2014 Academy Award Choices and Predictions, Part I

It’s been a decent year for movies, and the Academy will announce the 2014 Oscar nominations on Thursday, January 15th at 5:30am. Here’s what I would vote for if I was a member of the Academy:

Best Picture

Annie

Big Hero 6

Cesar Chavez

Divergent

Gimmie Shelter

God’s Not Dead

Guardians of the Galaxy

The LEGO Movie

Muppets Most Wanted

Unbroken

Best Director

Harold Cronk – God’s Not Dead

David Fincher – Gone Girl

Angelia Jolie – Unbroken

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – The LEGO Movie

Richard Linklater - Boyhood

Best Actor

Ben Affleck – Gone Girl

Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood

Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars

Chris Evans – Snowpiercer

Jack O'Connell – Unbroken

Best Actress

Cameron Diaz – Sex Tape

Rosemund Pike – Gone Girl

Quvenzhané Wallis – Annie

Shailene Woodley – Divergent

Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars

Best Supporting Actor

Ethan Hawke – Boyhood

Josh Hutcherson – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

Om Puri – The Hundred-Foot Journey

Kevin Sorbo - God’s Not Dead

John Turturro – Exodus: Gods and Kings

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Emily Blunt – Into the Woods

Carrie Coon – Gone Girl

Kelly Reilly – Heaven is for Real

Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

Best Original Screenplay
Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon – God’s Not Dead

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – The LEGO Movie

Jorge Gutierrez and Doug Langdale – The Book of Life

Richard Linklater – Boyhood 

Keir Pearson – Cesar Chavez

Best Adapted Screenplay
James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller – Muppets Most Wanted

Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl

James Gunn and Nicole Perlman – Guardians of the Galaxy

Steve James – Life Itself

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber – The Fault in Our Stars

However, things don’t always pan out like planned. Here are my actual predictions of who will be nominated:

Best Picture

American Sniper

Boyhood

Birdman

Gone Girl

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Nightcrawler

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Best Director

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Clint Eastwood – American Sniper

David Fincher – Gone Girl

Alejandro Iñárritu – Birdman

Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor

Steve Carell – Foxcatcher

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game

Michael Keaton – Birdman

David Oyelowo – Selma
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

Best Actress

Jennifer Aniston – Cake

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year

Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

Original Screenplay

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler

Alejandro Inarritu – Birdman

Richard Linklater – Boyhood 

Phil Lord & Christopher Miller – The LEGO Movie

Adapted Screenplay

Paul Anderson – Inherent Vice

Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl

Jason Hall – American Sniper
Nick Hornby – Wild

Graham Moore – The Imitation Game