Everything Everywhere has led to chaos and doubt - My "Final" Oscar Predictions

These are my final predictions until I decide to make dumb changes last minute in the next few days…

Final Oscar voting for the upcoming 95th ceremony has officially ended! But, alas, in the last couple of hours of voting, an upheaval of discourse was occurring on #FilmTwitter between the Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh fans (I will not go into it here; just Google it), but I wanted to mention it since it clearly shows how we are all, collectively, losing our minds in this extended season. My plea: Oscars should be in February, PLEASE!

Next Sunday, we enter the Oscars with Everything Everywhere All At Once, leading with 11 nominations and the most significant industry/guild winner since Argo (2012). It goes into the ceremony with a record-shattering streak at the Screen Actors Guild and the Independent Spirit Awards and wins in the following guilds: PGA, DGA, SAG, WGA, CDG, ADG, and ACE. Unless something unprecedented happens, we expect EEAAO to win Picture on Sunday. However, the question is, how many Oscars will it win by the night’s end?

This year’s exciting thing is that many of these races, including some of the top important ones, are in flux, and no one knows who is winning. Some of these categories are even in three-way competitive races for the win, and some of the guilds and other awards did nothing to clear the air. Every year, I struggle between my favorite/my heart picks vs. what I know I should pick. Anyway, here are my final, for now, predictions for the 95th Oscars:

Best Picture:

Nothing much to say. Unless something completely unexpected happens, my pick for best picture is:

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Director:

Just like best picture, nothing much to say. My pick is:

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (The Daniels) for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actress:

This is one of the year’s closest races, probably in a very long time. I know that statistically, I should be going with Cate Blanchett for TÀR (who I think is still the frontrunner), and she delivers a tour de force performance and one of her personal bests. However, I have been on the Michelle Yeoh train since I saw the film, so I will not be getting off it so late in the game. It is ride-or-die time with Yeoh. So, my pick is:

Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actor:

Another race driving many people crazy. This is one of the categories in that we may have a three-way race between Austin Butler for Elvis, Brendan Fraser for The Whale, and Colin Farell for The Banshees of Inisherin (I still think he has a shot). SAG gave us what I think was a bit of an upset because that guild, I thought, would be very conducive to Butler winning, but Fraser pulled it off. I know Fraser’s performance is divisive (on Film Twitter), but everyone I know who has seen the movie loves him in it, and that is the performance that makes you cry. Plus, the narrative for Fraser is a very good one. My pick is:

Brendan Fraser for The Whale

Best Supporting Actress:

The heartburn of the season. This race is insane, and I think four out of the five; sorry, Hong Chau, I love you, but this may not be your year, have a legitimate chance of winning. With different winners at the Golden Globes, SAG, and BAFTA, we are at the point of just choosing your favorite or throwing darts at a board. We have legacy narratives, best-picture nominees, and great speeches, so what do we do? I have no clue, but I will go out on a limb with my choice. My pick is:

Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everything All at Once

Best Supporting Actor:

Not much to say except get the tissues ready for what will most likely be one of the best speeches ever given on the Oscars stage. My pick is:

Ke Huy Quan for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Adapted Screenplay:

I think this category is more competitive than people think. I would say it’s a three-horse race between Women Talking, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Living. My pick is:

Women Talking

Best Original Screenplay:

This is not a done deal, but I am going with the most creative outside-of-the-box movie. My pick is:

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Cinematography:

The TRUE winner of this category was not even nominated: Top Gun: Maverick. This was THE shocker of nomination morning, but the Oscars will do what the Oscars will do. My pick is:

All Quiet on the Western Front

Best Costume Design:

This is a category that I would not be angry about if any of the five ended up winning. I think they are all worthy and have fantastic costume designs. This is one of the categories I am looking at for a possible EEAAO sweep. If it ends up upsetting here early in the evening, it will have a HUGE night. My pick is:

Elvis

Best Film Editing:

It has won every precursor, so there is nothing much to say. My pick is:

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

A category that has recently gone hand in hand with an acting win. This is a category I will be keeping an eye out for early in the evening. If one of the two frontrunners wins (Elvis or The Whale), they will most likely win Best Actor. My pick is:

The Whale

Best Production Design:

I am not a fan of Babylon, but damn, the production design in that film is outstanding. I do think it does have competition with Elvis in the hunt. It is probably a flip-the-coin choice. My pick is:

Babylon

Best Score:

This is another category I am watching for a possible upset and/or sweep. We have John Williams, a legend who has over 50 Oscar nominations and has not won in almost 30 years. Babylon has the MOST and probably most memorable of all the scores. All Quiet on the Western Front has won a few score awards, so I think this is close. Also, if EEAAO is sweeping, keep an eye out for them to upset in this category. My pick is:

Babylon