Visitors to The Wife Hates Sports know that this is a sports site with a tendency to dabble in the entertainment world from time to time.

Nothing symbolizes Hollywood more than the Oscars, which is why yours truly will go head-to-head against THE WIFE in hopes to achieve gender domination for one evening. 

That and maybe a nice dinner coupled with a glass or two of chianti.

Just hold the fava beans.

It’s a tradition in our house and here’s hoping this man reels in a 7th consecutive Oscar victory.

Yes, I said “reels” – the puns never end in my world.

While the 2016 Oscars are clouded in a bit of controversy, TWHS will solely focus on the key awards and make the standard predictions that we make every year.

Feel free to chime in with your own picks, thoughts and opinions.  Heck, your prognostication is likely to be better than ours, especially if you have seen most of the movies.

oscars predictions the revenant

KP predicts that The Revenant will have a big night at the 2016 Oscars

2016 Oscars: Predicting the Winners

Music (Original Song)

The Nominees Are:

  • Fifty Shades of Grey (“Earned It” Music and Lyric by The Weeknd, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Quenneville and Stephan Moccio)
  • Racing Extinction (“Manta Ray” Music by J. Ralph; Lyric by Anohni)
  • Youth (“Simple Song #3” Music and Lyric by David Lang)
  • The Hunting Ground (“Til It Happens To You” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
  • Spectre (“Writing’s On The Wall” – Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

KP’s Prediction: The Hunting Ground (“Til It Happens To You” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga

The Wife’s Prediction: The Hunting Ground (“Til It Happens To You” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga

KP’s Take: THE WIFE and I really aren’t all that crazy about any of the nominated songs, though that doesn’t mean there isn’t Oscar material represented here.  For me, I focus on Lady Gaga and how she crushed her performances at both the Super Bowl and the Grammys.  She’s artistic and she’s talented.  That’ll get recognized here, too.  At least, hopefully, because then we’ll get a wild speech to follow.  There’s also an outside chance that she’ll be wearing bacon.

Music (Original Score)

The Nominees Are:

  • Bridge of Spies (Thomas Newman)
  • Carol (Carter Burwell)
  • The Hateful Eight (Ennio Morricone)
  • Sicario (Johann Johannsson)
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens (John Williams)

KP’s Prediction: Sicario (Johann Johannsson)

The Wife’s Prediction: The Hateful Eight (Ennio Morricone)

KP’s Take: Cool, unique and impactful, my ears were immediately tantalized by the score from Sicario and for those reasons, that’s my winner.  That plus Johann Johannsson was nominated last year for The Theory of Everything.  The guy knows how to get the Academy’s attention.

Directing

The Nominees Are:

  • The Big Short (Adam McKay)
  • Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller)
  • The Revenant (Alejandro G. Inarritu)
  • Room (Lenny Abrahamson)
  • Spotlight (Tom McCarthy)

KP’s Prediction: The Revenant (Alejandro G. Inarritu)

The Wife’s Prediction: The Revenant (Alejandro G. Inarritu)

KP’s Take: Inarritu won last year for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and it certainly looks like he’s going to be a regular in the category for years to come.  Despite the other solid performances in this category, this one looks like the closest thing to a no-brainer.

Costume Design

The Nominees Are:

  • Carol (Sandy Powell)
  • Cinderella (Sandy Powell)
  • The Danish Girl (Paco Delgado)
  • Mad Max: Fury Road (Jenny Beavan)
  • The Revenant (Jacqueline West)

KP’s Prediction: The Danish Girl (Paco Delgado)

The Wife’s Prediction: The Revenant (Jacqueline West)

KP’s Take: The unique period pieces almost always win in this category, and as always, there are numerous options to choose from.  The WIFE is going with the frontiersman wardrobe of The Revenant and I’m focusing on The Danish Girl and the one-two punch of the 1920’s era, combined with Eddie Redmayne’s character dressing up as a female dancer.

Cinematography

The Nominees Are:

  • Carol (Ed Lachman)
  • The Hateful Eight (Robert Richardson)
  • Mad Max: Fury Road (John Seale)
  • The Revenant (Emmanuel Lebezki)
  • Sicario (Roger Deakins)

KP’s Prediction: The Revenant (Emmanuel Lebezki)

The Wife’s Prediction: The Revenant (Emmanuel Lebezki)

KP’s Take: The cinematography in Mad Max: Fury Road is impressive and would win most years.  Then you see the trailer alone for The Revenant and forget about any other.

Animated Feature Film

The Nominees Are:

  • Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson and Rosa Tran)
  • Boy and the World (Alê Abreu)
  • Inside Out (Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera)
  • Shaun the Sheep Movie (Mark Burton and Richard Starzak)
  • When Marnie Was There (Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura)

KP’s Prediction: Inside Out (Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera)

The Wife’s Prediction: Inside Out (Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera)

KP’s Take: Pixar films almost never lose.  Decision made – cue the emotions.

Actress in a Supporting Role

The Nominees Are:

  • Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
  • Rooney Mara (Carol)
  • Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
  • Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
  • Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

KP’s Prediction: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

The Wife’s Prediction: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

KP’s Take: It’s wise to vote for a role where an actor has to go through struggles, take on a disability or present a unique voice or accent.  Vikander’s role as a 1920’s painter that eventually discovers her husband wants to live as a woman is the role that jumps to the forefront amongst the other nominees here.  The Danish Girl also has the artistic side that you see from previous Oscar winners.

Actor in a Supporting Role

The Nominees Are:

  • Christian Bale (The Big Short)
  • Tom Hardy (The Revenant)
  • Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
  • Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
  • Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

KP’s Prediction: Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

The Wife’s Prediction: Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

stallone stop or my mom will shoot

The star of Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot might win an Oscar Sunday night.  I repeat…

KP’s Take: I personally want Sly Stallone to win so badly, only because of the typical roles that we are used to seeing him in.  Maybe we all still think he got robbed after not getting Oscar attention for Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.  Yes, that was sarcasm.  Stallone was last nominated for his role in the original Rocky and it would be a cool story to see him win.  The WIFE is going with him, but I can’t ignore the emergence of Tom Hardy as one of the best actors of our time.

Actress in a Leading Role

The Nominees Are:

  • Cate Blanchett (Carol)
  • Brie Larson (Room)
  • Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
  • Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
  • Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

KP’s Prediction: Brie Larson (Room)

The Wife’s Prediction: Brie Larson (Room)

KP’s Take: The sick and twisted years that Brie Larson’s character endured in Room are enough to get Oscar attention.  Adding in the performance and taking all this hatred on while raising a child is the cherry on top.  This category appears to be fairly wide open, but Larson gets my vote.

Actor in a Leading Role

The Nominees Are:

  • Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
  • Matt Damon (The Martian)
  • Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
  • Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
  • Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

KP’s Prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

The Wife’s Prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

KP’s Take: The guy got mauled by a bear in the movie, so we should cut him a break, right?  Oh, and Leo’s performance is phenomenal, too – clearly another gem and truly Oscar-worthy.  It’s DiCaprio’s sixth Academy Award nomination and this time, he’ll finally get his first victory.

Best Picture

The Nominees Are:

oscars statue

TWHS predicts the Oscars

  • The Big Short (Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers)
  • Bridge of Spies (Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers)
  • Brooklyn (Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers)
  • Mad Max: Fury Road (Doug Mitchell and George Miller, Producers)
  • The Martian (Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer and Mark Huffam, Producers)
  • The Revenant (Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon, Producers)
  • Room (Ed Guiney, Producer)
  • Spotlight (Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust, Producers)

KP’s Prediction: The Revenant (Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon, Producers)

The Wife’s Prediction: The Revenant (Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon, Producers)

KP’s Take: The Revenant really packs a punch, combining the genius work of Alejandro G. Inarritu with top-notch acting from Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.  Among the eight films nominated for best picture, The Revenant appears to be the favorite, with Spotlight likely to be the closest competition.  But the WIFE and I clearly think this film is going to be the big winner on Oscar night, reeling in numerous victories – potentially the most we’ve seen since Peter Jackson brought us The Lord of the Rings.  That year, I believe, was the first time we started up this tradition.

Enjoy the Oscars!