Oscars 2015: Predicting The Winners

The countdown to February 22nd begins. The nominations for the 2015 Academy Awards have been announced and now the film community can begin its annual version of Fantasy Football. After all, the Oscars is less about what's best, and more what has the most power behind it. At least that's normally the case - this year things are looking like they could go the right, non-Oscar baity, way. Overall, the nominations are pretty solid, with deserving entries sitting alongside the bookie's favourites. And even when looking at the big hitters, it really shouldn't be understated how brilliant it is to see two films released early on in the year, and thus dismissed by many, now leading the pack. Of course, there's still some rather disappointing omissions. Nightcrawler, which hit big in the nominations for smaller awards, is mostly absent, as is David Fincher's Gone Girl, which for a while looked to be a lock in for Best Picture. And, typically, anything with a budget higher than $100 million was immediately ignored for anything out of the most minor technical categories. All to be expected, but still a shame. The Oscars are a pretty predictable beast much of the time, the winners of the major awards normally set in stone even before the nominations are announced. But don't think that makes predicting the whole set of awards with absolute confidence is easy - there's enough variability to mean there could be some big surprises during the Neil Patrick Harris-hosted event next month. Come along and see who's expected to win the golden baldies this year (as well as who actually deserves to). The predictions are in the order the awards were given at the 2014 awards, providing an easy guide to how things could shape up on the night.

Honourable Mention - The Short Film Categories

The three short film categories are the most overlooked Oscar categories, mainly because, well, they're short film categories. An odd hangover from another Hollywood age, these are the awards most people gloss over during the ceremony. In the interest of completion, however, here are the picks for the three awards. The popular choice for Animated Short Film is Feast, which came attached to cinema prints of Big Hero 6 (and will thus be the one most people know). It has still competition, but as something visually new for Disney, don't be surprised if it wins. With HBO behind it, the surest bet for Documentary Short is Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, whose self-explanatory topic fits Oscar's common wants. Rounding off the pack with Live Action Short will probably be The Phone Call, which boasts slick production values and an incredible performance from Sally Hawkins.