Will ‘Roma’ Rule? Let’s Predict all the 2019 Oscar Winners!

What are we going to do about the Oscars? In the past few years, the granddaddy of all award shows has weathered unthinkably embarrassing fiascos, from #Oscarssowhite to Envelope-Gate. (Team La La Land forever!) The events leading up to the 91^st edition has been nothing short of a public relations disaster. Let’s recap, shall we? The now-jettisoned Most Popular Oscar category to the ouster of would-be host Kevin Hart. The announcement that four categories/winners would be announced during commercial breaks. So what are we going to do about the Oscars? Devour every glorious moment, of course — and hope our favorites are golden. Here’s my annual forecast for all 24 categories, keeping in mind that my No. 1 2019 Oscars prediction is that we’ll allllll have something to talk about on Monday morning. Happy watching!

 

Best Picture

Black Panther

BlackKklansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Roma

A Star is Born

Vice

Will Win: Roma

Spoiler Alert: Black Panther

This year, the biggest category is the trickiest to predict. All signs point to Alfonso Cuaron’s poignant love letter to his 1970s Mexican upbringing. Heck, if you throw a dart at a collage of 1000 critical reviews of the Netflix drama, chances are high that it would land on the word “masterpiece.” Rewarding it with the ultimate honor would also be a triumphant message in these politically divisive times. But. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Academy voters instead chose to reward the gazillion-grossing, SAG-winning, unofficial Most Popular Black Panther, despite Ryan Coogler’s Best Director snub. Other factors to consider: Green Book won the Producers Guild Award; Bohemian Rhapsody won the big Golden Globe; and A Star Is Born won the hearts of many, many fans.

 

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

Glenn Close, The Wife

Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Will Win: Glenn Close

Spoiler Alert: Olivia Colman

After seven nominations, Glenn Close is not going to be ignored. And she deserves it just for the scene alone in which her character puffs on a cigarette in a Stockholm hotel restaurant and artfully dodges Christian Slater’s nosy reporter questions. PSA:The Wifemakes for a great airplane movie. Be sure to watch if you haven’t already. Her Close-est competitor is Olivia Colman, who’d be a shoo-in for her scene-chewing portrayal of Queen Anne had she competed in the Best Supporting Actress category. Gaga will be the one Best Actress nominee in the room who gets the Best Original Song category.

 

Best Actor

Christian Bale, Vice

Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born

Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

Will Win: Rami Malek

Spoiler Alert: Christian Bale

Even the people that hate Bohemian Rhapsody with a fervent vigor can begrudgingly admit that Rami Malek’s confident take on Queen front man Freddie Mercury mesmerizes. The Golden Globe and SAG winner is a champion, indeed. The Christian Bale transformation as former vice president Dick Cheney astounds as well, but more because it still seems impossible to believe that the dashing, guy with that thick Welsh accent working the awards circuit is the same overweight, balding American bureaucrat on the screen. The role is a bit more one-note, though.

 

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, Vice

Marina de Tavira, Roma

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Emma Stone, The Favourite

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Will Win: Regina King

Spoiler Alert: Marina de Tavira

Very soon in the near future, Amy Adams will walk to the podium and grab that Oscar. But not this year. (Emily Blunt’s surprise win at the SAGs sealed her fate.) The smart money is on Regina King, an Emmy-winning veteran actress — she was a smart-aleck teen on the NBC sitcom 227 a full decade before Jerry Maguire! — who brings passion and heart to the role of a protective mother in the drama. The only snag is that Beale Street was so little-seen that she didn’t even get a SAG nomination. That’s why I could also envision de Tavira — also playing a strong-willed mother — riding a Romatidal wave all the way to victory.

 

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Adam Driver, BlackKlansman

Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Sam Rockwell, Vice

Will Win: Mahershala Ali

Spoiler Alert: Sam Elliott

Green Book has been radioactive this awards season, with a new controversy arising seemingly every week surrounding this true tale of the friendship between white club bouncer Tony Lip and black musician Don Shirley circa 1962. But Mahershala Ali has been immune to the drama, collecting several trophies to add to the hardware he received just two years ago for Moonlight.As well he should: His complex, fully nuanced performance is the soul of the movie. Just make a note that Sam Elliott is a beloved actor’s actor who’s been doing solid work for 40-plus years.

 

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

Spike Lee, BlackKklansman

Adam McKay, Vice

Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War

Will Win: Alfonso Cuaron

Spoiler Alert: Spike Lee

This is a sure thing for Alfonso Cuaron, who’s burned serious calories over the past few months walking from his seat in the audience to the stage and holding up all his trophies. His black-and-white film is visually beautiful and will earn him his second Best Director nod in the past five years. (Amazingly, he and his friends Alejandro Inarritu and Guillermo del Toro will have won five out of the past six Best Director awards.) That means the legendary Spike Lee — amazingly, a first-time nominee in the category — will have to applaud from afar.

 

Best of the Rest

Original Screenplay — The Favourite

Best Adapted Screenplay — BlackKklansman

Best Cinematography — Roma

Best Costume Design — The Favourite

Best Film Editing — BlackKklansman

Best Makeup & Hairstyling — Vice

Best Production Design — The Favourite

Best Score — If Beale Street Could Talk

Best Song — “Shallow” (duh)

Best Sound Editing — First Man

Best Sound Mixing — First Man

Best Visual Effects — Avengers: Infinity War

Best Animated Feature — Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse

Best Documentary Feature — RBG

Best Foreign Language Film — Roma

Best Animated Short — Bao

Best Documentary Short — Black Sheep

Best Live Action Short — Marguerite

 

The 91^stAnnual Academy Awards will air Sunday, February 24 at 8 PM on ABC