And The Oscar Goes To… (Part 2)

After months of tell-tale award shows, it’s finally time for the big one. So put the homework away and bring out the popcorn because the 95th Academy Awards returns this Sunday on March 12, 2023 at 8pm in the iconic Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles, California.

This year’s Oscars proves to be one of the tightest races Hollywood has ever seen as several categories include all first-time nominees while other possible winners will leave the Dolby Theatre with history rewritten. 

2022 marked yet another year of fantastic films, ranging from the adventurous and thrilling sequel Top Gun: Maverick to the highly polarized Babylon, Hollywood has produced some stellar movies in the past year, featuring many rookies and veterans in the industry. With all of these top-notch performances released, this year’s Oscars will definitely be one for the books. 

So bring out the red carpet, here are my predictions for this year’s Oscars. Note: I will not be predicting all the documentaries and the short films as they are not my area of expertise. 

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Austin Butler in Elvis

Nominees: Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin, Brendan Fraser in The Whale, Paul Mescal in Aftersun, Bill Nighy in Living

This highly anticipated category is the one where journalists and movie-lovers all around the world are sitting on the edge of their seats. While the talented Colin Farrell, the young Paul Mescal, and the veteran Bill Nighy displayed incredible performances, it really has been an Austin Butler and Brendan Fraser matchup since the beginning of the award season. 

Austin Butler absolutely smashed his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. Butler has set the bar to a whole new level for future biopics in his role as the King of Rock and Roll. From his spot-on Elvis Presley voice to tear-jerking performances, I instantly thought Butler was going to take home the Oscar, that is, until Brendan Fraser came along. 

Throughout my childhood, I’ve always looked up to Fraser. From his roles in The Mummy to the live-action Tarzan, Fraser has been iconic in not just my childhood, but in many others as well. However, at the rise of his stardom came along a major downfall in his career. From barely landing any movie roles to his unfortunate incident with the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association), it seemed Fraser was erased forever, until he landed the role as Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. Fraser’s new role absolutely destroyed me. His performance was painful to watch, yet, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him as he was just so amazing. Even if Fraser doesn’t win the Oscars this year, he is definitely back in business after his formidable performance in The Whale.

Butler and Fraser pose a very tight race in this category. While Fraser displayed an awe-inspiring comeback performance, my predicted winner will be Butler as over the years, the Academy tends to favor biopics. In a perfect world, both Butler and Fraser would win the Oscar. However, no matter who the winner will be, all five actors are already making Oscar history as all of them are first time nominees. 

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nominees: Cate Blanchett in Tár, Ana de Armas in Blonde, Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie, Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans

While Ana de Armas is a tour-de-force as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, I doubt she’s taking home the Oscar as de Armas winning would lead to a very controversial frenzy as Blonde was a major flop due to the movie painting the sad life of Monroe in a very negative light. As for Andrea Riseborough, she was the wild card in this category and no one expected her nomination, thus, I have ruled her out as the winner. Lastly, while I firmly believe Michelle Williams is one of the most underrated actresses of our generation, sadly, this year will not be her year as Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh had much better performances.

Just like the previous category, Best Actress in a Leading Role is yet another two-horse race. It is a very close fight between Blanchett and Yeoh. Blanchett has proven to be one of Hollywood’s finest actresses as she has shown her versatility in acting, ranging from The Aviator to Carol. So far in her career, Blanchett has booked two of her eight nominations and will be chasing for her third as Lydia Tár in Todd Field’s Tár. Once again, Blanchett has shown the world what a masterclass actress looks like, as her portrayal of Lydia Tár was absolutely chilling yet sensational.

Standing in Blanchett’s way is Yeoh, who is looking to win her first ever Oscar. Yeoh stars as Evelyn Quan Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Yeoh’s performance in EEAAO is definitely not conventional, as she plays an Asian-American superhero-like mother who is fighting for her life to save her daughter from the multiverse. Typically, the Academy doesn’t recognize superhero-type characters, due to one dimensional performances time and time again. However, Yeoh has wiped away this impression that superheroes can’t win Oscars as Yeoh was phenomenal in EEAAO. She can take your breath away in one scene and make you sob in the next. She’s that good. 

While I do have a slight bias for Blanchett, as she’s one of my favorite actresses of all time, I think Yeoh will take home the big prize as her performance in EEAAO revolutionized the superhero game in Hollywood and has proven that actors starring as superheroes can be just as good as any other roles. If Yeoh does win, she will make history as the first Asian woman to win an Oscar in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category. 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nominees: Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin, Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway, Judd Hirsch in The Fabelmans, Barry Keoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin

Like Fraser, Ke Huy Quan has been out of the spotlight for decades, that was, until his performance as Waymond Wang in EEAAO. Quan, who was a child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, almost quit acting forever after being jobless for many years. Quan’s role in EEAAO brought him back to the spotlight as he was a very lovable character in many of his scenes while being able to seamlessly transition to his grittiness during the more serious parts. While Barry Keoghan may have a slight chance of beating Quan, Quan has swept all of the other award shows and is locked to be crowned this year’s Best Actor in a Supporting Role. If Quan does win, he will be the first Asian-American actor to win an Oscar in this category. 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Nominees: Hong Chau in The Whale, Kerry Condon in The Banshees of Inisherin, Jamie Lee Curtisin Everything Everywhere All at Once, Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Once again, we have yet another tough category to call as all of these actresses are exceptionally talented. Angela Bassett stars as Ramonda, the mother of the Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While Bassett was only featured for at least 10 minutes throughout the whole film, during that time, Bassett steals the spotlight. She was so powerful in her tone and physicality that it was impossible to not gaze at her amazing talent. With that being said, this proves why Bassett has a very good shot at winning the Oscar. It has been done before. Back in 1991, Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for his role in The Silence of Lambs despite his very minimal screen time. In my opinion, Bassett will follow after Hopkins for her short, yet very impactful performance. 

However, one of these nominees may throw a huge curveball in the Oscar race for this particular category. While Bassett, Kerry Condon, and Jamie Lee Curtis have a shot of winning the Oscar (all three have picked up previous awards throughout the award season), Hong Chau has yet to win an award, and I think she may just win the big one without winning the other awards. Chau plays Liz in The Whale and the quality of her performance is everything the Academy looks for. She was very authentic and raw that it just breaks your heart to see her in some of the gut-wrenching scenes. While I think Bassett has a good chance of winning, Chau is definitely my dark horse and I would be delighted to see her win the Oscar. 

Best Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, The Fabelmans, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, Triangle of Sadness, Women Talking

This is the category everyone came for. Which movie will be declared the best movie of 2022? My answer: Everything Everywhere All at Once. EEAAO can be described in three words: a beautiful mess. This movie was absolutely wild, rambunctious, bizarre, yet had a very powerful message behind it. While EEAAO dives into a very complex storyline, the overall message of this movie deals with the hardships of living in an immigrant household. EEAAO is so out of this world that it’s impossible to formulate the words to further describe the overall message of the movie. From its gorgeous visual effects and cinematography to its originality, EEAAO has nailed every aspect of a film. Produced by Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (the duo goes by The Daniels), and Jonathan Wang, this movie is something we have never seen before and in my opinion, will win Best Picture by a landslide. 

There will be no more commentary moving forward, just my very, very accurate predictions.

Best Director: The Daniels in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nominees: Martin McDonagh in The Banshees of Inisherin, Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans, Todd Field in Tár, Ruben Östlund in Triangle of Sadness

Animated Feature Film: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

Nominees: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, The Sea Beast, Turning Red

Cinematography: All Quiet on the Western Front

Nominees: Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Elvis, Empire of Light, Tár

Costume Design: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Nominees: Babylon, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Film Editing: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nominees: The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick

International Feature Film: All Quiet on the Western Front

Nominees: Argentina, 1985, Close, EO, The Quiet Girl

Makeup and Hairstyling: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front, The Batman, Elvis, The Whale

Music (Original Score): Justin Hurwitz in Babylon

Nominees: Volker Bertelmann in All Quiet on the Western Front, Carter Burwell in The Banshees of Inisherin, Son Lux in Everything Everywhere All at Once, John Williams in The Fabelmans

Music (Original Song): Naatu Naatu from RRR

Nominees: Applause from Tell It Like a Woman, Hold my Hand from Top Gun: Maverick, Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, This is a Life from Everything Everywhere All at Once

Production Design: All Quiet on the Western Front

Nominees: Avatar: The Way of Water, Babylon, Elvis, The Fabelmans

Sound: Top Gun: Maverick

Nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Batman, Elvis

Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way of Water

Nominees: All Quiet on the Western Front, The Batman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Top Gun: Maverick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): All Quiet on the Western Front

Nominees: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Living, Top Gun: Maverick, Women Talking

Writing (Original Screenplay): Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nominees: The Banshees of Inisherin, The Fabelmans, Tár, Triangle of Sadness

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This year’s Oscars is definitely one of the toughest races we’ve seen in a while. There is no question that the Dolby Theatre will be filled with nerves and anticipation, and no better person to calm the audience down than two-time host Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel will be joined by a slate of presenters, including Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, and Michael B. Jordan.

This year’s Oscars will also feature performances from Rihanna, a segment everyone is excited for since her exhilirating Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.

Despite the excitement surrounding the Oscars, one huge question remains; how will the Academy respond to last year’s blunder between Will Smith and Chris Rock? There is a very possible chance Kimmel will address the elephant in the room, but it remains as to how Kimmel will address the issue. 

With so many excellent films produced, it truly is a time to celebrate the beauty of movies after years of COVID ruining movie viewership. Whether my predictions stand corrected, history will be made. In addition to the history-makers discussed earlier, there are many others who will also change the course of the future. John Williams, who is nominated for Best Original Score in The Fabelmans, is the oldest person to be ever nominated at the age of 90 while if EEAAO were to sweep the Oscars, that is, to win all of their 11 nominations, they will join Ben-Hur, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in the most Oscars won by a film. 

History is currently being written with only days before the big ceremony. Will Everything Everywhere All at Once sweep the Oscars? Who will win the Butler versus Fraser matchup? Tune in this Sunday on ABC at 8pm to find out!