Final Predictions For The 2017 Academy Awards: ‘La La Land’ Is Gonna Dominate

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“Fire At Sea”
“I Am Not Your Negro”
“Life, Animated”
“O.J.: Made In America”
“13th”

Winner: “O.J.: Made In America”
Should Win: “I Am Not Your Negro”
Upset: “13th”
Ponder: Could there be a surprise here? ‘O.J.‘ has won every possible award this season, and I’ve spoken to Academy members who took the time to watch the entire “film” (cough) over the holiday break. That being said, Ava DuVernay‘s “13th” struck a chord with many and was readily available to watch on Netflix weeks before screeners were ever sent. We’re not saying there will be an unexpected winner here, but we’re not not saying it either.

BEST EDITING

Joe Walker, “Arrival”
Tom Cross, “La La Land”
John Gilbert, “Hacksaw Ridge”
Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders, “Moonlight”
Jake Roberts, “Hell Or High Water”

Winner: “La La Land”
Should Win: “Moonlight”
Upset: “Hacksaw Ridge”
Ponder: We’re not sure it was that intricate an editing job, but Tom Cross is going to take home his second Oscar for his work on “La La Land.” We’d love to see the wonderful Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders give an acceptance speech for their masterful work on “Moonlight.” If there is an upset, however, it will be John Gilbert for his bang-up job on the second half of “Hacksaw Ridge.”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

“Arrival”
“Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them”
“Hail, Caesar!”
“La La Land”
“Passengers”

Winner: “La La Land”
Should Win: “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them”
Upset: “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them” or “Arrival”
Ponder: David Wasco is expected to win this category for “La La Land” thanks to a big night for the movie musical. That being said, either three-time winner Stuart Craig and one-time winner Anna Pinnock could take it for ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ or two-time nominee Patrice Vermette and previous nominee Paul Hotte could win for “Arrival.” Probably smart to keep your money on “La La Land,” though.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Nicholas Britell, “Moonlight”
Hauschka, Dustin O’Halloran, “Lion”
Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land”
Mica Levi, “Jackie”
Thomas Newman, “Passengers”

Winner: “La La Land”
Should Win: “La La Land”
Upset: None
Ponder: Honestly, the brilliant scores by Mica Levi (“Jackie”), Nicholas Britell (“Moonlight”) and Hauschka and Dustin O’Halloran (“Lion”) could easily win in any other year. The problem is that Justin Hurwitz‘s score for “La La Land” is arguably more impressive than the songs in the musical, and even if you don’t prescribe to that opinion, the story behind it — the countless hours and years of refining it — makes it hard not to vote for.

READ MORE: The 30 Best Scores & Soundtracks Of 2016

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” — “La La Land”
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” — “Trolls”
“City Of Stars” — “La La Land”
“How Far I’ll Go” — “Moana”
“The Empty Chair” — “Jim: The James Foley Story”

Winner: “City of Stars”
Should Win: “How Far I’ll Go”
Upset: “How Far I’ll Go” or “Can’t Stop The Feeling”
Ponder: This is where things get very, very interesting. The last time a film with more than one song nomination won this category when there were five nominees (“Slumdog Millionaire“‘s “Jai Ho” had to beat just two other nominees) was in 1995 when “The Lion King“‘s “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” beat its sister song “Circle of Life,” among other nominees. There have been a number of other films with multiple nods that have failed to duplicate that feat in the two decades since, including “Dreamgirls” and “Enchanted.” In this case, if “La La Land’s” “Audition” siphons off just enough votes, either Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s “How Far I’ll Go” or Justin Timberlake‘s “Can’t Stop The Feeling” (the Grammy winner this year in the equivalent category) could sneak through. The Academy’s love for “La La Land” should still get “City Of Stars” higher than the rest.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Lobster”
Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester By The Sea”
Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
Mike Mills, “20th Century Women”
Taylor Sheridan, “Hell Or High Water”

Winner: “Manchester by the Sea”
Should Win: “The Lobster” or “Hell Or High Water”
Upset: “La La Land”
Ponder: We’ve been quite vocal about our feelings about Damien Chazelle’s screenplay, but “La La Land” could sweep so many awards that members simply check it off on this category as well. Still, it’s hard to see Kenneth Lonergan failing to win for “Manchester By The Sea,” especially considering how much praise the screenplay has gotten since it first debuted at Sundance over a year ago.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Eric Heisserer, “Arrival”
August Wilson, “Fences,”
Theodore Melfi, Allison Schroeder, “Hidden Figures,”
Luke Davies, “Lion”
Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, “Moonlight”

Winner: “Moonlight”
Should Win: “Moonlight”
Upset: “Arrival” or “Hidden Figures”
Ponder: Barry Jenkins, who won an insanely competitive Original category at the WGA (it’s complicated), is still expected to win here. However, Eric Heisserer and “Arrival” won this category at the WGA (see previous sentence) and if the Academy wants to give “Hidden Figures” some surprise love, this is where they’d do it.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

“Kubo And The Two Strings”
“Moana”
“The Red Turtle”
“Zootopia”
“My Life As A Zucchini”

Winner: “Zootopia”
Should Win: “Zootopia” or “The Red Turtle”
Upset: “Kubo And The Two Strings”
Ponder: Walt Disney Animated Studios and Pixar simply does not lose this category anymore unless they lose to another Disney or Pixar movie. The name recognition is too strong within the Academy and “Zootopia” has taken almost every possible precursor possible except for BAFTA, where “Finding Dory” likely split the vote. “Kubo And The Two Strings” strung together that transatlantic upset, but taking the Oscar from a Disney blockbuster may simply be too high a mountain to overcome.

READ MORE: The 11 Best Animated Movies Of 2016

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors
Denmark, “Land Of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, director
Germany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, director
Iran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, director
Sweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, director

Winner: “The Salesman”
Should Win: “Toni Erdmann”
Upset: “A Man Called Ove”
Ponder:  This is still very close to call, but we’re sticking with belief that outrage (and attention) over the Muslim Ban will help “The Salesman“ and Asghar Farhadi win. Hearing “A Man Called Ove” or the best of the bunch, “Toni Erdmann,” announced wouldn’t be a true surprise, however.

BEST SOUND EDITING

“Arrival”
“Deepwater Horizon”
“Hacksaw Ridge”
“La La Land”
“Sully”

Winner: “Hacksaw Ridge”
Should Win: “Arrival”
Upset: “La La Land”
Ponder: Honestly, if “La La Land” wins this category — a category that movie musical are rarely, if ever, nominated in (the last nominee was “Aladdin,” and it was animated) — then it could win every single Oscar its up for outside of Best Actor. The safe bet is “Hacksaw Ridge.”