film is extremely powerful, and McDormand is the one who brings it to life more than anyone else.
Not to say this isn’t a strong category this year, because it is. The names and performances stand out alike. McDormand is just the clear favorite.
Lead Actor:
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
This may be the most “blockbuster” category of the 2018 Oscars. With names like Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman, and Denzel Washington it’s hard not to take notice. Throw in breakout performances from Daniel Kaluuya and Timothée Chalamet and you got yourself a category.
Oldman is the likely winner here, and more than deserving. He immersed himself in Winston Churchill, becoming completely unrecognizable while giving a riveting performance about an important time in world history.
Speaking of immersive, watch out for Daniel Day-Lewis. He’s a longshot for his Phantom Thread performance, but The Academy loves him and all indications are this is his final performance. The sentimental vote combined with an actor of this quality could add up to an award.
Best Picture:
“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
No matter what film wins best picture this year, we can all take solace in the fact that there was a quality movie for everyone in 2018. Darkest Hour and Dunkirk are essentially prequel and sequel to each other for the war buff. Get Out is a horror/thriller done at the highest level. Lady Bird is a strong film dominated by strong woman performances and directing. If you’re a fan of a good love story, Call Me by Your Name, Phantom Thread, and The Shape of Water are for you. The Post is done with quality writing, about quality writers. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri makes as big of a statement as any film this year.
In the end, I think Three Billboards is your winner for Best Picture. I wouldn’t count out The Shape of Water, however. And if you’re looking for a sleeper, Lady Bird is where you’ll find it.
Some good films this year, but the story combined with the performances of Rockwell and McDormand will send Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri home victorious.
The Oscars will air Sunday, March 4 at 6:30 pm ET on ABC.
For more, check out our All Movies section!
Nominations courtesy of Variety
Image courtesy of Oscars.org
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