The 97th annual Oscar awards will be handed out Sunday night in Los Angeles. There was talk of the awards not being held after the area suffered such devastating losses in wildfires but here we are. It is a topsy turvy world we're living in and the Oscars are no different.
There are really no clear winners. (Not that there ever really are). But sometimes it's easy to see who'll lead the pack. Not this time. So, as Margo Channing said in the 1950 Oscar winning film "All About Eve," "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night," here are my Oscar predictions for the top prizes.
Mikey Madison as Ani in a scene from "Anora". (Photo courtesy of NEON)
Best Picture
"Anora"
"The Brutalist"
"A Complete Unknown"
"Conclave"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Emilia Pérez"
"The Substance"
"Wicked"
"I’m Still Here"
"Nickel Boys"
While there are predictions for Sean Baker's "Anora," an indie-esque film and the story of a Russian oligarch's son who falls in love with a stripper, to take home Gold, it may just be too far out for the Academy. Because of the interest in the Pope's fragile health, I'd like to pick "Conclave" for this one but I'm going out on a limb. The non-conventional ending on this "Who Will Be The Next Pope?" story may be what keeps it away from Oscar glory.
The cast of "Conclave" includes heavy hitters like Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. Fiennes and Rossellini are up for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress. In order not to offend the Vatican, the Academy may go with "Anora," although there are some tightrope walks with that one, too, namely strippers and oligarchs.
Best Director
Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez"
Sean Baker, "Anora"
Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist"
Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"
James Mangold, "A Complete Unknown"
The world premiere of "The Brutalist" at the Venice Film Festival was met with standing ovations and nabbed a Best Director award for Brady Corbet. His story of chasing the American Dream clocks in at 215 minutes. Corbet's achievement is akin to Francis Ford Coppola or Orson Welles, and he deserves the accolades for this stunning epic.
Adrien Brody in "The Brutalist." (Photo courtesy of A24)
Best Actor
Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"
Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"
Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"
Adrien Brody won an Oscar 22 years ago for his star turn in "The Pianist" and he could take home Oscar again. In "The Brutalist," Brody plays a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor who emigrates to the New York City. The film is set in the post-World War II era as architect Lazslo Toth struggles with the personal and professional challenges of trying to make a name for himself. The wild card here could be Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown." If Chalamet wins, he'll break Brody's record as the youngest Best Actor Oscar winner in history at 29 years old.
Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle in a scene from "The Substance." (Photo courtesy of MUBI).
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"
Karla Sofía Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"
Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Demi Moore, "The Substance"
Fernanda Torres, "I’m Still Here"
Finally, it will be Demi Moore's year. Imagine she's never received an Oscar in her 40-year career? In this comeback role, Moore shows significant depth in Coralie Fargeat's over the top "The Substance" as a fading TV fitness instructor grappling with aging and self-doubt. Her performance has earned her both a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Kiernan Culkin and Jessie Eisenberg in "A Real Pain." (Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)
Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov, "Anora"
Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"
Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"
Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"
Macaulay Culkin's two years younger brother, Kieran, 42, is coasting easy for a Best Supporting Actor win for his role in Jessie Eisenberg's "A Real Pain." While Eisenberg as David is the lead of the film, it's really Benji's (Culkin) movie. Two cousins take a tour through Poland to honor their late grandmother. Charming, yet nerve grating Benji has some skeletons in his closet and Culkin is able to mine some serious depths in the character portrayal.
Culkin won an Emmy for his role in HBO's "Succession" as Roman Roy, the series where he really showed off his acting chops. If he wins for "A Real Pain," he'll become the second Best Supporting Actor winner who isn't in a nominated Best Picture film. The first belongs to Christopher Plummer who won for"Beginners" in 2012.
Zoe Saldana as Rita Moro Castro in a scene from "Emilia Perez." (Photo courtesy of Shanna Besson/Page 114 Why Not Productions Pathe Films France 2 Cinema)
Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown"
Ariana Grande, "Wicked"
Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"
Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"
Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"
Amidst the swirl of controversy begun by "Emilia Pérez's" lead actress with bigoted statements on social that surfaced creating tension during awards season for Jacques Audiard’s musical drama, which in the beginning of the season was going to put Netflix on the Oscars' map, it's Zoe Saldaña that will get this film it's deserved statute.It will be her first Oscar. Saldaña stars as a lawyer who is approached by cartel kingpin Juan "Manitas" Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón) to help him change his life: He wants her help faking his death to have a sex change and begin a new life in a body he's always wanted as a woman.
She's another supporting character, like Culkin's character, that's really at the center of the film. The Passaic, N.J., known most for her work in science fiction film franchises, "Avatar" and Marvel's "Avengers" proves she doesn't need CGI to go big on screen.
Michelle F. Solomon is a member of the Florida Film Critics Circle.
The 97th Oscar Awards are on ABC, local on WPLG-TV, Ch. 10 at 7 p.m., Sunday, March 2.
