Pan and Slam

Click play above to hear additional commentary on each category.

by Jason F. Koenigsberg

It is that time of year again. The 92nd Academy Awards are coming up soon, sooner than usual with this years truncated awards season, so now is the time for me to deliver my picks of what will win and what should win at this years Academy Awards. The last few months of 2019 were an incredibly exciting time for movie lovers with a lot of diverse and interesting titles being released every week in the theaters and on Netflix, it was tough to keep up for the first time in a long time. All of the major nominees (other than one… Joker cough cough) are award worthy titles ranging from good to outstanding. So now without any further ado here are my picks pf what will win, should win and what could upset at the 2020 Academy Awards. Be sure to click above to listen to additional commentary on each category.

Best Picture:

“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”

What will Win: 1917

What Should Win: Parasite

What Could Upset: Parasite, The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

This may sound like a cop out by selecting three different titles to realistically upset but I honestly think that they have an equal chance of winning the top award as front runner 1917. Look for 1917 to win Best Director based on its wins at the DGA, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs among other guild award wins. But I think one of those three other titles has the chance to be this years Spotlight, Moonlight, or Green Book, and pull off an upset win of sorts. Recent history has made Best Picture the most interesting category to watch and this year looks ripe for an upset.

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

What will Win: Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

What Should Win: Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”

What Could Upset: None of them realistically, maybe Antonio Banderas or Adam Driver but that would be a long shot for each.

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

What will Win: Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

What Should Win: Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet” or Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

What Could Upset: Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

What will Win: Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

What Should Win: Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

What Could Upset: Nothing.

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

What will Win: Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

What Should Win: Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

What Could Upset: Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

What will Win: Sam Mendes, “1917”

What Should Win: Honestly, any of the nominees other than Todd Phillips for Joker

What Could Upset: Once again, any of the nominees other than Todd Phillips.

Animated Feature:

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus,” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link,” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4,”  Josh Cooley

What will Win: “Toy Story 4,”  Josh Cooley

Animated Short:

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song

What will Win: Hair Love

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

What will Win: “The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian

Original Screenplay:

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han

What will Win: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino

Cinematography:

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Best Documentary Feature:

“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

What will Win: For Sama

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

What will Win: Life Overtakes Me

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard

What will Win: Nefta Football Club

Best International Feature Film:

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho

What will Win: Parasite

Film Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

What will Win: The Irishman

Sound Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

What will Win: 1917

Sound Mixing:

“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

What will Win: 1917

Production Design:

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

What will Win: 1917

Original Score:

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams

What will Win: Joker

Original Song:

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”

What will Win: Rocketman, the Academy is not going to let Elton John walk away empty handed even though they ignored his biopic in a lot of the major categories. He is too big for that.

Makeup and Hair:

“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”

What will Win: Bombshell

Costume Design:

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

What will Win: Little Women

Visual Effects:

“Avengers Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

What will Win: 1917

So there you have it. Tune in Sunday night on ABC to see who wins. I usually have a 75% to 80% accuracy with picking the winners so take that for what it is worth.