Things have changed in the Oscar race haven’t they? This is what tends to happen as contenders start announcing dates and movies get shuffled. Let’s take a gander at some new Oscar analysis shall we?

–Selma has officially joined the Oscar race. I am surprised that this film, which is just finishing shooting this week I believe, is trying to make a foray into the Oscar hunt. Not that it probably won’t have the stuff (its a biopic, directed by someone everyone knows, starring every Black actor in Hollywood and Broadway, and is a period piece) but we’ve seen what happens to the Oscar contenders these days when they get released late (hint: they don’t tend to win). This movie is certainly worth placing in many of the races.

-I thought that the biggest issue Into the Woods would face in its march to Oscar would be the category fraud but lawd did June prove me wrong. Sondheim’s wishy washy comments about what content was going to be left in the film has me worried. Not that I don’t believe his final statements on the matter but why would he say crucial story lines were cut only to back track?

-Do you believe Birdman will be one shot? I have a feeling they’re gonna maybe try and pull a Gravity (i.e. extended sequences). Now in terms of Oscar prospects this can go several ways. At the moment I’m thinking the Academy will embrace it, they have gone a bit “weird” lately.

-Speaking of weird, the director’s race, at this moment in time, looks like it can be any kind of way, but that the auteurs will win out.

Best Picture

  1. Foxcatcher
  2. Unbroken
  3. Interstellar
  4. Gone Girl
  5. Fury
  6. Boyhood
  7. Birdman
  8. Mr. Turner
  9. Selma

Dropped: Into the Woods

Best Director

  1. Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
  2. Angelina Jolie, Unbroken
  3. David Fincher, Gone Girl
  4. Christopher Nolan, Interstellar
  5. Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, Birdman

Dropped: Jean-Marc Valee, Wild

Best Actor

  1. Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
  2. Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner
  3. Michael Keaton, Birdman
  4. Brad Pitt, Fury
  5. David Oyelowo, Selma

Dropped: Jeremy Renner, Kill the Messenger

Best Actress

  1. Amy Adams, Big Eyes
  2. Hilary Swank, The Homesman
  3. Michelle Williams, Suite française
  4. Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
  5. Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Supporting Actress

  1. Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
  2. Anna Kendrick, Into the Woods
  3. Rosemund Pike, Gone Girl
  4. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
  5. Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year

Best Supporting Actor

  1. Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
  2. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
  3. Tom Wilkinson, Selma
  4. Logan Lerman, Fury
  5. Takamasa Ishihara, Unbroken

Dropped: Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel,

Best Original Screenplay

  1. Mr. Turner
  2. Interstellar
  3. Boyhood
  4. Birdman
  5. Selma

Dropped: Big Eyes

Best Adapted Screenplay

  1. Foxcatcher
  2. Unbroken
  3. Gone Girl
  4. Inherent Vice
  5. Wild

Dropped: Kill the Messenger, Suite française

Best Animated Feature

  1. The Lego Movie
  2. The Boxtrolls
  3. How to Train Your Dragon 2
  4. Big Hero 6
  5. The Book of Life

Film Editing

  1. Interstellar
  2. Unbroken
  3. Foxcatcher
  4. Fury
  5. Gone Girl

Production Design

  1. Into the Woods
  2. Interstellar
  3. Unbroken
  4. Fury
  5. The Grand Budapest Hotel

Dropped: Maleficent

Cinematography

  1. Unbroken
  2. Interstellar
  3. Inherent Vice
  4. Foxcatcher
  5. Fury

Costume Design

  1. Into the Woods
  2. Mr. Turner
  3. Maleficent
  4. Suite française
  5. Selma

Dropped: Exodus: Gods and Kings

Makeup and Hairstyling

  1. Foxcatcher
  2. Into the Woods
  3. Unbroken

Visual Effects

  1. Interstellar
  2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  3. Godzilla
  4. Marvel’s The Guardians of the Galaxy
  5. Edge of Tomorrow

Dropped: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Sound Editing

  1. Interstellar
  2. Godzilla
  3. Into the Woods
  4. Fury
  5. Unbroken

Sound Mixing

  1. Interstellar
  2. Into the Woods
  3. Fury
  4. Godzilla
  5. Unbroken

Original Score

  1. Unbroken
  2. Interstellar
  3. Big Eyes
  4. Fury
  5. Gone Girl