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Every week through the 87th Oscars on Feb. 22, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter‘s awards analyst Scott Feinberg will post an updated “Feinberg Forecast,” wherein he presents a summary of major developments since the last update that helped to shape his current opinions and then lists his revised projections. For more about Feinberg and how he arrives at his projections, scroll to the bottom of this post.
Factoring into this week’s Feinberg Forecast…
- The first screenings of Interstellar — coverage of which is embargoed until Monday morning — and the American Cinematheque’s tribute to its star Matthew McConaughey
- The PGA’s first New York-based “Produced By…” conference, featuring an appearance by Harvey Weinstein, as well as Nightcrawler actor Jake Gyllenhaal, Foxcatcher producer John Kilik, Noah director Darren Aronofsky and producer Scott Franklin, How to Train Your Dragon 2 producer Bonnie Arnold and RADiUS-TWC co-chief Tom Quinn
- The announcements of the Gotham Awards nominations (here’s my take on what they mean); the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s decision to award its Modern Master Award to Birdman‘s Michael Keaton; the London Film Festival jury’s presentation of the fest’s top prize to Russia’s Oscar entry Leviathan; the Key Art Awards, winners of which included The LEGO Movie and The Grand Budapest Hotel; Outfest’s decision to present its Trailblazer Award to The Homesman‘s Hilary Swank at the 10th annual Legacy Awards on Nov. 12; and of the Academy’s eight shortlisted shorts
- The newly released trailer of The Gambler, featurette of Into the Woods (with music!) and TV spot for Nightcrawler
- The latest from the box-office, including the limited art house debut of Citizenfour (which had a sensational location-average of about $25,000, the best for a doc since 2010’s Waiting for Superman) and expansions of St. Vincent, Birdman and Dear White People; the international debut, ahead of the U.S. debut, of Big Hero 6; and the continued strong showing of Gone Girl, now in its fourth weekend
BEST PICTURE
Frontrunners
Boyhood (IFC Films)
The Imitation Game (The Weinstein Co.)
Birdman (Fox Searchlight)
American Sniper (Warner Bros.)
Unbroken (Universal)
Into the Woods (Disney)
Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Theory of Everything (Focus Features)
Interstellar (Paramount)
Citizenfour (RADiUS-TWC, Participant Media, HBO)
Major Threats
Foxcatcher (Sony Pictures Classics)
Gone Girl (20th Century Fox)
Selma (Paramount)
A Most Violent Year (A24)
Wild (Fox Searchlight)
Possibilities
Chef (Open Road Films)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight)
Mr. Turner (Sony Pictures Classics)
Get On Up (Universal)
Still Alice (Sony Pictures Classics)
Love Is Strange (Sony Pictures Classics) NEW
Long Shots
Exodus: Gods and Kings (20th Century Fox)
Fury (Sony)
Inherent Vice (Warner Bros.)
Noah (Paramount)
The Judge (Warner Bros.)
BEST DIRECTOR
Frontrunners
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Alejandro G. Inarritu (Birdman)
Clint Eastwood (American Sniper)
Christopher Nolan (Interstellar)
Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)
Major Threats
Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
Angelina Jolie (Unbroken)
Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)
David Fincher (Gone Girl)
Rob Marshall (Into the Woods)
Possibilities
Laura Poitras (Citizenfour)
James Marsh (The Theory of Everything)
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Mike Leigh (Mr. Turner)
Ava DuVernay (Selma)
Long Shots
Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice)
J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year)
Jon Favreau (Chef)
Jean-Marc Vallee (Wild)
Ridley Scott (Exodus: Gods and Kings)
BEST ACTOR
Frontrunners
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
Jack O’Connell (Unbroken)
Major Threats
Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
Miles Teller (Whiplash)
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar)
David Oyelowo (Selma)
Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up)
Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner)
Bill Murray (St. Vincent)
Possibilities
Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher)
Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year)
Kevin Costner (Black and White)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)
Mark Wahlberg (The Gambler)
James Corden (Into the Woods)
Ben Affleck (Gone Girl)
Long Shots
Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Robert Downey Jr. (The Judge)
Brad Pitt (Fury)
Christian Bale (Exodus: Gods and Kings)
Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice)
Bill Hader (The Skeleton Twins) NEW
Brendan Gleeson (Calvary)
Al Pacino (The Humbling)
BEST ACTRESS
Frontrunners
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars)
Major Threats
Amy Adams (Big Eyes)
Emily Blunt (Into the Woods)
Hilary Swank (The Homesman)
Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
Jessica Chastain (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them)
Possibilities
Anne Hathaway (Interstellar)
Anne Dorval (Mommy)
Michelle Monaghan (Fort Bliss)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle)
Mia Wasikowska (Tracks)
Anna Kendrick (The Last 5 Years)
Long Shots
Greta Gerwig (The Humbling)
Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin) NEW
Marion Cotillard (The Immigrant)
Jessica Chastain (Miss Julie)
Jenny Slate (Obvious Child) NEW
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond the Lights) NEW
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Frontrunners
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
Edward Norton (Birdman)
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
Miyavi (Unbroken)
Major Threats
Tom Wilkinson (Selma)
John Goodman (The Gambler)
Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes)
Charlie Cox (The Theory of Everything) NEW
Alec Baldwin (Still Alice)
Possibilities
Robert Duvall (The Judge)
Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
Logan Lerman (Fury)
Long Shots
Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice)
Chris Pine (Into the Woods)
Garrett Hedlund (Unbroken)
Benicio Del Toro (Pablo Escobar: Paradise Lost)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Frontrunners
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Laura Dern (Wild)
Major Threats
Sienna Miller (American Sniper)
Jessica Chastain (Interstellar)
Octavia Spencer (Black and White)
Carmen Ejogo (Selma)
Kristen Stewart (Still Alice)
Possibilities
Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)
Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer)
Julianne Moore (Maps to the Stars)
Marisa Tomei (Love Is Strange) NEW
Rene Russo (Nightcrawler)
Long Shots
Vanessa Redgrave (Foxcatcher)
Viola Davis (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) NEW
Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice)
Marion Bailey (Mr. Turner)
Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Frontrunners
The Imitation Game (Graham Moore)
American Sniper (Jason Dean Hall)
Unbroken (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen)
The Theory of Everything (Anthony McCarten)
Into the Woods (James Lapine)
Major Threats
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Wild (Nick Hornby)
Still Alice (Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland)
Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Possibilities
The Fault in Our Stars (Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber)
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (Ned Benson)
Men, Women & Children (Jason Reitman, Erin Cressida Wilson)
Long Shots
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Dean DeBlois)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Frontrunners
Boyhood (Richard Linklater)
Birdman (Armando Bo, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolas Giabone, Alejandro G. Inarritu)
Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)
Foxcatcher (Dan Futterman, E. Max Frye)
Wild Tales (Damian Szifron)
Major Threats
Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)
Chef (Jon Favreau)
Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh)
A Most Violent Year (J.C. Chandor)
Possibilities
Love Is Strange (Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias)
Selma (Ava DuVernay, Paul Webb)
Magic in the Moonlight (Woody Allen)
Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy)
Fury (David Ayer)
Long Shots
Dear White People (Justin Simien)
Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin)
Big Eyes (Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski)
Begin Again (John Carney)
The Immigrant (James Gray, Richard Menello)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Frontrunners
The LEGO Movie (Warner Bros.)
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (DreamWorks Animation/20th Century Fox)
Big Hero 6 (Disney)
Song of the Sea (GKIDS)
The Boxtrolls (Focus Features)
Major Threats
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (GKIDS/Studio Ghibli)
Rio 2 (20th Century Fox)
Planes: Fire & Rescue (Disney)
The Book of Life (20th Century Fox)
Peabody & Sherman (DreamWorks Animation/20th Century Fox)
The Penguins of Madagascar (DreamWorks Animation/20th Century Fox)
Possibilities
Henry & Me (Reveal Animation Studios)
The Boy and the World (GKIDS)
The Pirate Fairy (Disney)
When Marnie Was There (Studio Ghibli)
The Nut Job (Open Road Films/ReelD)
Postman Pat: The Movie (Shout! Factory)
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (Clarius Entertainment)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Frontrunners
Citizenfour (RADiUS-TWC, Participant Media, HBO)
Life Itself (Magnolia/CNN Films)
Keep on Keepin‘ On (RADiUS-TWC)
Red Army (Sony Pictures Classics)
Last Days in Vietnam (American Experience Films)
Major Threats
Finding Vivian Mayer (Sundance Selects)
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me (Area 23a)
Tales of the Grim Sleeper (HBO)
The Case Against 8 (HBO Documentary Films)
Happy Valley (Music Box Films)
The Salt of the Earth (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Great Invisible (RADiUS-TWC)
Whitey: United States of America vs. James J. Bulger (Magnolia)
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (RADiUS-TWC)
Merchants of Doubt (Sony Pictures Classics)
Documented (CNN Films)
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (IFC Films)
Possibilities
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (FilmBuff) NEW
Virunga (Netflix) NEW
E-Team (Netflix) NEW
The Overnighters (Drafthouse Films)
Rich Hill (The Orchard)
Point and Shoot (The Orchard)
Fed Up (RADiUS-TWC)
Anita (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Dancing in Jaffa (Sundance Selects)
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (Zeitgeist Films)
Jodorowsky’s Dune (Sony Pictures Classics)
Warsaw Uprising: The Film (self-distributed)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Frontrunners
Wild Tales (Argentina)
Force Majeure (Sweden)
Two Days, One Night (Belgium)
Ida (Poland)
Mommy (Canada)
Major Threats
Leviathan (Russia)
White God (Hungary)
Human Capital (Italy)
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (Israel)
Winter Sleep (Turkey)
Accused (Netherlands)
1001 Grams (Norway)
Saint Laurent (France)
Possibilities
The Liberator (Venezuela)
Sorrow and Joy (Denmark)
The Nightingale (China)
The Way He Looks (Brazil)
Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed (Spain)
Beloved Sisters (Germany)
The Light Shines Only There (Japan)
What Now? (Portugal)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Frontrunners
Birdman (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Interstellar (Hoyte van Hoytema)
Unbroken (Roger Deakins)
Mr. Turner (Dick Pope)
Inherent Vice (Robert Elswit)
Major Threats
The Theory of Everything (Benoit Delhomme)
The Imitation Game (Oscar Faura)
American Sniper (Tom Stern)
Gone Girl (Jeff Cronenweth)
Nightcrawler (Robert Elswit)
The Homesman (Rodrigo Prieto)
Wild (Yves Belanger)
Possibilities
A Most Violent Year (Bradford Young)
Boyhood (Lee Daniel, Shane Kelly)
Fury (Roman Vasyanov)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Robert Yeoman)
Foxcatcher (Greig Fraser)
Selma (Bradford Young)
Tracks (Mandy Walker)
Exodus: Gods and Kings (Dariusz Wolski)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Frontrunners
Into the Woods (Colleen Atwood)
Maleficent (Anna Biedrzycka-Sheppard)
Mr. Turner (Jacqueline Durran)
Big Eyes (Colleen Atwood)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Milena Canonero)
Major Threats
Noah (Michael Wilkinson)
The Immigrant (Patricia Norris)
The Theory of Everything (Steven Noble)
Selma (Ruth E. Carter)
Get On Up (Sharen Davis)
The Homesman (Lahly Poore)
Grace of Monaco (Gigi Lepage)
Inherent Vice (Mark Bridges)
Possibilities
Unbroken (Louise Frogley)
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies (Ann Maskrey, Bob Buck)
Interstellar (Mary Zophres)
The Imitation Game (Sammy Sheldon)
Birdman (Albert Wolsky)
Belle (Anushia Nieradzik)
Madame Bovary (Christian Gasc, Valerie Ranchoux)
Exodus: Gods and Kings (Janty Yates)
BEST FILM EDITING
Frontrunners
Boyhood (Sandra Adair)
Interstellar (Lee Smith)
The Imitation Game (William Goldenberg)
Birdman (Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione)
Unbroken (Tim Squyres, William Goldenberg)
Major Threats
Whiplash (Tom Cross)
American Sniper (Joel Cox, Gary Roach)
Fury (Dody Dorn)
Gone Girl (Kirk Baxter)
Wild (Martin Pensa, John McMurphy [Jean-Marc Vallee])
The Theory of Everything (Jinx Godfrey)
Foxcatcher (Jay Cassidy, Stuart Levy, Conor O’Neill)
Possibilities
Selma (Spencer Averick)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (William Hoy, Stan Salfas)
Inherent Vice (Leslie Jones)
Into the Woods (Wyatt Smith)
A Most Violent Year (Ron Patane)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Barney Pilling)
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (John K. Carr)
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Frontrunners
Into the Woods (TBD)
Maleficent (TBD)
Foxcatcher (TBD)
Major Threats
Guardians of the Galaxy (TBD)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (TBD)
Exodus: Gods and Kings (TBD)
Get On Up (TBD)
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (TBD)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (TBD)
Possibilities
Unbroken (TBD)
Selma (TBD)
Inherent Vice (TBD)
Noah (TBD)
Mr. Turner (TBD)
Fury (TBD)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Frontrunners
Interstellar (Hans Zimmer)
Unbroken (Alexandre Desplat)
The Theory of Everything (Johann Johannsson)
The Imitation Game (Alexandre Desplat)
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (John Powell)
Major Threats
Gone Girl (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross)
The Homesman (Marco Beltrami)
Fury (Steven Price)
Big Eyes (Danny Elfman)
Get On Up (Thomas Newman)
Inherent Vice (Jonny Greenwood)
Birdman (Antonio Sanchez)
Possibilities
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat)
Noah (Clint Mansell)
Foxcatcher (Rob Simonsen)
The Judge (Thomas Newman)
The Hundred-Foot Journey (A.R. Rahman)
Exodus: Gods and Kings (Alberto Iglesias)
Maleficent (James Newton Howard)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Frontrunners
“Lost Stars” (Begin Again)
“Everything Is Awesome” (The LEGO Movie)
“I’ll Get You What You Want” (Muppets Most Wanted)
“What Is Love” (Rio 2)
“There and Back Again” (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies)
Major Threats
“Mercy Is” (Noah)
“Let Me In” (The Fault in Our Stars)
“Not About Angels” (The Fault in Our Stars)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Frontrunners
Into the Woods (Dennis Gassner)
Interstellar (Nathan Crowley)
Unbroken (Jon Hutman)
Birdman (Kevin Thompson)
The Imitation Game (Maria Djurkovic)
Major Threats
Mr. Turner (Suzie Davies)
Inherent Vice (David Crank)
The Theory of Everything (John Paul Kelly)
American Sniper (Charisse Cardenas, James J. Murakami)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Adam Stockhausen)
Possibilities
Fury (Andrew Menzies)
Gone Girl (Donald Graham Burt)
Selma (TBD)
Get On Up (Mark Ricker)
Foxcatcher (Jess Conchor)
Boyhood (Rodney Becker, Gay Studebaker)
* * *
About the Feinberg Forecast
Scott has been forecasting the Oscars since 2001 and has one of the strongest track records of all awards pundits at doing so. His best showings came in 2006 and 2013, when he correctly called 21 out of 24 winners. He was the only pundit to project best picture nominations for The Reader (2008), The Blind Side (2009) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011) and acting noms for Silver Linings Playbook‘s Jacki Weaver (2012) and The Wolf of Wall Street‘s Jonah Hill (2013), among other long shots.
He factors into his projections personal impressions (based on advance screenings of hundreds of films each year), publicly available information (release dates, genres, talent rosters and teasers/trailers often offer valuable clues), historical considerations (comparing and contrasting how other films with similar pedigrees have resonated), precursor awards (some awards groups have historically correlated with the Academy more than others), and conversations with industry insiders (including fellow members of the press, awards strategists, filmmakers and awards voters).
Twitter: @ScottFeinberg
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