IAR Oscar Expert Brett Gursky’s Picks:
BEST PICTURE
Front-Runners:
American Sniper
Boyhood
Birdman
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
St. Vincent
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Whiplash
In The Mix:
A Most Violent Year, Cake, Chef, Gone Girl, Into the Woods, Interstellar, Nightcrawler, Pride, Snowpiercer, Wild
BEST DIRECTOR
Front-Runners:
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Ava DuVernay, Selma
Clint Eastwood, American Sniper
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Angelina Jolie, Unbroken
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Christopher Nolan, Interstellar
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
In The Mix:
J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year), Jon Favreau (Chef), Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent), James Marsh (The Theory of Everything), Rob Marshall (Into the Woods), Jean-Marc Vallee (Wild)
BEST ACTOR
Front-Runners:
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Jack O’Connell, Unbroken
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Channing Tatum, Foxcatcher
In The Mix:
Ben Affleck (Gone Girl), Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood), James Corden (Into the Woods), Kevin Costner (Black or White), Robert Downey Jr. (The Judge), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar), Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice), Brad Pitt (Fury), Miles Teller (Whiplash)
BEST ACTRESS
Front-Runners:
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
In The Mix:
Amy Adams (Big Eyes), Emily Blunt (Into the Woods), Jessica Chastain (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Helen Mirren (The Hundred-Foot Journey), Jenny Slate (Obvious Child), Hilary Swank (The Homesman), Shailene Woodley (The Fault In Our Stars)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Front-Runners:
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
In The Mix:
Alec Baldwin (Still Alice), Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice), Charlie Cox (The Theory of Everything), Logan Lerman (Fury), Miyavi (Unbroken), Chris Pine (Into the Woods), Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes), Tom Wilkinson (Selma)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Front-Runners:
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Naomi Watts, St. Vincent
In The Mix:
Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Carrie Coon (Gone Girl), Carmen Ejogo (Selma), Anna Kendrick (Into the Woods), Rene Russo (Nightcrawler), Octavia Spencer (Black or White), Kristen Stewart (Still Alice), Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer), Marisa Tomei (Love Is Strange)
IAR Managing Editor Jami Philbrick’s Picks:
BEST PICTURE
Front-Runners:
Boyhood
Birdman
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Gone Girl
Interstellar
In The Mix:
Nightcrawler, Unbroken, Inherent Vice, American Sniper, A Most Violent Year, Into the Woods, Snowpiercer, Wild, Mr. Turner, The LEGO Movie
BEST DIRECTOR
Front-Runners:
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay, Selma
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Christopher Nolan, Interstellar
In The Mix:
Damien Chazelle, (Whiplash), David Fincher, (Gone Girl), Morten Tyldum, (The Imitation Game), Angelina Jolie, (Unbroken), Clint Eastwood, (American Sniper), Bennett Miller, (Foxcatcher), J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year), James Marsh (The Theory of Everything), Rob Marshall (Into the Woods), Jean-Marc Vallee (Wild), Mike Leigh (Mr. Turner), Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice)
BEST ACTOR
Front-Runners:
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
In The Mix:
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Jeremy Renner (Kill the Messenger) Bill Murray (St. Vincent), Jack O’Connell (Unbroken), Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice), Miles Teller (Whiplash), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner)
BEST ACTRESS
Front-Runners:
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
In The Mix:
Amy Adams (Big Eyes), Emily Blunt (Into the Woods), Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Helen Mirren (The Hundred-Foot Journey), Jenny Slate (Obvious Child), Hilary Swank (The Homesman), Shailene Woodley (The Fault In Our Stars), Angelina Jolie (Maleficent)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Front-Runners:
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
In The Mix:
Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice), Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes), Tom Wilkinson (Selma), Tim Roth (Selma), John Goodman (The Gambler)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Front-Runners:
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Naomi Watts, St. Vincent
In The Mix:
Laura Dern, (Wild), Meryl Streep, (Into the Woods), Carrie Coon (Gone Girl), Carmen Ejogo (Selma), Rene Russo (Nightcrawler), Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice)
The Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 15th, 2015.
The 87th Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday, February 22nd, 2015 during a ceremony presided over by Neil Patrick Harris.
