This had to be the toughest fake Oscar ballot, I’ve ever done. Some of these categories were so tough I literally yelled in anguish at getting rid of people. I mean there were 15 finalists for Cinematography and 7 in Director, which is crazy. Ex Machina is the leader with 9 nominees (including Picture), but my other favorite films like Spotlight, Magic Mike XXL, and Brooklyn show up. In the acting races, it was an eclectic group, where deep characterizations won out over loud performances. Michael Keaton, Cate Blanchett, Emory Cohen, and Kristen Stewart might comprise one of my favorite acting quartets. Anyways, enough blabbering from me, enjoy my Oscar ballot!

Best Director

  1. Alex Garland, Ex Machina
  2. Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
  3. Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, The Tribe
  4. John Crowley, Brooklyn
  5. Gregory Jacobs, Magic Mike XXL

Best Actor

  1. Michael Keaton, Spotlight
  2. Grigoriy Fesenko, The Tribe
  3. Jason Mitchell, Straight Outta Compton
  4. Michael B. Jordan, Creed
  5. Jacob Tremblay, Room

Best Actress

  1. Cate Blanchett, Carol
  2. Melissa McCarthy, Spy
  3. Soairse Ronan, Brooklyn
  4. Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
  5. Juliette Binoche, Clouds of Sils Maria

Best Supporting Actor

  1. Emory Cohen, Brooklyn
  2. Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Tom at the Farm
  3. Benicio del Toro, Sicario
  4. Jason Statham, Spy
  5. James Marsden, The D Train

Best Supporting Actress

  1. Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria
  2. Jessica Chastain, Crimson Peak
  3. Sonoya Mizuno, Ex Machina
  4. Golshifteh Farahani, About Elly
  5. Raffey Cassidy, Tomorrowland

Original Screenplay

  1. Spotlight
  2. Ex Machina
  3. About Elly
  4. The Tribe
  5. Straight Outta Compton

Adapted Screenplay

  1. Brooklyn
  2. Steve Jobs
  3. Carol
  4. Room
  5. The Walk

Film Editing

  1. Creed
  2. Spotlight
  3. About Elly
  4. Ex Machina
  5. Magic Mike XXL

Cinematography

  1. Sicario
  2. Creed
  3. Carol
  4. Magic Mike XXL
  5. In the Heart of the Sea

Production Design

  1. Crimson Peak
  2. Room
  3. Ex Machina
  4. Mad Max: Fury Road
  5. The Martian

Costume Design

  1. Cinderella
  2. Crimson Peak
  3. Carol
  4. The Martian
  5. Brooklyn

Makeup

  1. The Revenant
  2. Mad Max: Fury Road
  3. Everest
  4. In the Heart of the Sea
  5. Carol

Visual Effects

  1. Ex Machina
  2. The Walk
  3. Mad Max: Fury Road
  4. In the Heart of the Sea
  5. San Andreas

Sound Mixing

  1. The Revenant
  2. Sicario
  3. In the Heart of the Sea
  4. Straight Outta Compton
  5. About Elly

Sound Editing

  1. Listen to Me, Marlon
  2. Mad Max: Fury Road
  3. Everest
  4. 45 Years
  5. The Tribe

Original Score

  1. Mad Max: Fury Road
  2. Crimson Peak
  3. It Follows
  4. Sicario
  5. Ex Machina

Original Song

  1. “Who Else Can You Trust” Spy
  2. “Feels Like Summer with You” Shaun the Sheep Movie
  3. “Better When I’m Dancing” The Peanuts Movie
  4. “Dancing in the Dark” Home
  5. “Earned It” 50 Shades of Grey

Animated Feature

  1. Inside Out
  2. Shaun the Sheep Movie
  3. Home

Note: There are only 3 nominees because I saw 6 animated films, and the other half were not of a quality I felt worthy of giving a nom.

Foreign Language Film

  1. The Tribe
  2. About Elly
  3. The Look of Silence
  4. In the Grayscale
  5. Velociraptor

Documentary Feature

  1. The Look of Silence
  2. Listen to Me Marlon
  3. What Happened Miss Simone?
  4. Do I Sound Gay?
  5. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief