Oscars 2019: Predictions for the 91st Academy Awards

Is it seriously time for Hollywood to take center stage again? Yes, Oscars 2019 is here. Another year has passed us by and it is time for the 91^st Academy Awards. That also means it’s time for our annual Oscar predictions here at The Wife Hates Sports.

This is the moment when the wife puts on a fancy gown and we make a seven-course meal.

Scratch that.

We instead put on whatever comfy sweatpants we can find and plop our behinds on the couch, ready to watch glamorous people in fancy gowns give a speech while holding a gold statue.

Either way, regular visitors to The Wife Hates Sports will know that this is a sports site with a tendency to dabble in the entertainment world from time to time.

And nothing symbolizes Hollywood (and entertainment) more than the Oscars, which is why yours truly will go head-to-head against THE WIFE in hopes to achieve bragging rights for one evening. That and maybe a friendly bet surrounding dishwashing or grocery runs. I honestly think I’ve won eight straight years and to this day, have yet to see any of the bets honored.

I might be getting robbed like Lady Gaga at the Golden Globes.

While this year’s Oscars may yield some interesting prop bets, TWHS focuses solely on predicting the major awards. Feel free to chime in with your own picks, thoughts and opinions. We also accept (and encourage) movie recommendations.

91^st Annual Academy Awards: 2019 Oscar Predictions

Music (Original Song)

The Nominees Are:

“All the Stars” from Black Panther (Music by Kendrick Lamar, Mark “Sounwave” Spears and Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith; Lyric by Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith)
“I’ll Fight” from RBG (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren)
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns (Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyric by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman)
“Shallow” from A Star Is Born (Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt)
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Music and Lyric by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings)

KP’s Prediction: “Shallow” from A Star Is Born (Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt)

The Wife’s Prediction: “Shallow” from A Star Is Born (Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt)

KP’s Take: A Star Is Born has to reel in some Oscars and I think it may be shut out of some of the major awards. Therefore, “Shallow” is a great pick, a great song and a great performance.

Music (Original Score)

The Nominees Are:

Black Panther (Ludwig Goransson)
BlacKkKlansman (Terence Blanchard)
If Beale Street Could Talk (Nicholas Britell)
Isle of Dogs (Alexandre Desplat)
Mary Poppins Returns (Marc Shaiman)

KP’s Prediction: Black Panther (Ludwig Goransson)

The Wife’s Prediction: Isle of Dogs (Alexandre Desplat)

KP’s Take: I haven’t seen every movie, so per my usual preparation, I listened to snippets from each of the nominated scores on YouTube. Like The Shape of Water did last year, Desplat’s score for Isle of Dogs really spoke to me. It’s cool and tells its own story. With that said, I have to say the same for Black Panther. Therefore, I’m torn. Many prognosticators have If Beale Street Could Talk taking the Oscar and I just don’t see it. I originally wrote down Isle of Dogs here, but am making a last minute change. Here’s hoping I don’t pay for that, because THE WIFE has Isle of Dogs. Panther beats dog.

Directing

The Nominees Are:

BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)
Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski)
The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos)
Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)
Vice (Adam McKay)

KP’s Prediction: Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)

The Wife’s Prediction: Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)

KP’s Take: Yorgos and Pawel are certainly not household names here. In recent years, we are used to seeing Spike Lee on the sideline at Knicks games. Adam McKay’s resume includes Anchorman 2 and The Other Guys, so this is not the norm for him either. That leaves Alfonso Cuarón, who has been on a bit of a directing hot streak in recent years. He also won the Golden Globe for Roma and that’s another reason why he’s my pick here.

Costume Design

The Nominees Are:

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Mary Zophres)
Black Panther (Ruth Carter)
The Favourite (Sandy Powell)
Mary Poppins Returns (Sandy Powell)
Mary Queen of Scots (Alexandra Byrne)

KP’s Prediction: The Favourite (Sandy Powell)

The Wife’s Prediction: The Favourite (Sandy Powell)

KP’s Take: The unique period pieces almost always win in this category. There are numerous options to choose from. Black Panther may be a dark horse here, but I’m sticking with a period piece and going with Sandy Powell for The Favourite.

Cinematography

The Nominees Are:

Cold War (Łukasz Żal)
The Favourite (Robbie Ryan)
Never Look Away (Caleb Deschanel)
Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)
A Star Is Born (Matthew Libatique)

KP’s Prediction: Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)

The Wife’s Prediction: Never Look Away (Caleb Deschanel)

KP’s Take: You don’t even need to see Roma to really appreciate the cinematography from Alfonso Cuarón. Seriously, just watch the trailer and you’ll know this is Oscar-worthy.

Animated Feature Film

The Nominees Are:

Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle)
Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson)
Mirai (Mamoru Hosoda and Yuichiro Saito)
Ralph Breaks the Internet (Rich Moore, Phil Johnston and Clark Spencer)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller)

KP’s Prediction: Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle)

The Wife’s Prediction: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller)

KP’s Take: Every time a Pixar film is in the mix, that’s my choice. Pixar films almost never lose. However, it must be noted that Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse won the Golden Globe, so I wouldn’t exactly place my confidence level at or even near 100%. With that said, I’m sticking with Pixar. Incredibles all the way, baby.

Actress in a Supporting Role

The Nominees Are:

Amy Adams (Vice)
Marina de Tavira (Roma)
Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Emma Stone (The Favourite)
Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)

KP’s Prediction: Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)

The Wife’s Prediction: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)

KP’s Take: Many list Regina King as the favorite, so one could easily argue that THE WIFE has the edge in this category. Rachel Weisz typically does well at the Oscars. Take a gander at her performance in The Favourite, even if just via the trailer. She and Emma Stone are fantastic. You almost wonder if the two may steal votes away from each other. I honestly don’t know how that typically works. Either way, I’m taking Weisz as a dark horse supporting winner.

Actor in a Supporting Role

The Nominees Are:

Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman)
Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born)
Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Sam Rockwell (Vice)

KP’s Prediction: Mahershala Ali (Green Book)

The Wife’s Prediction: Mahershala Ali (Green Book)

KP’s Take: With powerful subject matter and an even more powerful performance, I give the edge to Mahershala Ali for his role in Green Book. If you don’t buy it and have yet to see the movie, just watch the trailer. There’s one scene in particular. See him scream out in emotional pain and try not to picture him on stage giving an Oscar-winning speech.

Actress in a Leading Role

The Nominees Are:

Yalitza Aparicio (Roma)
Glenn Close (The Wife)
Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)
Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

KP’s Prediction: Glenn Close (The Wife)

The Wife’s Prediction: Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)

KP’s Take: I feel like THE WIFE should be voting for The Wife no matter what the situation is. Yet, she didn’t, so that’s on her. Glenn Close did win the Golden Globe, but this is a tough category. Many think Lady Gaga was robbed during the previous award shows. Olivia Colman is a strong candidate here, as well. Yet, with all that is going on in the world these days – especially Hollywood – Close’s performance hits home more than the others. That’s why she’ll win. As a side note, I’ll be rooting hard for Melissa McCarthy, but think she’ll fall short. In a “close” race… oh never mind. I apologize for the pun.

Actor in a Leading Role

The Nominees Are:

Christian Bale (Vice)
Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)
Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate)
Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)

KP’s Prediction: Christian Bale (Vice)

The Wife’s Prediction: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)

KP’s Take: Tough call. I would argue this is the toughest one of them all. It likely comes down to Malek, Bale and Cooper. For me, it comes down to Malek and Bale. Each won hardware in previous award shows. It’s not that Cooper doesn’t deserve it. It’s just stiff competition this year. I was ready to write down Rami Malek, who was great and very convincing as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. But my gut keeps pushes me to Christian Bale and his performance in Vice. That and there’s a lot of negativity and controversy spinning around Bryan Singer (director of Bohemian Rhapsody). I can’t help but think that hurts Malek’s vote count. That’s why I’m going with Bale.

Best Picture

The Nominees Are:

Black Panther (Kevin Feige)
BlacKkKlansman (Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Graham King)
The Favourite (Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos)
Green Book (Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga)
Roma (Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón)
A Star Is Born (Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor)
Vice (Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick)

KP’s Prediction: Roma (Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón)

The Wife’s Prediction: Bohemian Rhapsody (Graham King)

KP’s Take: The decisions overall seem tougher this year. I don’t know if that’s because I’m further removed from knowledge around the world of movies these days, or if it really just is a tight race. Maybe you’re reading this and know the answer to that question. I’d love to know.

As for best picture, I really enjoyed Black Panther. A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody deserve praise for entertainment and individual acting performances. I want to see Vice and think it looks like a top-notch dark comedy. In the end, my gut says that Roma wins best picture. It feels like one of those years that an artistic movie wins the biggest hardware. Kind of like the year that The Artist did (and yes, the black and white filming is a big similarity there). Roma is my pick. We shall see if a foreign film steals the night or not.