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.  Take our Oscar predictions, for example.

Nothing symbolizes Hollywood more than the Oscars, which is why – like the previous five years – yours truly will go head-to-head against THE WIFE in hopes to achieve gender domination for one evening.  Here’s hoping this man reels in a sixth consecutive Oscar victory. 

While very last minute, we have emerged from the snow and are keeping to tradition by posting our award predictions for the 2015 Oscars. 

Believe it or not, THE WIFE developed a competitive edge and demanded that this happen.

Feel free to chime in with your own picks, thoughts and opinions.

87th Annual Academy Awards: 2015 Oscar Predictions

Music (Original Song)

The Nominees Are:

  • The Lego Movie (“Everything Is Awesome” Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson)
  • Selma (“Glory” Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn)
  • Beyond The Lights (“Grateful” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren)
  • Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me (“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
  • Begin Again (“Lost Stars” – Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

KP’s Prediction: The Lego Movie (“Everything Is Awesome” Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson)

The Wife’s Prediction: Selma (“Glory” Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn)

KP’s Take: “Grateful” sounds a lot like your typical winner in this category, but the film isn’t carrying much weight.  That instead comes from the powerful story of Selma and the popularity of The Lego Movie.  Something tells me the popular kid-friendly fill will “stack” above the rest.

Music (Original Score)

The Nominees Are:

  • The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat)
  • The Imitation Game (Alexandre Desplat)
  • Insterstellar (Hans Zimmer)
  • Mr. Turner (Gary Yershon)
  • The Theory of Everything (Johann Johannsson)

KP’s Prediction: The Imitation Game (Alexandre Desplat)

The Wife’s Prediction: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat)

KP’s Take: Desplat seems to get featured here every year and this time, he owns 40% of the nominees.  A score needs to help tell a story and provide a mood.  For me, that drives the category towards The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything.  I’ll take Desplat, for the win.

Directing

The Nominees Are:

  • Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Alejandro G. Inarritu)
  • Boyhood (Richard Linklater)
  • Foxcatcher (Bennett Miller)
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)
  • The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum)

KP’s Prediction: Boyhood (Richard Linklater)

The Wife’s Prediction: Boyhood (Richard Linklater)

KP’s Take: A number of critics see Inarritu walking away with the win for Birdman, but there’s something about a guy who not only manages to piece together a film over a 12-year span, but also finds a way to maintain a project of that magnitude.  That’s why I like Linklater for Boyhood.

Costume Design

oscars statue

TWHS makes its Oscar predictions

The Nominees Are:

  • The Grand Budapest Hotel (Milena Canonero)
  • Inherent Vice (Mark Bridges)
  • Into the Woods (Colleen Atwood)
  • Maleficent (Anna B. Sheppard)
  • Mr. Turner (Jacqueline Durran)

KP’s Prediction: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Milena Canonero)

The Wife’s Prediction: Maleficent (Anna B. Sheppard)

KP’s Take: The unique period pieces frequently win in this category, and as always, there are a few options.  The Grand Budapest Hotel fits the mold, from what I saw in the trailer.  Yes, while I’m a movie buff, I have yet to see very many of these films.

Cinematography

The Nominees Are:

  • Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Emmanuel Lubezki)
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel (Robert Yeoman)
  • Ida (Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski)
  • Mr. Turner (Dick Pope)
  • Unbroken (Roger Deakins)

KP’s Prediction: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Robert Yeoman)

The Wife’s Prediction: Unbroken (Roger Deakins)

KP’s Take: I look to a film that comes close to the vibe of previous winners Gravity and Life of Pi.  The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman jump to the forefront and I think Robert Yeoman heads to the podium tonight.

Animated Feature Film

The Nominees Are:

  • Big Hero 6 (Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli)
  • The Boxtrolls (Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight)
  • How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold)
  • Song of the Sea (Tomm Moore and Paul Young)
  • The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura)

KP’s Prediction: Big Hero 6 (Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli)

The Wife’s Prediction: The Boxtrolls (Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight)

KP’s Take: No Pixar film?  What’s a guy to do?  Head towards Disney, and the movie that has made some positive noise throughout the year, that being Big Hero 6.

Actress in a Supporting Role

The Nominees Are:

  • Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
  • Laura Dern (Wild)
  • Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
  • Emma Stone (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))
  • Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

KP’s Prediction: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

The Wife’s Prediction: Laura Dern (Wild)

KP’s Take: This looks like a pretty tight category, with no clear-cut favorite.  But, that pushes me to the actress that in order to get here, had to work more than a decade on her project.  Arquette takes it for her performance in Boyhood.

Actor in a Supporting Role

The Nominees Are:

  • Robert Duvall (The Judge)
  • Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
  • Edward Norton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))
  • Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
  • J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

KP’s Prediction: J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

The Wife’s Prediction: Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

KP’s Take: When I first saw that J.K. Simmons was nominated, I could only think of his silly performances in Spiderman and for Farmers Insurance.  Then I watched the trailer for Whiplash, which instantly brought out the brilliant, ruthless and relentless character that he played.  That alone sold me.

Actress in a Leading Role

The Nominees Are:

  • Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
  • Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
  • Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
  • Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
  • Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

KP’s Prediction: Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

The Wife’s Prediction: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

KP’s Take: Julianne Moore is a heavy favorite, playing a character with early-onset Alzheimer’s.  I honestly had no idea that she played such a character, and knew very little about Still Alice.  THE WIFE made the pick and I’ll think she’ll take this category.  I’m sticking with a major dark horse, going with Reese Witherspoon, and her strong performance in Wild.

Actor in a Leading Role

The Nominees Are:

  • Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
  • Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
  • Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
  • Michael Keaton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))
  • Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

KP’s Prediction: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

The Wife’s Prediction: Michael Keaton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

KP’s Take: Most critics think the category will come down to Redmayne and Keaton, which would be a shame for Bradley Cooper, who could have taken this during many other years.  Still, Redmayne is brilliant in his portrayal of Stephen Hawking.

Best Picture

The Nominees Are:

  • American Sniper (Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan)
  • Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Alejandro G. Inarritu, John Leisher and James W. Skotchdopole)
  • Boyhood (Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland)
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson)
  • The Imitation Game  (Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman)
  • Selma (Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner)
  • The Theory of Everything (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten)
  • Whiplash (Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster)

KP’s Prediction: Boyhood (Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland)

The Wife’s Prediction: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

KP’s Take: There’s a popular phrase out there… “Less is more”.  For Boyhood, it’s a bit of a hybrid of that idea.  “Less” being a simple idea, but “more” being the amount of time taken to piece it together.  I find it incredible that in this day of social media, a film could be built over twelve years, with no one getting the word out – at least, not taking it viral.  That’s especially surprising for a film so heavily nominated.  Yet, you take a simple storyline, build it up and the cast of crew of Boyhood deserve to bring home best picture for such a creative idea.

The Wife’s Take: She likes Birdman because it won at the SAG awards.  Yet, she’s openly admitted that she has no interest in seeing it.  I, on the other hand, am very intrigued.  Maybe on Redbox someday.

Enjoy the Oscars!

Past predictions for the Oscars at The Wife Hates Sports